The boys and girls cross country teams dominated their races at the Bedwell Bayfront Park on Wednesday, placing first and second out of 17 teams. This was the Bears’ third and final PAL race of league play, making it integral to place ahead for a fierce championship race.
The boys raced first, with junior Cason Mitchell placing first for the third time in a row, finishing with a time of 16:37 and setting a record for the course. Senior Thomas Bernadicou finished just behind Mitchell in second place, giving the Bears two spots on the podium, while juniors Aiden Sharp and Dane Hansen placed in fourth and eighth shortly after. The Bears’ fantastic finish led them to beat Carlmont by 34 points, marking their greatest victory of the season.
“Going into the race we had a very specific plan that we executed very well, and it paid dividends,” Mitchell said. “The guys have been putting in consistent work everyday and it showed in this meet with a very dominant win.”
The girls raced second, with freshman Caroline Pflaum continuing her streak of impressive placing, finishing in fifth. Freshman Harper Krefetz followed her in 10th, while juniors Riya Mehta and Paige McGaraghan finished in 17th and 21st, respectively. The girls fell just short of first place, only losing by two points to Carlmont.
“I feel that the team did really well, and we all pushed ourselves to get the score we wanted,” Mehta said. “I truly think that how we performed shows the talent we have in our team and what we are capable of for the league finals.”
The Bears’ post-season starts Nov. 9 at the Crystal Springs Cross Country Course for the PAL championship meet. The varsity boys, having secured first place coming into the event, will be competing with Carlmont for another PAL title. The third-ranked girls will aim to do the same, competing with Carlmont and Mills for the first-place spot.
