Deerfield Opener
DEERFIELD TAKES FIRST THROUGH ELEVENTH TO DOMINATE 2019 SEASON OPENEr
The 2019 cross country season opened in dominating fashion for Deerfield. On their home course, the Warriors routed Zion Benton and Mather with a perfect score of 15 points. In fact, the first eleven runners across the finish line were all from Deerfield.
While the Deerfield runners at the front were not pushed by other teams, they still kept up a fast pace. Junior Josh Puyear‘s 15:37 is the fastest time by a Deerfield runner at this meet in the last four years. Senior Ben Kraemer (2nd, 15:45) and sophomore Cole Bernstein (3rd, 15:47) also went under the previous team best since Coach Friedlander started keeping track in 2016. The Warriors had seven runners under 16:30 and ten runners under 17:00, all without an opposing runner in sight. This is as hot of a start as any in recent memory.
On the frosh/soph level, Deerfield squeaked out a win over Mather 29-30. Mather had great runners up front placing first, second, and fourth. But Deerfield’s depth was too much to overcome as they took places five through 19. It was sophomore Jonah Satyr (3rd, 11:55) who broke up the 1-2-3 finish for Mather, which would have mathematically clinched the victory.
The biggest surprise of the day was sophomore Jack Gordon (5th, 12:18) who was the frosh/soph team’s #2 runner. Jack battled injuries throughout his freshman year, and even when he did race, his lack of training prevented him from shining. This summer, Jack took a written training plan with him to camp, stayed healthy, and had the discipline to complete the training on his own. With that work ethic, Jack catapulted himself into a key frosh/soph scorer. Jack’s 12:18 is an entire minute and 34 seconds better than his 2-mile best last season.
Importantly, 23 Deerfield freshmen completed their first ever cross country race. First races can be daunting given the intense atmosphere and the pressure of competitive high school cross country. These freshmen have a lot to be proud of. And next week, they’ll take on their first 3-mile race.
Finally, as the only home meet of the season, the day was capped off with a celebration of the seniors. This 12-man senior class has been presented many challenges and is now on the verge of leading this team to new heights.
