Cross-Country traveled to St.Paul's today with many new runners. Caroline McGowan '27, Kyara Cruz '26, Alex Reynolds '28, JT Torres '28, Sierra Jean '26, Reagan Lorio '26, Penelope Garth '26, Carly Lorio '26, Eliza Cote '27, and Bella Simeone '26 all showed up and ran great races as new harriers, with Simeone shining bright in her debut with a second place finish overall in a field of 81 girls. After a year's hiatus, junior Eloise Colhoun '27 is back and secured a key third position for the team, and veteran Catherine Vierzen '28 ran smart and hard from the gun, winning the race overall, boosting the girls to a second place finish!

On the boys' side, new runners Ahmed Rabie '26, David Ojesanmi '27, Henry Kaser '28, Emmanuel Fosu '27, Massimo Scorza '29, Myke Brown '28, and Hayes Thompson '28 had great races as first time competitors with Thompson breaking the top 20 of a 100 runner field. Veterans Elliot Irwin-Pokorny '27 and Max Preuss '26 (back after a year away for Ocean Classroom) rounded out the boys' race. Preuss led much of the race with a pack of eight St. Paul's School racers and hung on for a strong second place overall finish! The boys landed in fourth place overall of nine teams. 

Next up on the schedule is the Manchester Invitational on Saturday the 20th for Preuss and Vierzen, and then our home opener on Wednesday the 24th for all. Fans are welcome!

With newly elected girls' captain Catherine Vierzen out with a bad cold, boys' captain Max Preuss would be the Hornet's sole representative at New Hampshire's biggest and most competitive cross-country race, the Manchester Invitational. 48 teams came from all over the state, with many from Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts also toeing the line. There were 2700 athletes racing in one of several categories. Preuss was up against 304 of the best varsity runners in the small school (under 1000 students) division. Over a dry and dusty course on a beautiful, sunny day in the mid 60s, Preuss followed the race plan and smartly paced himself over the hilly course, passing several runners in the final 400m and ending up with a 17:52 and 34th place finish. Next up is a much smaller meet on the 24th. We're looking forward to our first home race of the season!

Much needed light rain cooled runners from KUA, Dublin, Vermont, and Cardigan as they joined us for the first meet of the season on our home course. 

The boys ran first, with Max Preuss demolishing the field in a course personal best of 17:54 and over three minutes ahead of the next finisher! Myke Brown and Emmanuel Fosu were our next scorers in 25th and 26th, with Henry Kaser rounding out the scoring for the Hornets in 27th and putting the boys in 4th place. David Ojesanmi finished the race feeling good in the lungs but battling fatigue in the lower legs, while Massimo Scorza toughed out a race-long side cramp to round out Proctor's crew.

Catherine Vierzen led from the gun as well, steadily distancing herself from the rest of the pack and proving her form is returning after a recent bout with illness, breaking the line in a solid 22:04. Bella Simeone toughed out Proctor's mountain twice to finish next, while Eloise Colhoun, after a year's hiatus, came out of XC retirement and showed remarkable speed and return to form, coming in only 20 seconds after Bella to help propel the girls to a first place team finish! Penelope Garth was our next runner in 11th, and Eliza, Sierra, and JT formed another nice pack of Proctor finishers in 13th, 14th, and 15th places. Reagan came in just over the thirty minute mark in 17th, with Alex one second behind in 18th. Kyara showed great endurance and grit around the course and finished 22nd. Congratulations to all runners. It's always a great day to be a Hornet!

Sunny skies with temperatures in the 60s provided a beautiful day for the Hornets’ contest against many other league schools in Canaan at host Cardigan Mountain School today. The course offered many surfaces and elevations, with something for everybody to enjoy. After two laps the winner, girls’ captain Catherine, throwing down a blazing finishing sprint, had no other competitors in sight. In fact, the next racer across the line a couple of minutes later was her very own teammate Bella, who kept her streak of team second place finishes alive. Penelope, Reagan, and Alex, finished next for the team, hand in hand, beaming smiles of joy as they crossed the tape. Caroline McGowan put in a fast final sprint, almost catching the racer in front of her. It was her best race to date! The girls came in a close second to rival Dublin School. 

On the boys’ side, Proctor’s first runner dominance would continue with team captain Max running like he’d seen a ghost (he did claim to hear footsteps behind him the first lap), breaking the tape in what was surely (though at press time I cannot confirm this) a course record in 17:33. Next up came Emmanuel with a breakthrough race where he ran a negative split (faster the second half of the race). Keeping each other company and also running negative splits were David and Henry. 

All in all, another great day of racing for the Proctor Hornet Harriers!

The hornets stung on the Hornets' home course today, causing several racers to up their speed in the hopes of avoiding the furious creatures' grasp. It wasn't just the little ones who came out on the attack, however; the Proctor Hornets did their own damage as well. 

Captain Catherine ran a gutsy race, sticking with eventual race winner Aedyn Kourakos (SPS) for most of the way and notching an all-time personal record (PR) on the course in 21:26. Despite having another bad cold, Eloise surprised herself and came in second for the team. Not only that, she PR'd on the course as well! Rounding out the score came Bella a half minute later. Bella pushed herself to the edge and, despite some struggles, continued on and finished valiantly in 13th, helping the girls secure second place out of a nine team field.  Penelope would cross the finish line next in a course personal best 28:17. Reagan Lorio cut the most time off her PR on the girls' side, shaving off 1:48 from two weeks ago. Sierra and JT ran the entire course this time and also lowered their PRs. Carly, out injured on our first home race, debuted magnificently in 31:22, followed by fellow home course debutante Caroline, who similarly showed strength and courage over the two laps of Proctor's unforgiving trails. Kyara finished next and subtracted a minute from her PR, all in all a great showing from the girls' team. 

Captain Max started his race intelligently, with a pack of SPS runners a step or two behind. After one lap, Max had had enough and turned it up a notch, putting some distance on his pursuers and breaking the tape in an overall course record and PB course record of 17:47. Hayes, in his first race on the home course, started fast and suffered but did not give up. He put in a good effort overall and finished next for the Hornets in 21:59. Elliott, who had not raced the course in two years, put his game face on and ran strong, finishing third for the boys. Rounding out the boys' finishers today was Henry, improving an incredible two minutes and six seconds from two weeks ago with a 25:59. Training pays off! 

Penelope finished first for the Proctor girls over KUA's infamously hilly 5k on a blustery day that felt a little more like fall. Reagan, Alex, and Caroline followed, all content with their achievement of conquering the challenging course. On the boys' side, Hayes crossed the line first for Proctor's squad, followed by Henry. Ahmed, coming back from injury, completed the one lap race. Next up will be the Capital Area Championships for four Hornet harriers on Thursday.

Proctor's four varsity runners ran with guts on Merrimack Valley High School's flat course in chilly, blustery weather Thursday as they took on top racers from the Capital Area in the 48th edition of the Capital
Area Invitational.  After a Junior Varsity race, it was time for the Varsity Boys with captain Max Preuss '26 and Elliot Irwin-Pokorny '27 toeing the line.  Elliot ran steady from the gun, pushing himself to one of his best times of the season. Max ran with no fear, pushing his body so hard his mind had difficulty keeping up, leading him to believe at one point, with a km or two left, that he was about to finish! When Max saw the finish wasn't there, he just kept up that pace and crossed the line in an all-time personal best of 16:37, smashing his previous best
time on the course by a minute as well.  The Varsity Girls endured ten minutes buffeted about by cold winds
before finally the race started. The pack came out fast. Eloise Colhoun '27, continuing a stunning come-back season after her foray into soccer last year, raced hard and came through in a personal 5k best of 22:30. Teammate and captain Catherine Vierzen '28, had a great start and maintained a strong position throughout. By the time she crossed the line, the clock ticked 20:22, a minute improvement over Catherine's time on the course last year. Catherine also cracked the top ten with a 7th place. Congratulations, Hornets!

As our course tour was coming to a close at Franklin Falls on Wednesday, thunder rumbled in the distance. The team scampered to safety in the buses as rain and hail came down hard. After a couple of lightning-risk delays, the Tilton School hosts decided to call the race. While we were disappointed, we look forward to the opportunity
for a quality workout Thursday and to the Lakes Region Championship on Wednesday, the 29th at Holderness.

Sunny skies and temperatures in the 50s made it a great day both to run, coach, and spectate. The girls started strong and ran smart, placing three runners in the top twelve (Catherine in 2nd, Bella in 6th, and Eloise in 12th), with Penelope coming later and displacing other teams’ scoring runners. Reagan ran a strong race, coming in just behind Penelope, and Carly and Alex, despite each battling pain, finished together over the unforgiving rollercoaster woodland course, proud of their accomplishment. The girls ended up second overall for the whole season, scored the first win of Holderness Day (while SPS ended the day first, Proctor beat Holderness), and happily accepted their plaque at the awards ceremony, with Bella and Catherine also taking medals as All Lakes Region runners. The boys worked the pain and raced well, also earning an All Lakes Region medal in 4th place finisher Max. Elliot, Hayes, and Henry--with his best race of the year--finished out the scoring runners. Ahmed, back after a long absence due to injury, rallied for this race and gave it a great effort as well. 

While the Lakes Region competition is over, we have a select group of the squad who will continue racing on the 8th for the NEPSAC Division III Championships in Attleboro, MA.