Panthers Make Big Strides at Manchester Invitational
September 23, 2024
TA’s cross country team ran at the Manchester Invitational this past Saturday. Captains Ava Hayden and Brady Sloop led their teams with top 10 finishes in their respective races. Ava finished 5th (out of 219 racers), covering the 5K course for Varsity Small Schools in 20:34. On the boys side, Brady was 9th out of 280 racers, finishing in a time of 17:04.
Other significant races were turned in by Hardy Payson and Paul Hesser who both took two minutes off of their personal bests in the 5K, while newcomer Ella Harvey took one minute off of her time, finishing in 25:19.
Ninth grader Maddie Piecuch significantly improved her pace, running the 2-mile course for JV runners in 16:29.
As Coach Emily Silver often likes to say, “The faster you are and the longer you’ve been running, the harder it is to shave off seconds.” But on Saturday, Miguel Kutter-Walker, Connor Gaine, Brady Sloop, and Liam Murphy all did so. In fact, Liam took over a minute off of his time, crossing the finish line in 21:01.
While the girls team did not field a complete varsity team, the boys varsity racers were 23rd out of 41 teams in a very competitive field. Their hard work on the day was rewarded with a trip to the Puritan Backroom for ice cream on the way home!