Two Keys cross country teams dodged finicky September South Florida weather to compete in races last week. Marathon traveled to the Miami Country Day Open, held at Greynolds Park in North Miami Beach, on Sept. 4.
The Lady Fins were led by senior Ella Dunn, who crossed the line in 25:23. Sophomore Maeve Merryman followed 7 seconds later. Sixth-grader Molly Joly was third for the Fins this time, with sophomore Sara Robinson and eighth-grader Rebecca Merryman rounding out the top five for Marathon. The Dolphins have not hit their stride yet this season, finishing sixth out of 10 teams, something atypical for the seasoned stable of runners.
The boys fared a bit better, finishing third overall out of a field of 11 teams. Their final score was boosted by a third-place finish from senior Vance Bursa, who completed the course in 17:06. Freshman Tony Bursa was second for the Fins, taking the 10th overall spot in 18:41. Junior Caleb Shelar was next, followed by eighth-grader Lucian Burns. Freshman Allan Taylor was next for Marathon, capping off the top five and contributing to the team score.
Coral Shores ran the following day, racing at the FNU Invitational at Larry & Penny Thompson Park in Miami. The girls were led again by freshman Ali Wheatley’s time of 22:42, good enough for a top-10 overall spot. Sophomore Kate King was second for the Lady ’Canes, with freshman Tess Hill, senior Kai Guth and sophomore Hayden Teal rounding out their top five.
The FNU Invite was the first race of the season for the boys team, which was led by a squad of juniors taking the top four spots for the Hurricanes. Alaric Rodriguez was less than a second from breaking the 20-minute mark, finishing in 20:00 and taking the top spot for Coral Shores. Nathaniel Shugarman finished next in 20:49. Shugarman’s performance, just one second shy of his PR, is a positive omen for the first race of the year. Tristan Rios and Adrik Gadea finished third and fourth for the Hurricanes. Sophomore Tristan Sanchez was number five for Coral Shores, which placed right in the middle of the teams in scoring.
All of the Keys team met in the middle on Sept. 11 for a race in Marathon (results not available at press time), but will now part ways until late in the season. Coral Shores is scheduled to run in the annual King of the Hill meet at Tropical Park in Miami on Friday, Sept. 13. Marathon and Key West will represent Monroe County at Spanish River in Boca Raton on Friday, Sept. 20 and Basilica School is off until Saturday, Sept. 28, when they are scheduled to compete at the Conch Crawl.
