Both of George Mason High School’s boys’ and girls’ cross country teams took first place, scoring 22 and 20 points, respectively, at the tri-meet at Rappahannock County High School last Wednesday.
Cool, overcast conditions proved to be ideal for the Mustangs, who achieved 30 personal records and 18 season bests at the meet. The hilly course with gravel and grass didn’t slow the Mason runners who ran hard against Rappahannock County and William Monroe High Schools.
The boys’ team ran first – they outnumbered the competition three to one. Runners from the boys’ team – senior Beamlak, Hailemariam (18:30), junior James Schneider (18:35), senior James Pala (18:53) and seniors Timothy (18:59) and Jonathan Gilmour (19:05) – took second through sixth place. Rappahannock County came in second place in the boys’ race with 50 team points. William Monroe came in last place with 71 points.
The girls’ team, which is much smaller than the boys’ team, followed in a much closer race where the lead changed numerous times and the top three runners were close the whole time. Still, the Mustang girls took five of the top seven spots.
Freshman Logan Funk (19:58) came in second place, followed by junior Blaise Sevier (20:20) and freshman Estelle Timar-Wilcox (20:58), who took third and fourth, respectively. Senior Kaitlin Kutchma (21:25) and sophomore Brooke Meinhart (21:31) took sixth and seventh place, respectively. Rappahannock County came in second place with 50 points and William Monroe came in last place with 60 points.
The Mustangs’ next meet is at Warren County High School this Wednesday, Oct. 1. They’ll face Warren County and Madison County High School in another tri-meet.
