Anoush Shehadeh ’15 beat her previous record time of 17:34 with an impressive time of 17:17 at Interschols on Saturday, maintaining her undefeated streak and leading Andover Girls Cross Country to a third place finish among 14 teams.
Shehadeh came in first place and beat the second palce runner by 26 seconds.
Peyton McGovern ’16 finished with the second best time for Andover with a time of 19:43, placing 23rd. Captain Hailey Novis ’13 followed close behind in 28th place. Qiqi Ren ’15 and Parker Tope ’16 rounded out Andover’s top five runners.
Andover finished behind Deerfield and Choate at the meet, which was hosted by Loomis Chaffee.
Saturday’s meet were accompanied by ideal running conditions. The weather was clear and breezy, and the course was firm and fast for the runners competing in the race.
“The course was flat, but it had a gradual incline that you could feel as you got near the end of the race,” said Graydon Tope ’14.
Andover’s JV squad placed first out of 13 teams.
Evelyn Tackett ’15 finished first in the JV meet with a time of 20:26. Anna Kramer ’16 and Rachel Wittenberg ’13 finished in second and third, respectively.
Andover’s finish was a comeback from last year, when the team finished in a disappointing eighth place. Next season, the team will miss the leadership of its current Seniors, but the success of the JV group shows promise for next year’s season.
On Tuesday, the team elected Graydon Tope as next year’s captain. With her leadership and the force of young talent that Andover will carry over to the 2013 season, the team hopes to continue its improvement.
