CROSS COUNTRY EXCELLENCE!
27Β Mustang runners (10 girls, 17 boys) competed this weekend in the Alexander HS ASICS Invitational at Fox Hill Farms Sporting Club in Douglasville, Georgia. This track is normally one of the faster courses we run, and this year’s race lived up to that reputation, as cooler (albeit humid) temperatures and overcast skies revealed a flat and fast course which yielded extremely competitive races. Simply put, our team had a phenomenal day, with 15 Mustangs setting PRs, and our top 2 runners re-setting school records.
The boys varsity team came in 4th place out of 14 schools in the 1A-4A division, an improvement from 6th out of 17 schools in 2016. The top 5 boys averaged 19:11, slightly slower than last year’s average of 19:07, but certainly impressive, as we were missing two of our top runners. The girls varsity team placed 9th out of 11 schools in the 1A-4A division, and the top 5 girls averaged 23:55, an improvement of 9 seconds from 2016.
This year, Mount Vernon fielded a boys team for the new 9th/10th combined race, instead of a more traditional JV race. The top 5 9th/10th boys averaged 24:11 and, with such a young group, the entire team should feel very confident about the future of MVXC. We did not enter in the 9th/10th girls race or in the combined JV race at followed.
Nick Pierce (17:17) led the way for the varsity boys, placing 3rd overall, and smashing the school record of 17:41, which he previously held. Nick was followed by Jason Harvey (18:49), Matthew Duncan (19:51), Alston Schmelzer (19:59), and Ryan Rapaport (20:00).
In a first for MVXC, Emily Raeside (19:13) ran in an extremely competitive Girls Championship race, with runners from all Regions and divisions competing against each other. Her time of 19:13 is also a new school record, besting the previous mark of 19:39 (also held by Emily). In the girls varsity race, Josie Meade (21:32) led the way, followed in quick succession by Emery Dikeman (23:18), Maya Munoz (23:28), Aria Morrill (25:30), and Nina Toller (25:48).
15 Mustangs PR’d in this race, with special shout outs going to Abbott Wright, who lowered his PR by almost 2 minutes, Jack Duerr, who lowered his PR by almost 3 minutes, Ryan Rapaport, who lowered his PR by over 3 minutes, and McLaren Christensen, who cut a whopping 7:17 off his time, with a new PR of 28:01.
Of the 13 Mustangs who raced in the ASICS meet in 2016 and 2017, 8 were faster in 2017, and the average time of all 13 runners was 23:30, 2:12 seconds faster than in 2016.
| New all-time XC PRs: | New PR | Old PR | Improvement | |
| Emily | Raeside | 0:19:13 | 0:19:39 | 0:00:26 |
| Josie | Meade | 0:21:32 | 0:21:59 | 0:00:27 |
| Emery | Dikeman | 0:23:18 | 0:23:50 | 0:00:32 |
| Maya | Munoz | 0:23:28 | 0:23:55 | 0:00:27 |
| Aria | Morrill | 0:25:30 | 0:25:38 | 0:00:08 |
| Nick | Pierce | 0:17:17 | 0:17:41 | 0:00:24 |
| Jason | Harvey | 0:18:49 | 0:19:28 | 0:00:39 |
| Ryan | Rapaport | 0:20:00 | 0:23:16 | 0:03:16 |
| Abbott | Wright | 0:20:07 | 0:21:46 | 0:01:39 |
| Carson | Bargeron | 0:20:12 | 0:21:01 | 0:00:49 |
| Paxton | Scherger | 0:23:08 | 0:23:12 | 0:00:04 |
| Alec | Johnson | 0:24:08 | 0:25:26 | 0:01:18 |
| Jack | Duerr | 0:24:26 | 0:27:13 | 0:02:47 |
| Gibson | Mack | 0:26:43 | 0:26:55 | 0:00:12 |
| McLaren | Christensen | 0:28:01 | 0:35:18 | 0:07:17 |
VOLLEYBALL SUCCESS!
Varsity volleyball finished 3rd in the area tournament hosted by the Wesleyan School. The Mustangs beat Paideia, AIS, and Galloway on their way to a second straight appearance in the state tournament.Β Zoe Stupek and Katie Peddle were named to the 5A All-Area team. Β
Ranked in the Top 100, the season was highlighted by many great accomplishments. The team finished 22-13 for the regular season, Zoe Stupek reached 1000 digs for her career, and Katie Peddle is leading the team in kills with 266 to date. Β
The Mustangs will travel to face First Presbyterian Day on October 12 at 5:30PM for the first round of the state playoffs. They will be sent off through a student spirit tunnel.
In addition and equally stellar, Middle School Gold Volleyball was runner-up at the Metro 10 Championships!
