A banner day for Boy’s Middlesex Cross Country team!  It was the first time, in at least 30 years, a Middlesex runner won the ISL Championship.  James finished the race in 16:41, the third fastest time ever on the Brooks course.  This feat is all the more impressive when one considers that the course was still soggy and muddy from the recent snow storm.  It's also worth noting that James began the season with mono, missed the first two races, and had to make his way back into competition very cautiously.  



Garrett,Jame'scompanion at arms, finished 3rd in the race (at 16:56), though he might have gained 2nd place but for an act of "sportsmanship."   The runner in front of Garret, a Belmont Hill competitor chasing James, seemed to pass out at a point very close to the finish line.  But that boy managed to get himself up and stagger towards the line.  Rather than racing past the B.H.runner and taking the place that was now "his" to claim, Garret - a very determined competitor - decided to pull up and let the B.H. runner finish in front of him.  Many would argue that Garret should have kept on running regardless - after all, there were three St. Mark's runners bearing down on him, and we couldn't afford to be giving places away.  But Garret chose to do otherwise.  As a result, he lost 2nd place in that race, but he gained a finer place in the hearts and memories of runners and coaches throughout the league.