by Blake Krantz
Boys’ cross country finished seventh at the Division-1 State meet Saturday, a “good way to finish off the season” according to senior Alex Montague, a captain with senior Siddharth Nizamuddin.
The top four teams at Saturday’s meet will move on to All-States. Although the team failed to qualify for All-States collectively, sophomore Andrew Mah will advance after finishing twelfth as an individual.
Only the top five runners from each team counted in scoring, a key factor that coach Jim Blackburn pointed to.  “The team did very well, better than expected given that two of our top runners were out with injuries,” he said, adding that with these injuries, the Tigers’ overall score is “going to suffer.”
Montague took a positive outlook on the meet and the season in general, emphasizing the potential of both next season and this winter for indoor track and field.
“We didn’t make it to All-States, but this proved to be sort of a rebuilding year for us so it was still a great way to start focusing on indoor,” he said, “we did what we could and had a satisfying outcome.”
As for next fall, Blackburn looks to the underclassmen as key contributors who are ready to make a positive impact, explaining that the Tigers “have the best ninth and tenth graders around, so the future looks bright.”