This past Saturday, the Girls Cross Country team defeated Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter) in the Varsity race, 25-30. This was the last home meet of the season and, for many departing Seniors, the last home meet of their Andover careers. Displayed throughout the course were the Senior posters, which teammates signed with words of gratitude and praise, a testament to the strong team camaraderie amid a bittersweet moment.
According to Claire Bancroft ’28, the race was full of spirit. Andover Drumline played throughout the sanctuary, keeping the energy high with loud drumbeats echoing across the course.
“It was super hyped up compared to the other races. People were cheering us on. When I was racing, it was like I was part of a community. It wasn’t just me on my own,” said Bancroft.
Although many runners were injured, they still contributed to the team environment by cheering on their teammates as they passed by. Claire Donovan ’29 described the supporters who came decked out in Andover attire.
“A lot of people [with injuries] showed up. They brought speakers, [and] they had a bunch of blue clothes on. They were screaming at us while we were racing. Even though not everybody was able to compete, I feel like we were still able to come together and support each other as a team,” said Donovan.
The Andover/Exeter meet, with races for both Varsity and JV, marked the successful conclusion of some runners’ high school cross-country experiences. Although JV lost in a nail-biter, Bancroft emphasized that the positive atmosphere and energy were just as strong as in varsity.
“Because we were entering championship season, we decreased the intensity of our workouts, and we adjusted our practices leading up to Saturday by having three easy days before the race day, instead of the usual two easy days. We had a hard workout on Monday, instead of the usual Tuesday workout, because we wanted to start decreasing load, while focusing more on speed in short circuits,” said Jung.
Being there for your teammates is critical to any team’s success. This notion was particularly accentuated when the team gathered to discuss their race strategy against Exeter. Donovan emphasized the huge impact these uplifting words had on the team.
“When our coaches were talking to us about the plan for tomorrow and getting ready, one thing that they really stressed was relying on your teammates. It really helped a lot of girls, because we saw everybody cheering for their teammates. We had two different races, so we were able to cheer for the girls in the other race,” said Donovan.
Jung described key contributor Amelia Alvazzi ’26’s win, placing first with a time of 18:18. This invigorated the team’s varsity runners to pass Exeter runners in the last seconds, with four Andover runners placing within five seconds of an Exeter runner.
“[Alvazzi] was the first on our team, and she won. She did a really good job of securing first place for us and all of the runners, JV and Varsity. The varsity top five runners did a good job of keeping the Exeter girls at bay and getting the least amount of points possible for us to win,” said Jung.
Girls Cross Country will race at Taft for NEPSTA Cross Country Championships this Saturday.
