Panthers Have Strong Showing at SVL League Championship
October 21, 2024
On a bluebird day, at the league championship this past Friday in Bellows Falls, the TA cross country team accorded itself impressively well.
Eighth grader Peter Horan beat 41 other runners to emerge victorious in a time of 10:44 in the middle school boys’ race. While the Thetford boys did not have enough runners to score as a team, it was a strong showing by Peter against a strong field.
On the girls’ side, eighth graders Emmeline Saint-Fleur and Meredith Sloop finished fourth and sixth respectively to lead the girls’ team to a league championship! Also scoring for Thetford were Molly Cushman, Elly Emery, and Arlie Sansom.
Next up were the high school girls who had their best race of the season. Senior captain Ava Hayden took 40 seconds off her PR on the Bellows Falls course, running an impressive 20:17 and finishing third out of 65 racers. Teammate Lucia Carr ran second for Thetford and showed tremendous grit in the final 300 meters. Rounding out the scoring for Thetford were newcomers Maddie Piecuch, Alicja Perdrizet, and Mary Crockett. Their combined efforts led to a third place team finish, defeating Rutland, Mount Anthony Union, and Bellows Falls.
In the final race of the day, the high school boys’ race, senior captain Brady Sloop paced Thetford, finishing second out of 78 runners, and covering the course in 17:11. Crossing the line next for Thetford was junior Wendell Durham who finished 16th. The key to the team’s third place finish, however, was the clump of Connor Gaine, Paul Hesser, Ramona Spelman, and Hardy Payson. Working together, they defeated Rutland, Woodstock, and Mount Anthony Union.
It was a good day for the Thetford harriers and both the boys’ and girls’ teams look forward to next Saturday’s state meet when they get to compete against the top teams in Division III. Go Panthers!