Both varsity cross country teams stumbled in last Saturday’s Panther Invitational at One Church. The boys team finished 3rd while the girls finished 8th.
“It wasn’t the best race conditions, and it’s early in the season,” head coach Austin Enriquez said. “But the way we train is so we peak at the end.”
Junior Nate Pecetti led the boys team with an 8th place finish at 16 minutes, 9 seconds. Senior Bankson Roach was a few seconds behind Pecetti with a 16:33 in 12th place.
“It wasn’t my best race. It felt really rough,” Pecetti said. “I’m still happy with the result.”
The boys team placed on the podium in 3rd with 117 points overall. The winner of the meet for boys was Harrison High school with 71 points. Out of the 204 runners, all of the Starr’s Mill boys team placed within the top 70.
“Both teams looked very strong today,” Enriquez said. “I’m happy for the younger runners for our girls, and our boys looked very stout, very strong.”
Freshman Beatrix Cooper ran a 21:03 and placed 47th place leading the girls team. Junior Ana Miller was 6 seconds behind her with a 21:09.
“It definitely wasn’t my best race,” Miller said. ”It really just wasn’t my day.”
The girls team placed 8th overall with 271 points. The overall winner for girls was Marist with 86 points.
The Panthers run again on September 9 in the Carrollton Invitational.