Blazers monopolize cross-country meet

WHEATON REGIONAL PARK, September 11--

Both the girls and boys of the Blair cross-country team dashed past Gaithersburg High School. The girls team (1-0) won in a near-sweep of the Trojans (0-1). All the top five Blair girls finished within a minute of one another, with the first place winner, junior captain Sara Shonkwiler, finishing first at 22:28. The boys' team (1-0) also won overall in a slightly close race against Gaithersburg.

The girls' team took six places out of the top seventeen, while the boys took five out of the top seventeen. Head Coach Charlie Demma was glad for the amiable weather, and impressed with both the boys and girls teams performance. "It was awesome with both boys and girls dominating," Demma said.

Junior captain Morgana D'Ottavi finished third in the girls' race. Though she believes she could have finished with a better time, D'Ottavi was content with her standings. "I think that I had a lot left at the end and could definitely have put in more effort and ran harder, especially in the second mile," she said.

Senior captain Michael Ekstrom wasn't sure what to expect of the race against Gaithersburg, who has beaten the Blazers in years past. According to Ekstrom the uneven course presented an additional challenge. "We did not have a very easy course, although the weather was very good," Ekstrom said.

Sophomore Nobel Girmay won second overall in the boys race, and completed the race first for the Blair boys. Ekstrom, Michael McKee, Alex Mangiafico and Darshan Patel finished in a pack, not far behind Girmay.

Demma hopes that the Blazers continue to win consistently and place among other Montgomery County schools. The team has already set goals to achieve by the end of the season. "We want the girls to go to states and for Blair to win its division," Demma said.

The Blair Blazers will take on the Clarksburg Coyotes at 3:30 at Damascus High School on September 19, 2012.