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POMFRET — The Pomfret School boys’ cross country team hosted Cushing, Wilbraham & Monson (WMA), and Worcester Academy (WA) on a cold, windy, and wet day. Due to the strong forecasted winds and the very soggy conditions in the woods, the course was altered to be three loops of the usual first mile. The course was soft, muddy, and wet, which would have been challenging in itself, but gusty winds in excess of 30 mph made it even more so. The course change did allow spectators to see the runners several times which helped spur the Griffins to victory.
Chris Verstandig ’19 led for much of the race, running as smart and complete a race for Pomfret as he has all year. He was passed in the final mile by a WMA runner, but this was okay as part of the overall strategy was to not worry about one or two other runners, but instead relying on our team to take care of business. Jeffrey Gibbs ’20 was second for Pomfret, running a consistent and determined race. Blake Zahansky ’21 overcame a slip and fall in the mud to finish third for Pomfret. WMA crossed 5th & 6th. Though Cushing and WA had a few strong runners, they were never a threat to win the meet. With Chris, Jeffrey, and Blake finishing 2, 3, 4, the Griffins knew were in good shape - so long as our 4 and 5 runners finished ahead of WMA’s 4 & 5. Nathaniel Ahn ’20, our normal #4 was a late scratch (illness) and Jack Terwilliger ’20, usually a reliable varsity runner was out with an injury. This meant that we needed to rely on others to step up. Ben Richardson ’21 and Kellen Horst ’22 answered the call, finishing after three Cushing and 2 WA runners, but importantly before the next WMA guys. Ben Kelsey ’21 and Nick Kruczynski ’21 also finished ahead of WMA’s 5th runner, which further raised their score. It was a great victory in our last home race of the season.
Team Scores: Pomfret 34; WMA 50; WA 67; Cushing 69
Though the JV race wasn’t officially scored, Pomfret School crushed the competition: Strong showings by: Justin Kim ’19, Cole Hecker ’22, Kevin Li ’20, Keegan Rybacki ’21, Ian Wolanin ’22, Cooper Lee, ’21, and, Danny Wang ’21. Unofficial JV Team Scores: Pomfret 18; WA 43; WMA 72; Cushing 87
Contributed by David Ring
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