The Crossroads boys varsity cross country team was without one of its top runners, Ethan Finkel, which made for a very exciting and close meet with Viewpoint and Brentwood last week. Viewpoint prevailed by 7 points, while Crossroads managed to beat Brentwood by a single point to take second. Windward was 4th.
There were quite a number of outstanding performances on the boys side, with many runners achieving lifetime bests for a 3 mile race. Scotty Belinsky led the way for Crossroads, running just under 17 minutes for 3rd place. He was followed very closely by Nick Graves in fourth place.
Tenth graders Ben Fried and Daniel Allen stepped things up big time for the Runners, placing 10th and 12th respectively, both breaking 18 minutes in huge lifetime personal bests which was crucial in helping to seal the second place team finish.
On the girls’ side, Crossroads dominated the competition, placing first and second overall, with 5 in the top 10 and 7 in the top 15. Sonaali Pandiri was once again the leading runner for Crossroads, crossing the line in 20 minutes flat. She was followed in short order by Tamar Jusidman, 2nd, in an exceptional 20:25.
The victory was a total team effort, as Crossroads had 7 runners in before any other team had five across the line. Viewpoint was 2nd, Brentwood 3rd, and Windward 4th.
On the JV side, 10th grader, Andrew Wedeking was the overall top finisher amongst the boys, while the Crossroads’ boys team placed second to Viewpoint in the team scoring, with Brentwood 3rd and Windward 4th.
The final standings were:
Boys: Viewpoint 43,Crossroads 50, Brentwood 51, Windward 79.
Girls: Crossroads 27,Viewpoint 45, Brentwood 52, Windward 118.
