The OM Cross Country Season is off to a very strong start for the boys team, while the girls have showed as much resilience and fight as the boys. The boys have captured first place on two separate occasions and finished in second place on two separate occasions

     The girls took home sixth place in the Prince George’s County Invitational on September 16. The boys team is led by junior star Frederick Eiland II as well as the fleet-footed senior Anders Chattin, while the girls are led by a talented group including senior Grace Chaverini and sophomore Caitlyn Wenholz.

     The season opened on September 6 with a three-team meet that featured the Scorpions facing off with Atholton and River Hill. The boys placed second in the 3000 meter race, while the girls placed third.

     Three days later, the teams competed in the Howard County Invitational, a three mile race that featured twenty-three teams. The Scorpions finished in eighth place; mainly due to Eiland’s team-best time of 16:52.6. The girls were led by Wenholz’s impressive time of 23:20.01.

     The following week, on the 16th, the boys ran away with first place at the Prince George’s County Invitational. Eiland and Chattin placed fourth and fifth respectively while Jared Nguyen placed eighth. Joel Bernstein and Jack Pazin finished in thirteenth and fourteenth in the same race.

     Chaverini led the way for the girls—who as a team finished in sixth place—with a 24:00.35 mark in the 5000 meter race, good enough for fourteenth place out of seventy-seven total runners.

     The next match was just as impressive for the boys, as they finished first for the second consecutive week, this time at the Chesapeake Invitational on September 23. Eiland led the way again, with a third-place finish overall, while Chattin (9th place), Nguyen (10th place), and Pazin (15th place) also had outstanding performances.

     The Scorpions weren’t finished, however, as the boys won yet again, this time in a three-team meet against Glenelg and Wilde Lake on September 26. Frederick Eiland II recorded his first first-place finish of the season, as he completed the 5,000 meter run with an impressive time of 17:42. Overall, seven of the top nine spots were won by Scorpions. Chaverini led the way for the girls, as she notched a ninth-place finish with a time of 23:31.

     The boys’ quest for a four-peat fell just short the following week, as they instead settled for a second-place finish in the Scorpion Crawl on October 6 at Oakland Mills High School. Eiland continued his dominance with yet another top ten finish. Nguyen continued his solid season by finishing in seventh place.

     The Scorpions’ next meet was on October 18 where they competed in a three-team meet against the likes of Reservoir and Centennial. The Scorpions struggled a bit, as both the boys’ and girls’ teams finished in third place. Eiland and Chattin placed in the top ten for the boys, while Chaverini and Wenholz placed in the top fifteen for the girls in the 5000 meter race. From there, the Scorpions will compete in the Howard County Championships on October 25.

(all scores courtesy of atheles.net)