Cross Country Nuggets
by Jim Flint
Royer’s Winning Streak Continues
LYNDONVILLE ̶ Hazen Union senior Cassandra Royer notched her second consecutive victory September 27, at a meet hosted by Lyndon Institute. Royer covered the hilly 5k course in 22:33. She outdistanced runner-up Samantha Hensel of Lyndon Institute by a minute. Teammate Chloe Dyer competed in her first girls cross country meet. The ninth-grader finished in 36:58.
Manny Fliegelman led the Wildcat boys with a ninth-place finish among 31 entries. His time was 22:27. Fellow ninth-grader Daniel Pougnier placed 15th in 23:30. Senior Gabriel Aubuchon (28:20) and sophomore Lewis LaPierre (28:38) rounded out the Hazen Union boys varsity squad.
In the 2.5k middle school race, Kiah Cloutier placed third of 26 boys in 11:29. Eliza Bunten placed sixth of 26 middle school girls. She crossed the finish line in 13:44.
Hilltopper Girls Second in Three-way Meet
ST. JOHNSBURY ̶ St. Johnsbury Academy hosted Mount Mansfield Union High School and Bellows Free Academy St. Albans for a three-way meet on September 30. BFA’s Kaitlyn Lumbra won the girls division in 20:41. Ella McEntee, from Mount Mansfield, was the runner-up in 22:01.
Ruth Krebs, from Craftsbury, placed third for St. Johnsbury Academy. Her time was 22:01. Ava Purdy, from Greensboro, captured 11th place for the Hilltoppers with a 5k time of 24:39.
Mount Mansfield won the meet with 33 points. St. Johnsbury Academy finished a close second with 34 points. BFA rounded out the team competition with 71 points.
Krebs Runs Personal Best 5k at Manchester
MANCHESTER, N.H. – ̶St. Johnsbury Academy junior Ruth Krebs is still finding out how fast she can run. Krebs lives in Craftsbury. She competes on the Hilltoppers cross country team.
On September 23, at the prestigious Manchester Invitational, Krebs set a new personal best 5k mark of 20:39. She took nearly two minutes off her previous 5k record of 22:26 set on September 13. Competing in the large school division, Krebs placed 41st of 172 varsity girls.
Ava Purdy, from Greensboro, finished 103rd for St. Johnsbury Academy. The senior finished in a season’s best 5k time of 22:27. The Hilltopper girls placed 14th of 26 teams at the meet.
