Needham and Newton North Varsity Cross Country left their marks at the Walpole High School course on Wednesday, September 25, 2013. The Rockets and Tigers attacked the course with no difficulty; subsequently, Walpole Girls Cross Country experienced their first losses. However, junior Allie Morris was brought under the wing of the leading pack and finished 4th overall. Although the three individuals in front of her also broke the course record (with the official course record now held by Margie Cullen from Needham), Morris still improved on her school record.
Throughout the 2.57 mile varsity race, Morris ran with the top group of girls from Needham and Newton North. Morris eventually fell back but only towards to the end. She ran a personal record of 15:51, fifteen seconds off her previous school record. The top three finishers from Needham and Newton North broke the previous course record, with the new one being set by Margie Cullen from Needham, with a time of 15:32.
Morris said, “Running with some of the best girls in the state did make the race more difficult, but they definitely did push me because I ended up running a PR.”
Sophomore Alyssa Murphy was Walpole’s second finisher; she ran 2 seconds behind her personal record with 16:32. Senior Captain Kristen Coyne ran third for the Rebels and ran the majority of the race with the second pack of runners. Although she did not set a personal record, Coyne managed to stay under the 17 minute mark with 16:52.
On the Junior Varsity side, sophomore Kyra Arsenault continues to defend her winning streak for the third meet in a row. Arsenault continues to run better and better every week. She finished with a time of 12:15, 20 second faster than the previous meet. Arsenault is only 15 seconds away from breaking the school record, held by alumni Maddy Shea. She has 2 more meets this year to break 12:00. She said, “I pushed myself as hard as I could, and it’s really more of a run against yourself and the clock rather than the other team, but there’s always room for improvement.”
Coach Jamie Farrell said, “The girls made a good showing, even though they lost to Needham with a score of 20 to 40 and lost to Newton North with a score of 23 to 36.”
On Wednesday October 3, Walpole will race against Weymouth. Last year Walpole beat Weymouth, but only by a small margin. This year the Rebels are even stronger, so they will be looking to capitalize again against one of the strongest teams in the Bay State.
