Deerfield Crosses the Border for Blackshirt Challenge
The Deerfield Girls Cross Country Team traveled to Waukesha, Wisconsin to compete in the Blackshirt Challenge hosted by the Waukesha South Blackshirts. Though the commute was over an hour, it was well worth the drive to race over a beautiful, yet quite challenging course. From the Des Plaines River Trail to Kettle Moraine, this team has done quite a bit of trail running, so the Warriors felt right at home on a course that was almost trails. And that is to say, not flat trails.
Not knowing quite what to expect from the competition and being treated to stares and whispers about the "foreigners" from Illinois, DFDG competed very well in this new territory. The top 2 teams earn trophies and the top 15 individuals take home medals. Natalia led the way finishing 13th as our only hardware winner. She covered the 5K course in 21:48. The power of the pack was in full force after that and helped the Warriors to a 3rd place finish overall, a mere 5 points away from a trophy. While our 1-5 splits was only 49 seconds, the 2-7 split was just 22 seconds!
If this team has an identity yet, it's that it doesn't have an identity. Over 3 races, we have had a different #1 runner each time and the places after that have been even more jumbled. Freshman Audrey was the 2nd Warrior and for the 2nd time this season showed she is capable of being a varsity contributor. Azalea was another freshman in our scoring 5, as these two 9th graders sandwiched around sophomore Olivia. The course is not so conducive to spectators, so the meet featured long waits in between runners going by. When a grey squad came around the corner, it was inspiring. As results were tabulated. Deerfield had 7 spots between 21st - 30th place. Adding to the excitement was a return to racing by Maya and a return to form by Randi.
Though everyone ran in one race, they did score out a Varsity contest and a JV contest. For the 2nd time in the same week, the JV claimed an Invite Championship. "Claimed" is not the right word to capture the dominance on display. They scored a scant 16 points (one away from perfect) to literally run away with the title. Everyone on the team is working incredibly hard, and there is very little separation between our top 7 and next 7.
