By Niles Lashway

In the first meet of the season, senior stalwart Andrew Montgomery won the Gettysburg Cross Country Invitational with a time of 16:35 and fellow senior Orie Bumgarner posted the best time of his career with a time of 17:55 and finished 18^th out of 166 varsity runners at Gettysburg High School last Saturday.

Future captains Jon Byers and Chad O’Hara also produced encouraging times.
 

The girls’ team finished fourth overall by placing six runners in the top 50. Senior captain Luisa Fairfax ran a strong race to top the Mason standings with a 15th place finish in 21:46. Promising sophomores Emily Walden, Kristen Schwind, and Jessie Porzel also recorded fast times. Head coach Julie Bravin and assistant coach Smith were impressed with both team’s performances and the fact that the teams were not overwhelmed by the size of the competition. The team has a meet today at Falls Church High School, their first-ever test against local AAA schools.

Freshman Catherine Duarte, right, pursues a competitor in  Saturday’s first cross country meet of the season last Saturday  at Gettysburg High School. (Photo by Mary Kanashiro)