It was a good day to be a Zebra, as the girls' XC teams from Groton and Middlesex faced off on the beautiful Groton home course. The Middlesex varsity team led from start to finish, with freshman Gabby Walsh taking first place for the fourth time this season.  Groton's top two runners ran well together to finish second and third, but the Middlesex pack was close behind, with Julia McClellan, Charlotte O'Toole, Emily Li, and Tess Kelley taking 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th places.  Wani Pandey and Katie Fujimori ran big PR's to finish 6th and 7th for Middlesex. Freshman Maya Sidhu passed a pack of Groton runners in the last 200 meters to run a huge PR and finish first for MX in the JV scoring, ahead of all but one Groton JV runners. She was followed by a pack of teammates, as Alene Fernandes, Laura Kaye, and Annika Stewart finished within seconds of each other as the next JV finishers for Middlesex.  Freshman Nina Douge ran her first race of the season after coming back from an injury, finishing seconds ahead of teammate Imani Marcelo.  Mary Odusami, Iris Kim, and Alejandra Chavez also all ran best times, working together through the course.  We were happy to see the triumphant return of Emily Penaloza, finishing her first race of the season.  The team is making great strides in speed, fitness, and spirit as we head into the last phase of the season.