Focusing pg 2 9-19-19
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POMFRET — The Pomfret School boys’ cross country team kicked off the season at the Tabor Invitational against the host school, their fellow ISL rival Rivers, and Dexter and finished fourth. Tabor and Rivers are often atop the ISL, while Dexter represented more even competition. Given that it was the first race of the season, Pomfret focused on running a smart race, practicing rhythmic running breathing, and being especially aggressive in the second and third miles.
As anticipated at the starter’s signal, Tabor’s phalanx of athletes struck to the front. Pomfret did well to carve out safe running space in the dash to the first bend in the course - knowing that the race isn’t won in the first 100 meters, but can be lost by getting tripped up in the churn of some 100 legs.
Senior co-captain Jeffrey Gibbs, coming off a last fall’s strong second-year effort, picked up where he left off and set the pace with a conservative 6-minute first mile. Fellow co-captain and junior Blake Zahansky shadowed Jeffrey a few seconds behind. They would finish 1-2 for Pomfret. A strong contingent of sophomores — Cooper Ames, Kellen Horst, Jacob Marasco, and Cole Hecker — ran boldly and in a near pack all along the mostly level race course At the finish, Kellen and Cooper, who had run side by side the whole way,- sprinted to the line. Cooper was able to squeeze by Kellen by a couple of seconds. The seventh and final varsity Griffin to cross the line was four-year senior stalwart, Jack Terwilliger.
Jeffrey’s 18:55 finish was good for 8th place, and Blake earned a top 15 finish. With Jack’s experience and this core of determined sophomores, Pomfret proved competitive despite finishing in fourth place.
The JV finishers, in their own way, were equally impressive. Second-year sophomore, Ian Wolanin earned a PR (personal record). Junior Danny Wang and Senior Kevin Li beat last year’s Tabor time approximately two minutes. The lone brave freshman on the team, Bill Tian impressed with a gritty first 5K distance XC race and rookie sophomore Terry Kim also put in a fine effort in his inaugural race donning the Pomfret singlet.
Final Team Scores: Tabor 24, Rivers 35, Dexter 79, Pomfret 92.
By David Ring
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