V: Mx 37; N 21
JV: Mx 29; N 28
 
Middlesex hosted Nobles on our home course in the only meet this season when the girls have the course to ourselves. It was an unseasonably warm and sunny day for the first day after the autumn equinox, but the runners faced the conditions with composure and tenacity. Unfortunately, perennial powerhouse Nobles bested us in the team scores of both races.
 
Valiant efforts by members of a deep and talented JV fell just short of Nobles in the scoring. Freshman Jillian Robertson ran a determined race to win the JV contest in style. Classmates Meena Menon and Calie Brady (in her debut race!) followed together not long after, while senior Katie Powers, freshman Amelia Stevens (running a huge PR), junior Soleil Kerfoot, senior captain Alice Crow, and sophomore Nina Douge worked well as a pack to finish within thirty seconds of one another and ahead of the Nobles 5th JV runner. Also notable is the improvement of freshman Shreya Jain. Congratulations to sophomore Hayden Monahan, freshmen Nina Gong and Eliza Hirsch, and junior Veronica DeMornay-O'Neal for completing their first races.  While this race did end in a loss, it does represent the closest finish to the Nobles JV the team has posted since the separate races began four years ago. 
 
In the varsity race, Sophomore Gabby Walsh ran a smart race to finish third, while junior Maud McCole again ran an impressive PR to come in fourth. Juniors Katie Fujimori (in her first race this season) and Charlotte O'Toole and senior captain Emily Li were tough runners on a tough day, staying focused on the race all the way to the finish line to round out the team scoring, although they were unable to beat an extremely strong pack from Nobles.  Sophomore Maya Sidhu and junior Wani Pandey had solid finishes for the varsity squad. 
 
The team was greatly helped by the assistance of teammates who were unable to run, while the coaches (including Mr. Caspar of boys' cross-country), athletic staff, and wonder-manager Valerie Chen worked hard to ensure that the meet and scoring went smoothly.  We look forward to a shortened week of training before heading to Milton (where we have not raced for some time!) with our fast-improving boys' team on Friday.