Fairy lights illuminate the night as hundreds of runners race through barns and up hills. Even more spectators frantically run around the course to catch a glimpse of the race. The loud cheers, music blasting from the speakers, and stars in the sky create an excited, tension-filled atmosphere.
Racing through darkness and rain, girls’ cross country worked together to place fifth at the Bob Glennon Twilight Cross Country Invitational at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds Sunday, Oct. 15. After a tight, neck-in-neck race with Oliver Ames High School, who placed fourth, North ultimately earned 143 points to their 139 points. Weymouth placed first with 121 points.
The race led to an exciting start as North athletes raced strongly to secure good positions among the hundreds of other runners. The wide field at the starting line quickly turned into a sharp turn to the left, which established the importance of a solid start.
“I don’t think anyone was particularly happy with their race, but considering we got fifth out of 28 teams, that’s pretty good. I think based on how we all did individually, we’re happy with how we did as a team,” said senior Rachel Newman, captain along with seniors Manon Catlin, Salome Laurence, and Natalie Richards.
Senior Ciara Evans, North’s top runner, placed fourth overall with a time of 18:06.53, only three seconds slower than the school record. Sophomore Maggie Abely placed tenth with 19:37.02, followed by sophomore Esty Dudnik, at 49th in 19:54.17.
“They executed very well, they handled the unique situations, like running in the dark, through the barns and a long bus ride, which is a good preview for going to the divisional race out on the western part of the state,” said assistant coach David Teszler.
The 5K course consisted of three laps winding around the fields at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds. Lights lined the entire course while various refreshments were served.
“Next time we’ll be talking about running the middle mile aggressively, staying engaged in that middle mile, and being efficient with the course walk,” said Teszler.
The night meet was North’s first time racing competitively as a team at the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational. Previously, the team only sent individuals to race, which wasn’t very often, according to head coach Joanna Mantell.
“I thought it was very cool, and super fun. I really like night meets,” said Newman.
