On Sat. Oct. 14, the boys cross country squad finished off their last meet before districts commence.
The team ran at the Frank Keyser Invitational race in Boonsboro, MD.
The varsity team finished 8th place out of 23 teams, and the junior varsity team finished 9th place out of 21 teams.
Many runners finished in good positions and set personal records.
“Mickey Sahlu and Abbey Yared led the Varsity in 11th and 28th places in a field of 206 runners. In the JV race, freshman Bennett Stenberg was 52nd in a field of 327 runners. All 3 Atoms ran significant personal bests,” said head varsity Coach Dave Ciccarelli.
Sophomore Mikyas Sahlu and junior Abbey Yared finished with impressive times of 15:40 and 16:02 in the varsity meet, and freshman Bennett Stenberg finished with a time of 18:10 in the junior varsity meet.
The runners were pretty satisfied with their times, considering all the effort they had put in during practice.
“The meet went well, there were many personal bests. I had a new personal best, so I feel like I did well,” said junior Abbey Yared.
The Atoms will now have their eyes on the postseason, as this meet completed their regular season.
Ciccarelli will be upping the ante to prepare his team for the postseason.
“We are decreasing overall mileage and concentrating on short, fast interval training on the track in an effort to build speed and to peak at Districts and Regionals,” Ciccarelli said.
With the training they are receiving, the team is feeling more and more ready to succeed at districts and beyond.
“My goal for districts is to win the conference as a team, and to individually place in the top 3,” said Yared.
As a whole, the cross country team’s season has gone well.
“I think the season has been a success so far. The goal last season was to change the direction and mind-set of a team that had not seen itself as competitive for a long time,” said Ciccarelli.
“That goal was accomplished and now Annandale is a force to be reckoned with in Virginia high school cross country.”
Coach Ciccarelli also thinks his team has the potential to go far in the postseason, lengthening their season.
“The season is not over yet. Districts, Regionals, and States remain,” said Ciccarelli.
“We’ll see what we’ve accomplished after those meets and begin planning next year’s campaign. That being said, in less than two years, this team has come further faster than any team I have ever coached.”
The team is motivated and raring to go.
As they near the finish of their season, they will be looking to finish on a high note.
“By running every day, finishing my workouts, and with nonstop training, I think winning at districts is very manageable,” said Yared.
The boys cross country team has performed well this season, and they will be looking to sprint to the finish.
Districts take place on Thursday, Oct. 26. at Burke Lake Regional Park.