Boys Cross Country raced in its second meet of the season this past Saturday at the Black Bear Invitational hosted by Coe-Brown Northwood Academy. With the nor’easter looming in the background, Andover runners were prepared for difficult conditions. But as the race approached, the weather maintained an overcast drizzle that provided ideal conditions for running. Andover placed fifth out of 18 teams in the varsity division, led by impressive individual runs from Andover’s top finisher Cameron Butler ’28 at 17:17, who placed 16th overall, and the team’s second-place runner, Lincoln Strandberg ’30, who placed 23rd in 17:47.
The course at Coe-Brown Northwood Academy combined rolling hills with minimal elevation change. Given that this was only the second race of the season, the two created a dangerous formula where the terrain left little room for error. Butler, a team member who has raced at this course once before, described the strategy along with some of the common pitfalls runners face on this course.
“The first section of the course was all flat and downhill, so it’s easy to get swept up by the pack and go out much faster than you should have. The team really needed to be disciplined, get out comfortably, and then pick people off in the back half. [The course] has a lot of rolling hills. It’s a sneaky course. It feels like there are no major hills, but they’ll really creep up on you and pull down your legs, especially in those second and third miles,” said Butler.
Adding to the anticipation was the expected nor’easter weather that struck the eastern seaboard this weekend. Despite the forecast, the Black Bear Invitational continued. Even with rain and minor winds, the weather did little to disrupt Andover’s runners. Captain Henry Zimmerman ’27 described the team’s preparation, as it expected the worst.
“We showed up to the meet prepared for everything the weather could throw at us. We had trash bags, parkas, and I was personally wearing snow pants and brought extra wool socks. But then surprisingly, it didn’t really get bad up there. The rain mainly came after we’d already left. Actually, the conditions on the course were great, it was just a pretty nice day for cross country,” said Zimmerman.
Sebastián Vermut ’27 added to Zimmerman’s comments, sharing the coach’s encouragement before the race.
“We actually love it when it rains. Our coach calls it liquid speed. A lot of sports need perfect conditions to play, but cross country is a natural sport, you only need your legs. For cross country, as long as it’s safe to be out there, no lightning and thunder, we’re out there running,” said Vermut.
These favorable conditions alongside the flat course provided conditions ripe for fast races. Butler led Andover’s scoreboard, placing 23rd in the race and first for the team at a time of 17:17. Zimmerman praised Butler’s performance on Saturday, adding information about their summer training together.
“Cameron Butler ran a season best 17:17, which is just six seconds off his career best. I’d definitely expect a personal best from him soon. I trained with him in the offseason, and he works really hard, so this great run was super well deserved,” said Zimmerman.
Gabriel Arroyo Cisneros ’30 was also a highlight for the team, placing sixth on the squad and 45th overall with a time of 18:19. A Junior, Arroyo Cisneros is part of a strong class of young newcomers that includes EJ Montero ’30 and Strandberg, who have brought fresh excitement to Boys Cross Country. Vermut praised Arroyo Cisneros for his race strategy and strong second-half kick on the tactically difficult course.
“He paced himself really well in the first mile. A lot of people on specifically this course, go out really hard, but Gabriel showed a lot of maturity. Then, as the race went on, he just picked his pace up more and more and more. He negatively split the race, which means his second half was even faster than his first half. He ended up passing 18 people in the latter half of the race. He knew how to execute, it’s not very often you see someone as young as he is, who acts with so much experience,” said Vermut.
Boys Cross Country will have a two week break to train, racing next at Choate on Saturday, October 10.
