Recently, the Bob Jones cross country team went to sectionals. It was a cold morning, only 42 degrees in full sun. The team got to school at six in the morning, loaded the bus, and headed out for Palmer Park. Only 30 people were on the bus, some racing, some only there for support. The first race was at 8:15, the top ten girls large school race. The girls warmed up at around 7:30, then went back to the tent to prepare for their race. The Bob Jones XC team had already run this course six times, so they were very familiar with the course they would be facing.

Coach Goldsmith, head coach, says that the course is “extremely rough” due to hills and the water from recent rains (a consistent issue during Palmer meets and practices), which made the course challenging for athletes. Meghan Hall says that this was a “bad race, none of the girls PRd.” The challenge for the girls during this race seemed to be the last mile. The course was a there-and-back course with a loop in the middle right after a hill. “For most of the athletes,” says Maddie Shrode, “it was the hill and the false sense of being almost done that made the last mile so much slower.”

For Hannah Thuss, the only girl to move on to state from Bob Jones, the hill had little effect; she finished the race at 21:03. Next was the boys race, same as the girls, only the top ten would be racing. In the end, four boys from Bob Jones qualified for state. Jean-Pierre le Roux finished at 16:50. Bradly Spindle finished at 17:43. James “Gary” Garrison finished at 18 flat. And Shafi Muhammad finished at 17:54. These five athletes will be going to state on Saturday, November 10.

After that, the team is done running until November 19th, when indoor track starts.