BOYS FALL JUST SHORT AGAINST READING, WHILE GIRLS BLAST PAST THE ROCKETS

Meet Information
Reading Dual Meet
November 19, 2020
Hastings Park - Lexington, MA
GIRLS RESULTS
BOYS RESULTS
LEXINGTON, MA - This past Thursday The Minutemen finished off the 2020 COVID Cross Country season at home against the Reading Rockets. For the boys it was a chance to finish off an undefeated season and clinch sole possession of their second straight Middlesex League Liberty Division Regular Season Championship. Despite turning in their best race of the season, with their top five turning in an average time of 17:06 for their 5k home course, The Minutemen fell by a score of 30-26 to the Rockets. The loss left the boys in a three-way tie with Reading and Arlington - who defeated the Rockets earlier this season - as they all finish the season with a 4-1 record in the Liberty Division. Despite the result, junior Graham Bracken turned in the top performance on the afternoon for The Minutemen. His gutsy race included outkicking Reading junior Robert Squires for second place for a personal best 16:43. On the girls side, LHS had its best race of the season. The Lex girls took the top five places with senior Anna Nelson finishing her high school career in style by taking the tape for the first time in a season best 20:24. In addition to being enough for the victory on Thursday, that time was the fastest turned in by any LHS girl all season. Led by Nelson's efforts the girls breezed to a 15-44 victory over Reading's girls to finish the season 3-1.
"Runner on the Course" by captain Izzy Jakimczyk
Well, well, well. Here we are. Who knew we would make it to this point? The final Runner on the Course. The end of an era that lasted two brief, but certainly thrilling seasons. I promise to go out with a bang.
My recaps are not the only thing that ended on a high note today. The Lexington Girls Cross Country team rallied this Thursday afternoon to take home a big win against Reading to finish off the season. Maybe it was the excitement of getting to miss our last block classes or maybe it was the fact that it was 30 degrees, either way we were all shaking with some kind of excitement as we laced up this afternoon.
Everyone completed the pre-race rituals with a seasoned confidence due to it being the one thousandth and third time we have all raced this course. The girls all warmed up with confidence, stretched with confidence and totally remembered their bib numbers but if they didn’t they forgot them with confidence, so it was okay. When the Lexington girls finally sauntered over to the start line, it was clear that the Reading girls didn’t stand a chance.
Just like back in the day when I was a young whippersnapper, there were only two races that went off today, varsity and JV. Although the official was most likely disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to shoot his gun into the sky three times, the Lexington Girls were happy to run all together again like the big happy family we are. Holding hands was not allowed unfortunately due to the global pandemic, but the Lexington Girls might as well have been because they all worked together in a way unseen before. Wave one had some stellar performances as always. But, the real star of the day was Ashley Flipping Taylor who BIG TIME PRed in a very speedy 20:35. My goodness, this girl never ceases to amaze me. Not only is she a great runner and a great kid, she also reads my recaps, so clearly she is a superior human being. Ashley, if you’re reading this, and I know you are… you’re awesome and I can’t wait to see what you do in the future. Next, I would like to give a shout out to the winner of today’s race and also the newly admitted college scholar Anna Nelson who not only had another season PR (20:24) today, but also was accepted into her dream school. They grow up so fast, sniff sniff. Clara Fu had a comeback race today, not that she was ever really struggling but she was back to her absolutely fierce self today as she ran a 20:33, a time that captured her the title of second place today.
Big time performances in the second wave today included Casey Weisburg who ran a pretty fast 22:15 which placed her in the top 8 for Lexington today and led her to a first place finish for the second wave. Next came Cam who turned to me at the start of the race and said, “I’m only running this to warm up”. Well she must’ve warmed up pretty quick because she came in hot with a very respectable 22:32.
Now, I present you a paragraph solely dedicated to this season’s seniors who found a way to make the most out of the crazy conditions they were given. I would like to begin with Zoe Gu who always works super hard and will probably end up ruling the world one day and I am so happy that I got to know the future owner of this planet. Next, Rebecca you are so kind and funny and I love listening to all your stories about running in New Zealand. You make me appreciate running here so much more than I would without your little anecdotes. Nelson, congrats on college dude, that’s so exciting you are going to do great things, I know it. Aylin or should I say AHHHHH-lin, you are hilarious and a very fun workout partner even though you smoke me in the 200s and 100s I forgive you. Good luck with your running beyond high school. Lorelei, when Walgreens decides to sponsor the Lexington Girls Cross Country team, believe me, you will be the first one to know. Keep asking the real questions Lores. Lauren, you bring an unmatchable energy to this team and make sure to keep us all laughing at all times, even if we are running and it makes it very hard to breathe. You all are truly amazing and I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch to spend four years with!
Here I am, sitting in my bed at 11:49pm at night, blessing lexxctf with its last edition of Runner on the Course, now whether I’m getting a bit emotional or not is unimportant. It’s getting past my bedtime and my window of intelligible thoughts is quickly closing, so I will cut to the chase. This team is amazing. The girls that make up this team are amazing. Every day (excuse me, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) we show up and give 100%. It takes a certain person to run mile repeats for the sheer joy of it. Cross country girls are built different. Everyone is so supportive too, I’ve never felt so connected to a group of people before. Maybe it’s that we all have to run up Loring which builds a certain empathy in a person, whatever it is, we all really understand one another and I will miss this so much. This is what the team has always been like and what it always will be like. When I look around at my teammates, I know every single one is going to be a great leader and I can’t wait to see how you each grow into your respective leadership roles.
Ladies, I will miss you. Runner on the Course fans, catch this kiss that I blew you through the screen because I know you will miss me. Not to worry, I will be back at some point. Who knows, maybe you’ll be running up Loring one day and I will jump out from behind a tree or something. Wouldn’t that be fun?
Goodbye and Goodnight <3
Reading Dual Meet
November 19, 2020
Hastings Park - Lexington, MA
GIRLS RESULTS
BOYS RESULTS
LEXINGTON, MA - This past Thursday The Minutemen finished off the 2020 COVID Cross Country season at home against the Reading Rockets. For the boys it was a chance to finish off an undefeated season and clinch sole possession of their second straight Middlesex League Liberty Division Regular Season Championship. Despite turning in their best race of the season, with their top five turning in an average time of 17:06 for their 5k home course, The Minutemen fell by a score of 30-26 to the Rockets. The loss left the boys in a three-way tie with Reading and Arlington - who defeated the Rockets earlier this season - as they all finish the season with a 4-1 record in the Liberty Division. Despite the result, junior Graham Bracken turned in the top performance on the afternoon for The Minutemen. His gutsy race included outkicking Reading junior Robert Squires for second place for a personal best 16:43. On the girls side, LHS had its best race of the season. The Lex girls took the top five places with senior Anna Nelson finishing her high school career in style by taking the tape for the first time in a season best 20:24. In addition to being enough for the victory on Thursday, that time was the fastest turned in by any LHS girl all season. Led by Nelson's efforts the girls breezed to a 15-44 victory over Reading's girls to finish the season 3-1.
"Runner on the Course" by captain Izzy Jakimczyk
Well, well, well. Here we are. Who knew we would make it to this point? The final Runner on the Course. The end of an era that lasted two brief, but certainly thrilling seasons. I promise to go out with a bang.
My recaps are not the only thing that ended on a high note today. The Lexington Girls Cross Country team rallied this Thursday afternoon to take home a big win against Reading to finish off the season. Maybe it was the excitement of getting to miss our last block classes or maybe it was the fact that it was 30 degrees, either way we were all shaking with some kind of excitement as we laced up this afternoon.
Everyone completed the pre-race rituals with a seasoned confidence due to it being the one thousandth and third time we have all raced this course. The girls all warmed up with confidence, stretched with confidence and totally remembered their bib numbers but if they didn’t they forgot them with confidence, so it was okay. When the Lexington girls finally sauntered over to the start line, it was clear that the Reading girls didn’t stand a chance.
Just like back in the day when I was a young whippersnapper, there were only two races that went off today, varsity and JV. Although the official was most likely disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to shoot his gun into the sky three times, the Lexington Girls were happy to run all together again like the big happy family we are. Holding hands was not allowed unfortunately due to the global pandemic, but the Lexington Girls might as well have been because they all worked together in a way unseen before. Wave one had some stellar performances as always. But, the real star of the day was Ashley Flipping Taylor who BIG TIME PRed in a very speedy 20:35. My goodness, this girl never ceases to amaze me. Not only is she a great runner and a great kid, she also reads my recaps, so clearly she is a superior human being. Ashley, if you’re reading this, and I know you are… you’re awesome and I can’t wait to see what you do in the future. Next, I would like to give a shout out to the winner of today’s race and also the newly admitted college scholar Anna Nelson who not only had another season PR (20:24) today, but also was accepted into her dream school. They grow up so fast, sniff sniff. Clara Fu had a comeback race today, not that she was ever really struggling but she was back to her absolutely fierce self today as she ran a 20:33, a time that captured her the title of second place today.
Big time performances in the second wave today included Casey Weisburg who ran a pretty fast 22:15 which placed her in the top 8 for Lexington today and led her to a first place finish for the second wave. Next came Cam who turned to me at the start of the race and said, “I’m only running this to warm up”. Well she must’ve warmed up pretty quick because she came in hot with a very respectable 22:32.
Now, I present you a paragraph solely dedicated to this season’s seniors who found a way to make the most out of the crazy conditions they were given. I would like to begin with Zoe Gu who always works super hard and will probably end up ruling the world one day and I am so happy that I got to know the future owner of this planet. Next, Rebecca you are so kind and funny and I love listening to all your stories about running in New Zealand. You make me appreciate running here so much more than I would without your little anecdotes. Nelson, congrats on college dude, that’s so exciting you are going to do great things, I know it. Aylin or should I say AHHHHH-lin, you are hilarious and a very fun workout partner even though you smoke me in the 200s and 100s I forgive you. Good luck with your running beyond high school. Lorelei, when Walgreens decides to sponsor the Lexington Girls Cross Country team, believe me, you will be the first one to know. Keep asking the real questions Lores. Lauren, you bring an unmatchable energy to this team and make sure to keep us all laughing at all times, even if we are running and it makes it very hard to breathe. You all are truly amazing and I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch to spend four years with!
Here I am, sitting in my bed at 11:49pm at night, blessing lexxctf with its last edition of Runner on the Course, now whether I’m getting a bit emotional or not is unimportant. It’s getting past my bedtime and my window of intelligible thoughts is quickly closing, so I will cut to the chase. This team is amazing. The girls that make up this team are amazing. Every day (excuse me, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) we show up and give 100%. It takes a certain person to run mile repeats for the sheer joy of it. Cross country girls are built different. Everyone is so supportive too, I’ve never felt so connected to a group of people before. Maybe it’s that we all have to run up Loring which builds a certain empathy in a person, whatever it is, we all really understand one another and I will miss this so much. This is what the team has always been like and what it always will be like. When I look around at my teammates, I know every single one is going to be a great leader and I can’t wait to see how you each grow into your respective leadership roles.
Ladies, I will miss you. Runner on the Course fans, catch this kiss that I blew you through the screen because I know you will miss me. Not to worry, I will be back at some point. Who knows, maybe you’ll be running up Loring one day and I will jump out from behind a tree or something. Wouldn’t that be fun?
Goodbye and Goodnight <3