Girls’ cross country, 4-0, won 21-40 against Braintree as the Tigers sent eleven girls across the finish line in under 21 minutes on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at Cold Spring Park.

Junior Esty Dudnik cinched first place with a time of 19:39 in the women’s 5,000 meter varsity race, followed by junior Maggie Abely with the same time of 19:39.

Braintree’s first two finishers had times of 19:54 and 20:03, securing third and fourth place spots.

As the race kicked off, the energy was palpable as North led the pack down the first segment of the 1.6 mile course.

Senior Hava Shenkman, a captain along with seniors Lila Anapolle, Leigh Gee, and Asha Gopinath, said, “I think that Cold Springs is one of the best courses in the league. It’s mostly flat, with a few small hills, and it’s a full 5k as well.”

Shenkman ran a time of 22:59, Gopinath ran a time of 22:40, and Gee ran a time of 20:42. Anapolle placed first in the junior varsity 1.6 mile run with a time of 11:33.

“My goal this season is to PR, and also to try to improve my fitness and run longer than I have before,” Shenkman said. Gopinath added that she is also striving to PR. 

Head coach Joanna Mantell said she was proud that the team ran well as a pack and completed the race within 21 minutes.

As both teams finished their first lap of the course, the atmosphere intensified as fans cheered on varsity runners after watching the junior varsity race. North had 22 runners in the varsity race and 25 in the junior varsity race. 

Gopinath said, “We have thirty or so new people this year, and they bring a lot of amazing energy to the team. We definitely have a lot to look forward to.”

Girls’ cross country will face Framingham and Needham on Wednesday, Sept. 24, and will participate in the MSTCA Bay State Invitational and the Ocean State Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 27.