What a day for Fay cross country! After a 10 day racing hiatus, the weather was finally in our favor. Conditions were perfect for racing, and the Fay moose were eager to test out the Roxbury Latin course. With a field of over 60 runners, our team had their work cut out for them. 
The race began with a tight turn after about 1/8th mile, and the field began to string out. Matt Thalmann, Christian Schoen, and Kent Ellertson were all in the mix in the lead pack. Marissa Feller, Aidan Baxter, and James Towne trailed closely behind. The Roxbury Latin course consists of two 1-mile loops, and Matt Thalmann came through the 1st mile (leading the race) in 5:49! That "killer hill" workout from last Monday certainly paid off. 
After the second loop, Matt Thalmann emerged from the woods, just on the tails of one Roxbury Latin runner. The cheering quickly got the best of Matt and he began his final kick, winning the race in a time of exactly 12 minutes. This is one of the fastest times run on the R.L. course in the past few years! Congratulations to Matt.
Thirty-nine seconds later, seventh grader Christian Schoen bolted across the finish line (12:39), followed very closely by eigth grader Kent Ellerston (12:43). Aidan Baxter (8th grade) and Marissa Feller (8th grade; first female overall) rounded out the top 5 for Fay, running the best race of their seasons so far. Aidan and Marissa pushed each other throughout the race and finished neck-and-neck in 19th and 20th place. 
James Towne (9th grade) deserves a standing ovation for his solid performance at this meet, as he returned early from secondary school visits to compete in the race. James finished 25th overall, with a time of 14:19. Fiona Sleight (8th grade) also had the best race of her season; she gets faster every week!
Congratulations to all Fay runners for their hard work at Roxbury Latin!