On Saturday, the Boys Cross Country team, along with the girls’ team, braved the rainy conditions and made an appearance at the Harry Carlson Cross County Invitational at Adler Park in Libertyville.
Going into the meet, spirits were high, as the boys’ team had secured the win at their first official meet of the season, the LFA Open. The Caxys hosted four other schools for this meet and were able to defeat all of them, sweeping the podium and securing four of the top five spots in the race. It was a large motivator for the Caxys, who had never seen one of their own win a gold medal, let alone secure the top three spots in the meet.
“Winning that meet so dominantly really made my hopes high for Saturday, especially because as long as anyone has been here, we’ve never had the top finisher in a race.” Will Kennedy ‘28, manager of the team, said.
The Caxys’ spirits were quickly put to the test as the rain became a significant problem even before the race started, turning almost the entire course into a slippery, muddy mess and freezing the runners while they did their warm-ups. The team had to stay inside the Caxy Vans to keep out of the rain until they started preparing to run.
When the race began, many runners struggled to keep their balance and slipped down the hill while trying to merge into a pack. The theme of falling down continued throughout the race, especially while competitors curved around sharp muddy turns in the course.
“I saw at least three kids slip down the hill right after the gun went off,” Kennedy said.
The unideal weather did not affect Tyler Gopin ‘29, though, as he was able to not only run a personal record, but also the fastest time on the team, with a time of 18 minutes and 53 seconds.
While the Caxys were unable to secure a second win in a row, they ran a meet none of them would soon forget, as the runners’ legs, shoes and backs were invariably caked in mud by the end of the morning. The slippery conditions made for a fun race for all participants, even if most were unable to run personal records and the Caxys had a dirty ride back to campus.