Captain Sean Hamilton ’06 led the Varsity Boys Cross Country team to a crushing victory over Choate, racing through the finish line in a time of 16:59. Despite the downpour of rain that significantly slowed Saturday’s race, Andover pulled through and won 20- 35. It was the first dual meet of the season, and as the race began, and athletes splashed across the soaked Great Lawn, Andover and Choate looked evenly matched. When runners reached the first log cabin hill of the sanctuary, Captain Hamilton jetted ahead, establishing a significant lead from the rest of the pack. Andover dominated the competition, placing five runners out of the top seven. Ben Bramhall ’07 ran a remarkable race, overcoming a rival Choate runner in the last mile and racing to a second place finish overall in a time of 17:15. Only one Choate runner separated Bramhall from Kentaro Watari ’07, who sprinted in with a time of 17:25, capturing an admirable fourth place finish. Watari said, “We were excited about running in the rain, and our team, both the Varsity and JV, was much stronger and better trained than Choate this weekend.” A rival Choate runner took fifth place, but Dave Wilson ’09 and Addison Godine ’07 finished close behind. Wilson and Godine finished in sixth and seventh place, sprinting past a pack of three winded Choate runners, and finishing at 17:50 and 17:55, respectively. The pair’s placement ensured Andover’s sizeable win over Choate, who failed to come up with enough to compete against the strong Andover pack. Although the race was a successful one, the terrible weather conditions made for slower times than usual on the sodden, slippery track. Said Godine of the race strategy, “Everyone on our side did what they needed to, but no one hit personal record [times] because of the weather. In a race like that, it’s about beating the kids on the other team rather than about running really fast times.” It was also a successful day for the Andover JV athletes. Originally, a separate race was planned for the JV athletes, but the rainy weather and delayed start time resulted in a combined Varsity and JV race. If the JV had been scored, Andover would have completely swept Choate’s JV with a perfect score for Andover. Coming off a prolonged injury, Nick Bowen ’05 led Andover’s second pack into the finish line with a time of 18:50. Geoff Martin ’07 and Dave Heighington ’06 finished together at 18:58 and 18:59. In his debut race of the season, Mike Discenza ’09 followed in at 19:00, and Greg Hsu ’06 finished in 19:03. This week, Andover trained through the rainy weather in anticipation of its first away dual meet against Brooks this Saturday. Though the Brooks course is known to be a hilly one, Andover looks forward to a challenging race against a local rival.
