On Thursday night, Oct. 17, the Manual girls’ and boys’ cross country teams competed in the Yared Nuguse Cross Country Championships. The event’s name was recently changed from the JCPS Cross Country Championships in order to honor Olympian and former Manual student, Yared Nuguse. The meet took place at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park. Out of 18 teams who entered to run, Manual’s varsity girls’ team placed first, as did the varsity boys’ team and the girls’ JV team. The JV boys’ team placed third. As such, Manual dominated the entire field.
The first race of the evening was the girls’ varsity 5K, which began at 5 p.m.. The girls’ team swept first through third individual places. Bailee Montgomery (11, HSU) placed first with a time of 18:07.22. Emerson Wyatt (12, MST) placed second with a time of 18:57.96. Madison Price (10, HSU) followed, placing third with a time of 19:15.47. Maggie May (12, VA) also placed fifth with a time of 19:19.01.
The varsity girls’ race was followed by the boys’ varsity 5K at 5:30 p.m. The first runner to finish for Manual was Sam Chandler (12, HSU), who placed second with a time of 15:44.86. Quinn Gulden (12, HSU) placed fourth with a time of 16:19.53. Tedi Henderson (12, HSU) placed sixth with a time of 16:43.04, as well.
The final event of the night was the boys’ and girls’ combined JV 5K, which began at 6 p.m. On the boys’ side, Trevor Morris (12, HSU) placed ninth with a time of 19:18.13. On the girls’ side, Molly Barrett (10, HSU) was the first one to cross the finish line with a time of 21:25.72. Dagny Morgan (10, HSU) followed her in second place with a time of 21:34.45. Emina McQueen (11, HSU) followed, finishing in third place with a time of 21:53.88. Sienna Underwood (12, MST) rounded out the leading foursome with a time of 22:06.69.
The course started off in a wide, open field that soon led the competing runners into the woods. They ran through the trees, and then back out into the field, to reach the finish line. The weather was fair and the sun was shining, perfect for running.
Many runners ran personal bests, and the team had a great performance.
“The team is doing great. I’m so proud of our girls and our guys. Everybody’s having great times. Everyone’s running so fast, super proud of all of them and so grateful for this team,” McQueen said.
The team’s next competition, the Region 3 AAA Championship, will take place on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Seneca Park.
