The season is now in full swing for the men’s and women’s cross country teams. Over the weekend, both teams scored a perfect 15 points en route to victories at the Yellowjacket Invitational at the University of Rochester. 

The men’s team competed in a field of 24 teams, where the Red took eight of the top ten places in the race including the top five. The women’s team competed in a field of 23 teams, and took the top nine places. 

Women’s cross country coach Artie Smith ’96 said that the number and quality of competing schools were good for the Red’s competitive nature. 

“It was a competitive field,” he said. “It was great to see that we were able to take the top nine places in the race against some of the top Division 3 schools in the country.” 

Men’s cross country coach Zeb Lang ’03 was pleased with his team’s use of its pack-running strategy to win the overall meet.

“The Red executed its pack-running strategy to perfection and ran together until the final 150 meters,” he said. “A sprint to the finish line ensued to protect the perfect score from the eventual sixth-place finisher from a different school.” 

In the 8K race, the Red was once again led by sophomore Ben Potts, completing the race in a time of 25:08.6. Potts has now won his second race to start off the season. Rounding out the top five were senior Nick Wade (25:09.1), junior Andrew Herring (25:10.8), junior Max Groves (25:11.0), and senior Adam Trofa (25:11.2). 

Smith spoke about how his runners used the race to try out new running strategies, and was pleased with the results. 

“I was very pleased with how it played out,” he said. “It was how people competed. One of the goals was to finish the race a lot better than we started. People used the meet to try out some new strategies in the race. I thought it played out really well.”

Junior Rachel Sorna was the stand out competitor for the women’s team, winning the 6K course in a time of 20:47.3. According to Smith, it was Sorna’s first collegiate victory. 

“It was the first time [Rachel Sorna] won a collegiate race,” he said. “I was very pleased with how she raced. She tried out some new strategies in the race and she did very well.”

Rounding out the top five for the Red were senior co-captain Katie Kellner (20:51.3), junior Emmy Shearer (21:02.4), junior Devin McMahon (21:05.8), and freshman Caroline Kellner (21:20.6). 

The women’s team, taking the top nine spots, showed how many strong runners can be fielded in any race. Smith pointed to the Red’s depth as being one of its biggest strengths. 

“I’m very pleased with our depth, and how dedicated our runners have been so far.”