Richard Montgomery’s cross country team has their sights set on the upcoming county races. They’ve been working since the beginning of the season to become faster and healthier. “We’re building a very strong base, and we have a very strong outlook for the future as well,” Head Coach Ken Sonner said.

The boys and girls team have both been working towards their goals at the county race. At the beginning of the season, the boys had a slower start as some runners were still returning from injury. However, over the course of the season, they improved every race.

The girls started out strong, placing fourth place out of 25 schools at the 40th Annual Barnhart Invitational. Two weeks later, the team won the Girls Large Varsity race at Bull Run Invitational, placing five runners within the top 20. Senior Grace Finnegan won the race with a time of 19:25, and freshman Adelaide Keller placed sixth in her first race of the season.

At the Maryland Cross Country Invitational, the girls placed sixth out of 17 teams, and were only two points away from third place Whitman HS. Finnegan placed sixth out of over 100 runners.

Every year, the cross country team’s expectation is to be as competitive as possible during county, regional and state races. They focus on keeping the runners healthy and fit to be able to compete. “We focus on interval training, like sprinting and then jogging during practices. This helps with our speed and stamina,” freshman and junior varsity runner Zachary Shiau said. 

Both boys and girls were preparing for the county races. “Our goal is to be competitive at county meets. Everyone runs at county, and so I want that to be the best race for everyone, particularly for those that [this] is their last race,” Coach Sonner said. 

On Saturday, Oct. 21, the JV boys placed first at the county races. Freshman Inder Haugen placed second overall out of 300 runners. He finished with a time of 18:34. Other top finishers include sophomore Adhi Ponray in ninth, and sophomore Benjamin Wong in 13th.

The JV girls placed fourth during the county races. In the lead for the Rockets was freshman Clara Arbolino who placed 18th with a time of 23:52. Freshman Vivien Turturro-Iuzzini and sophomores Rihanna Pabai, Sophia Li and Brynn Johnson rounded out the top five for RM. 

Junior Lauren Gotting was the top finisher, at 19th place for the girls varsity race. For the boys varsity race, the top three RM runners were senior Tillman Peters, junior Carter Zembrzuski and sophomore Jesse Wrede.

This year, there has been great leadership and hard-work throughout the team. The returning runners, especially senior varsity captains Grace Finnegan, Tillman Peters and Zaki Ahmad, have been key to the team’s success. “The leadership of the returning runners and the captains have done an awful lot to foster a very strong season,” Coach Sonner said. 

There are also a number of first year runners on the team this year, including many freshmen boys and girls. With the guidance of the coaches and captains, they have been able to learn and adapt the traditions and work ethics of the team. The team as a whole has been practicing to become more competitive and strong.

Cross country has one of the largest team participation numbers among RM fall sports, with over 50 runners who participate every year. Being on a team of such large numbers, it is important to be friends and form bonds with teammates. “Building friendships is a really important aspect of being on a team,” Shiau said. “During races we ‘push and pull,’ as our coach says, which means that we encourage or push [each other] to go ahead and pull each other to catch up to one another.” 

As the end of the season approaches in less than a month, the runners and coaches are looking forward to the forthcoming championships. Regional races are on Nov. 2, and state championships are on Nov. 11.