After Mustafe Dahir ’19 set a new school record on the Choate course against Hotchkiss in a 28-27 win on Saturday, October 21, expectations are much higher for the Boys’ Cross Country team this year. They will be going to New Englands this weekend backed by a solid season during which they recorded some very tough wins against some top notch Founders League schools.
The team had a very strong start to the season picking up wins against Lawrenceville, Taft, and Trinity Pawling at home before taking a tough loss on the road to Phillips Academy Andover. The following weekend the boys continued their road trip against Deerfield and Loomis. Although they lost to Loomis Chaffee, they were able to pick up a big win against rival Deerfield to get Deerfield day started for Choate on the right foot. The boys then returned home to play Hotchkiss who they were able to narrowly defeat in their closest meet this season. The team's last meet before the Founders League Championships was the long bus trip up to Northfield Mt. Hermon, where they were narrowly defeated 30-25. Heading into founders, the boys will look to get revenge on Loomis after finishing second behind Loomis in last year’s championships.
If the boys want to come out of New Englands with a good result, co captains Griffin Birney ’18 and Matt Kim ’18 will have to lead and inspire the runners because they are going to need big contributions from everyone. With the race being held at Choate this year, the team will definitely have an advantage in its biggest meet this year. If you are not going to Deerfield Day on Saturday, you should definitely go and show the boys your support,because you won’t get to see a race of this magnitude at Choate for some time.
If you are around for Deerfield day, I would highly recommend heading up to the cross country course and watching Choate compete against 12 other schools, because you won’t get to see a race of this magnitude at Choate for some time.