The Andover Boys Cross Country team won the Canterbury Invitational for the eighth year in a row despite a tough racecourse and the illness of several vital team members. The young team, comprised of Uppers, Lowers, one Junior, and one Senior, had high expectations going into the race. These expectations were threaded with excitement, as the team was about to race Loomis Chaffee, who had a PG addition to the team this year. The race began with a fast start, but the team was able to hold its own and each runner completed the first hilly mile between 5:00 and 5:20. “When the field of runners entered the sloping hayfields that comprise most of the second mile, new Upper Renat Zalov took the overall lead, followed closely by the Loomis Chaffee PG Tully Hannan,” recounted head coach Jonathan Stableford. “The next twenty runners included all seven Andover runners. All we had to do was hold our grip on this front and we would be fine,” Stableford added. Although the boys had a strong finish, the second mile was by far the toughest part for the team. Patrick Wolber ’11, ran the race sick, and when the second mile came around, Tim McLaughlin ’11 replaced him as second Andover runner. Nick Kearns ’11, a runner who Stableford called “a brilliant addition” was the runner behind McLaughlin, while James Hamilton ’12 and Matt Appleby ’11 worked together against the pack of non Andover runners which included three runners from both the Hill School and Blair Academy. Zalov, the first place Andover finisher, was passed by Hannan in the third mile, but he still finished the race with a time of 17:12 on an extremely tough course. “The race felt good for the first two miles, and then I lost it at the hill right after the second mile. But there is nothing more rewarding than holding that championship trophy with your teammates, and the accomplishment that I felt when I first put on the Andover singlet: to be part of a solid running program,” said Zalov. The Andover boys overcame their challenging second mile when Kearns passed McLaughlin and a few other competitors at the end of the race. Hamilton and Appleby re-passed runners who had previously passed them, and bettered the team’s score by eight points in doing so. The final results were Zalov in 4th place, with a time of 17:12; Kearns, 11th, 17:48; McLaughlin, 12th, 17:52; Hamilton, 15th, 17:59; Appleby, 21st, 18:11; Wolber, 28th, 18:18; and Boyle, 34th, 18:44. Although this race did not go exactly as anticipated due to illness, the depth of the Andover Boys Cross Country team came through. They managed to win the Canterbury Invitational for the eighth year in a row, without any seniors on their squad. “We relied on our depth to step forward, and we could have taken the winners’ trophy home with any combination of our top seven runners,” said Stableford. Captain Geoff Kwok ’10 said, “We didn’t have the places that we wanted but we still managed to win the race. It goes to show that we can come back from sickness and still push ourselves to a win.” This Saturday the entire team will race together at the Andover Development Invitational, where the team will expose its immense depth once again.
