The Varsity Berlin-New Lebanon XC Team had a tremendous victory this Saturday at the Fort Plain invitational. The race consisted of 3 miles of grass fields, dirt paths, and sunny skies. Waking up at 5am and bearing the beating sun was worth every minute after what they accomplished.
The first race was Girls Varsity! The BNL girls lined up on the starting line against 7 other teams. As soon as the race gun went off, they quickly fought their way to the front of the line. Elsie Corbett and Allura Meizinger pushed each other harder than ever before. They led the race together and finished in FIRST and SECOND place!! Elsie Corbett finished with a 20:48 and Allura Meizinger with a 20:59. Right up in the front was Brady Hills coming in 5th place with a 21:57 as well as Ava Noel in 7th place with a 22:40 and Sadie Giumarra in 9th place with a 23:06. We are so incredibly proud of Sam Rojker who ran a 28:17 for her first race of the season as well as Elaine Savaria for crushing her PR by a minute with a 29:05. All together, the Girls Varsity took home 1st place meet champions! We are so proud of them!
Next up was the Boys Varsity race. Our boys were very excited and determined to take home another win for BNL! The race started out at a fast pace, but they quickly fought back. With their endurance, pacing skills, and uphill strength the boys pushed their way to the top of the line. After a hard fought race, Matthew Kluck took home 1st place with a 19:29. Right behind him was Gabe Kalisz who pushed his way into the finish line in 3rd place with a 19:44. Our two next runner ups were Aidan Vandyk with a 21:32 and Layne Chaykowski-Jewitt with a 22:45. Coming up right behind them with the most amazing and strongest finish was Eben Donohue with a 24:32 and Carl Truax with a 25:33. The boys took home another 1st place win as a team for BNL!
A special shoutout to our freshman girl runner Addison Powell who was determined to finish her race despite experiencing an injury while on the race course. That takes dedication and strength! Way to go Addie.
All of these athletes deserve a shoutout today for this race. They preserved and pushed their limits to the very end.
Way to go BNL! We foresee many many more victories coming our way soon.