Barons blow away Blazers

OCT. 4, CANDY CANE CITY-

The Bethesda Chevy-Chase Barons outran the Blair boys, 19-40, and girls, 21-40, to claim victory in the last county meet of the season. The defeat leaves the Lady Blazers with a season record of 3-2, and the boys with a record of 0-5.

The loss was a disappointment for the girls; BCC lost to Wooton, Magruder and Gaithersburg, all teams whom the Lady Blazers defeated earlier in the season. The absence of senior speedsters Halsey and Ashlyn Sinclair, who did not run in the race for undisclosed reasons, made an impact on the results. As the sisters are an integral part of the team, their presence in the race likely would have resulted in victory for Blair. Co-captains and seniors Emanuel Waktola and Anna Coughlan each led the Blazers in times of 18:23 and 22:45, respectively.

The Candy Cane City course starts out looping around a field before plunging into the shadier woods, where most of the five-kilometer race is run. Although the course does not feature any hills, as the course winds through the woods, numerous fallen trees lie across the gradually narrow path.

"In terms of the course itself, it was easy because there were no hills. But technically it was difficult because of the large number of turns and small areas of the path," sophomore Joe Rosen said.

Junior Mike Willems agreed with Rosen. "The many confusing twists and turns disoriented runners from both teams and threw off final times," he said.

The Blazers' recent rigorous workouts are another factor resulting in slower times this afternoon. Instead of doing an easy workout or taking a rest day the day before the meet, Blazers ran a rigorous long run. Coaches Carl Lewin and Angelique Bosse are choosing to have the Blazers train through county meets in preparation for more important races, like upcoming invitational and championship meets.

Despite the loss, coach Lewin was happy with the Blazers' progression. "Everyone ran well considering that we were training right through the last meet," he said.

The Blazers' next meet is the Meade Autumn Classic on Friday, October 13.