On Friday, August 23, the cross country team, dressed in their new uniforms, prepared to dominate their only home meet of the season.
It had been a tradition for our school to host a meet each season until COVID hit. This year, Coach Kevin Lisle and Coach Matt McMurray worked extremely hard to revive the tradition of a high school home meet. Our school’s coaches put on a show like no other, scheduling the meet at night with a fitting name: Marist Twilight.
The teams from Paideia, St. Pius X, and West Forsyth all traveled to our campus for this thrilling two-mile race. Carefully planned out, the course included a lap around the front field, a loop around the baseball field and track, and a final shoot on the front field.
The touchdown taco and Marist Fam did not disappoint, creating an electric environment. Students, decked out in neon, lined up along the start line and finish shoot, “rowing” Tommy Latham into a first place finish in the boys’ varsity race. The energy and enthusiasm of the students, parents, and friends was unmatched.
Adding to the excitement of race day, Lisle designed dri-fit t-shirts as well as custom Marist Twilight medals for the top 20 finishers in each race.
The St. Pius XC head coach even commented on the atmosphere of the race, claiming it was the most exciting race he has ever attended. Not only was the atmosphere electrifying but both the Marist girls and boys had “monster races,” as McMurray would say.
Latham, Liam Hanemann, and Andrew Strickland clinched top three finishes in their race, each breaking the previous school record for two miles and leading our school’s boys team to a victory. The top 7 boys qualified for our school’s all-time top 12 in the XC 2 mile race.
Also clinching first place, the Marist girls team dominated. Nine girls placed in the top 20, with 2 podium finishes and a first-place win by Caroline Rogers. The top seven girls qualified for our school’s all-time top 25 in the XC 2 mile race.
Racing at home was a first for all runners, as the Marist home meet tradition had ended the year before the seniors joined the team. It meant the world to the runners that everyone came out to support them.
A special thanks to Lisle and McMurray for their dedication. Cross Country couldn’t have asked for a better season opener.
