As autumn creeps in, Malden High’s fall sports have begun to get situated into their routines of long practices and game days. The Cross Country team had their first home meet of the season on September 23rd, against Lynn English which resulted in wins for both the boys and the girls.
The meet served as a rebound for the team after their previous meet the week prior against Chelsea, which ended in a loss for the boys but a win for the girls cohort. The 2.8-mile race took place at Pine Banks, where those present could bask in optimal weather under a clear sky on a Wednesday afternoon.
This year, the team saw returning captains, as well as new ones, consisting of seniors Ian Ian Ho, Keira Celicourt, Yingyan Xia, and juniors Dylan Huang, Evan Souders, and Andrew Souders.
With any new season, the departure of graduated seniors and the invitation of new members of the team invite opportunities for the team to bond, rebuild, and establish their community every fall. Captain Ho expressed that this season is seeing an improvement in comparison to last year’s “in terms of team bonding and having a good community.” Ho also elaborated by explaining that she feels that “a lot more people are engaged in it, and they’re willing to kind of be more like a family.”
Aside from social goals, many players on the team share the sentiment that they hold goals to improve their times and performances as runners. Senior Angela Lam, who has been part of the team since her sophomore year, expressed that her biggest goal is to get “at least a 24-minute time,” considering it is her final year, stating she would like to “end on a good note.”
The positivity of the team’s good performance thus far in the season, along with the great weather, set the stage for a great turnout in the race for Malden. The incentive to continue this season’s win record and give their all before it ends is prominent among the runners.
The cross country team joined a group huddle with coach Michael Nicholson for a final pep talk before lining up for the race. As the team lined up in the western corner of the rugby field, they prepared physically and mentally for the countdown to begin.
Runners at Pine Banks followed a series of loops for their race; starting around a baseball and soccer field, leading to a hill for the first loop, finishing the field loops and entering a forest area right before continuing to the hill for the second, then they completed the race, finishing a few yards down from the start, exiting the hilly area.
From the opening stretch, Malden maintained a strong pace, taking the lead and keeping a large, visible gap between them and Lynn English’s runners. To qualify for a team’s win, the majority of the five finishers of each respective gender must win. In this case, the first five male runners were all from Malden, and three out of the five first female finishers were from Malden.
Runner junior Antoine Alce, who is also a Lead Reporter for The Blue and Gold, and Junior Captain Evan Souders were neck and neck for the race, fighting for first place in the final stretch, attempting to out-sprint each other for the title. Alce led the team to the finish line, taking first place overall with a time of 19:04, while Evan Souders finished two seconds later.
Following not far behind was Junior Captain Andrew Souders, who had a time of 19:44, junior Kim Zeng with a time of 19:55, and Junior Captain Huang with a time of 20:13.
Captain Celicourt took first place for the girls’ cohort by finishing in a time of 24:26. Senior Lam and Captain Xia took second and third place for girls with times of 25:22 and 25:40.
As the final runners and rest of the team crossed the finish line, the team celebrated its first home victory of the season. With this home opener now in the books, the runners can now focus on the meets to come and carry that positive momentum of the start of the season forward.
Junior Satvinder Sihdu expressed that this season has been “better than last year” in the sense that he is “much more involved with the team, which allows all of us to push each other to our best selves.”
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