The Rockets ran well enough on Thursday, November 5th to advance both the boys and girls teams to the State Cross Country Championships. The runners with the best times on the team were junior Rohann Asfaw and senior Sophie El-Masry who placed 1st and 3rd respectively in their races. Sophomore Joachim El-Masry also had a great race and placing 4th.

The meet took place at High Point Farm, near Clarksburg High School. Winding through the trees the course is a total of 5 kilometers long (3.1 miles).

The team ran with seven members each on the boys and the girls team against 14 other schools from the 4A West Region. Walter Johnson, BCC, and Whitman finished in the top three while RM got 5th. The top seven runners have moved on to states.

At 3:00, packed in with 14 other teams the girls waited for the starting gun. The second it sounded and the flag was raised, and the girls team fought hard for twenty minutes for a place in states.

While the girls race was underway the boys team started their warm ups to prepare for their race soon afterward.

When the girls competition concluded the team cheered on the boys as they ran the same course. Asfaw was always in the top group of runners during the race but quickly took the lead and held it comfortably throughout the event. With teammate Joachim El Masry just a few runners behind, it made for an exciting finish for RM fans. The boys placed 6th as a team. Wootton, BCC, and Northwest made up the top three.

There were only thirteen teams in the boys race, but that didn’t make it any easier. When they started no one could tell the difference. While Asfaw and Joachim El-Masry led the race, the rest of the team stayed strong finishing within about a minute of each other.  

Both Asfaw and Sophie El-Masry are confident for the team and themselves going into states and with good reason. “We finished better at regionals this year than we did last year and I am hoping to do the same at states.” said El-Masry. Asfaw has high hopes for the next race. “I’m not afraid to say I want to win states individually… I want us to perform the best we can.”

The State Cross Country Championships will be held on November 14th at Hereford High School. That gives the Rockets one more week to train and prepare in order to end the season on a high note.

Other honorable mentions on the girls side include Nefret El-Masry, Jasmine de la Vega, Cynthia Kipserem, Emily Newcombe, Marlee San Sebastian, and Amelia Cowan. On the boys side, there was also Mac Morgan, Michael Riederer, Connor O’Brien, Samad Iqbal, and William Wong.