Hornets Race in America’s Oldest Cross Country Invitational

STILLWATER, OK – The Greenhill cross country team made the long trek across the Red River into Oklahoma to compete in the 73^rd annual O.S.U. Cowboy Jamboree, America’s oldest cross country race. They returned home with plenty of individual highlights and hopefully a hungrier attitude since only five weeks remain before the S.P.C. Championships.

The J.V. boys were the first to toe the starting line on an overcast and cool day at the O.S.U. cross country course. Freshman Brennan Baker led the Hornets with the help of some aggressive running over the first two miles before Thomas Decker became the team’s front runner. Behind both of them, a slew of nine other Hornets were forging their way over the challenging course which included four to five hills. As the boys neared the finish line, Decker’s tall frame crested the last hill first and he raced to a new personal best of 20:58 over the 5 kilometer course. Baker soon followed in 21:10, then Anton Yu in 21:16, Kevin Lee in 21:20 and David Herman in 21:45. The team’s first four runners, all of whom are freshmen, ran personal bests (or within a few seconds) on the day. It is also worth noting that both Herman and Brian Konig (23:16) improved upon their times compared to last year’s meet.

As the J.V. boys were finishing, the J.V. girls race began. Freshman Blythe Baresh led the way for the girls, finishing in a new personal best of 14:34. As it would turn out, that would be the sixth fastest time for the team on the day. Lauren Bennett also made the long trip worthwhile in clocking a new best of 15:19. Ellie Warrick was the third runner and, competing in her first race wearing green and gold colors, Ellie finished in 15:57.

 There was a buzz around the course before the start of the girls 5A and under varsity race. With cameras from flotrack.com (an Austin based running web site) and dyestat.com (the national web site for high school cross country and track and field) zoomed in on Greenhill’s Chelsey Sveinsson, many wondered if she was going to break the course record. After coming through her first mile in 5:14, there was little doubt that the 10:56 course record would fall. However, Chelsey did not just shave a few seconds off that time. When she crossed the finish line in 10:31, the crowd looked stunned. Her nearest competitor had been within 15 seconds of Chelsey at the mile mark, but in the end she was 53 seconds back. Freshman Liz Livingston was also racing well behind Chelsey and she ran a big personal best of 13:18. An improving and healthier Amanda Garcia was next in for the Hornets in 13:37, followed by Katherine Marmion in 14:05 (compared to 14:21 last year!). A hard charging Madeline Nelson separated from teammates Noelle Smith and Lauren Shapiro to finish as the team’s final scoring runner in 14:33. Overall, the girls finished 17^th as a team in a field of 26 schools.

Just before noon it was show time for the varsity boys in their 5A and under varsity race. Fielding a slightly different group of seven runners than usual, the boys more than held their own in placing 12^th out of 28 teams. They were led by the steady running of Eriq Robinson, who took on the hills to claim a medal with his 28^th place finish in 17:43. Ryan Duffy was within eyesight of Robinson for half of the race and used that early push to finish in 18:10. Brian Mickey in 18:50, Ben Taussig in 18:55, and Dhiren Parbhoo in 19:46 rounded on the team’s scoring. Both Parbhoo and Borren Moe (19:47) recorded the varsity squad’s two personal bests.

The Hornets will have two weeks to train hard before once again heading north for their next race. This time though, only the team’s top seven runners will be travelling to compete in the October 17^th Chili Pepper Invitational at the University of Arkansas.

To view the invitational results click here.