By Sydney Scales and Catherine Martin

Walpole Girls Cross Country took first place after beating out 27 other schools at the annual MSTCA Twilight Invitational Meet on Saturday night, Oct. 20, in Barnstable MA. Walpole, who was 4-4 going into the competition, was clearly not a top contender heading into the race, let alone the favorite to win. Despite the spread, Walpole not only earned a first place trophy for their efforts but also reached new program milestones.

The varsity team, who ran for an average time of 19:12:10, gained control of the first place slot in their fastest combined time and fastest average time in program history.

“Initially after crossing the finish line, I was pretty surprised to turn around and see the rest of our top 5 finishers come across the finish line within 49 seconds of each other. I immediately knew we did well, but I didn’t at all think of the possibility that we won the entire meet,” said sophomore Mia Costa. “When I heard we won, I was shocked, yet extremely excited. All of our athletes on the varsity line up had massive PRs during the race, and none of us had expected to perform so well.”

Being the team’s first invitational meet this season, the bar of competition was set and raised. With an upwards of 250-300 athletes in each race, the invitational atmosphere already differs from a regular season meet, in addition to running in the dark.

“I think [this race] was easier for me because I didn’t have the sun beating down on me. The weather was better for running conditions,” said junior Colleen Barry, “which made the atmosphere a lot more fun to run in.”

Although some of Walpole’s runners thought the invitational course and nighttime conditions better suited their running preferences, there were still several unique obstacles to overcome from running with hundreds of girls, while also in the dark.  

“Since there were so many girls it was challenging not being able to comfortably run at the beginning of the race,” said Freshman Elyse Scales. “There were so many runners and not enough space.”

Head coach, Conor Cashman, was very pleased with the win and thought it was a huge victory for the team to not only prove themselves within the Bay State Conference, but also gain confidence as the Division three East Sectional Tournament approaches.

“As a 5-4 team in the Bay State Conference, the Twilight win was a real statement victory for us because we beat a number of divisional rivals and BSC rivals who we previously lost to at dual meets,” said Cashman. “More than that though, the win gave the team a lot of confidence as we go into the championship part of the season.”