Cross Country Conference Championship: A season conclusion
October 20, 2022
After months of mileage, workouts, and dedication, the Green Hope Cross Country team successfully concluded their conference season at the SWAC Conference Championship Meet Tuesday night (10/18). Including all runners from the eight schools in the SWAC conference, this was one of the largest- and most important- meets of the season. With this being the last race for the majority of the runners, it was an emotional night packed with exciting results.
Between the eight teams, there were a total of 400 runners. These runners were divided into four different races: Boys Varsity, Boys Junior Varsity, Girls Varsity, and Girls Junior Varsity.
Boys Varsity: Placed 1st
The first race of the evening was Boys Varsity. Green Hope’s top ten boys raced, and had extremely positive results. Green Hope placed number one in the conference. Luke Young (‘23) was the first falcon to cross the line, placing third with a time of 15:33.80, followed by Gavin Hanson(‘23) and Liam Young(‘23) in fourth and fifth places. The Boys Varsity team had five runners place in the top ten, and came home as champions of the SWAC conference.
Girls Varsity: Placed 6th
Green Hope’s eight fastest girls competed with the rest of the conference’s top runners for the conference champion title. Girls Varsity gave it their all and placed 6th in the Conference. Alice Emel (‘23) placed highest for Green Hope at 15th place, with a time of 20:19.93. Despite the results from this race, the team had a successful season overall.
Boys Junior Varsity: Placed 1st
Boys Junior Varsity brought home another victory for Green Hope, placing first in the conference. Green Hope students Matt Dubrule (‘24), Tommy Dunn (‘24), Theo Zalc (‘24), Logan Blake (‘25), and Dhaval Pant (‘26) were the top five finishers for this race. The boys had a total of eight finishers in the top 10. Matt Dubrule, the conference winner for JV Boys, finished with a time of 17:35.38. The future of Green Hope cross country is bright with these up and coming runners.
Girls Junior Varsity: Placed 1st
Green Hopes Girls Junior Varsity also had successful results Tuesday night. As a team, they placed first in the conference. Anna
Dudley (‘24) placed first in the race with a time of 22:14.81. Dudley was followed by Kaitlin Elliot (‘24) and Avery Bergamini (‘24) who placed second and third respectively. With five runners placing in the top 10 for this race, it was considered a great success for the program. These strong results indicate a promising future for the team.
As a whole, the SWAC Championship was a success for Green Hope’s Cross Country team. Heading into the postseason with three out of the four teams placing first in the conference, it will be exciting to see how they perform at Regionals and States. As the pressure rises, the team is working to stay on their feet and break through the finish line!
