Cross Country has NEPSTA All-Stars

 

The girls ran first. St. Mark's course is known for its hilly, "true XC" course. The race leader, the division 1 race winner from St. Paul's, soon outdistanced the field dramatically. Maliya Ellis battled in a sizable chase back, and ran a strong, aggressive race to place third in a sizzling 19:30. This is the third year in a row that Maliya has run in the all-star race, an impressive achievement in itself, and she has improved on her time and place every year. Sophomore Elena Brennan, qualifying for the first time, ran a gutsy race, but had a tough day. She wasn't feeling well even on the start line, but still finished in 22:19.

 

In the boys' race, senior captain Jonah Norwitt would be running in his first all-star race, after coming tantalizingly close as a junior, when he placed 21st in the NEPSTA championship race (only 20 qualify). Sophomore Nic Burtson was running in his third, having also qualified as an 8th grader (22nd in 17:57) and as a freshman (3rd in 16:47). Both boys ran aggressive races, with Nic taking an early lead. Despite taking a wrong path around a barrier, which meant that he lost time by having to turn back to run around it the correct way, he maintained his lead the entire way and won in 16:05. Without the wrong turn, he might have threatened the 15:45 course record. Jonah also ran a strong race. In 11th place at the base of the hill, he worked his way up into the medal range (top 10), and finished in a career best 17:01.

 

A sizable contingent of Hopkins runners and coaches made the trek to cheer on the all-stars, and it was a great day for Hopkins XC.