As the cross-country season moves into its second half, the invitationals become smaller, though no less challenging. Meets now often pit Div. II and III teams against each other instead of creating distinct races for each division. and the Gilmour Invitational did just this. But the girls from WRA stepped up and ran well against outstanding competition, taking a strong 4th of 10 teams. The finish is more impressive in light of the fact that Reserve beat every Div. III team in their race and only lost to three teams ranked in the top-12 of Div. II.

Once again, Addie LeVan ('25) led the way for the Pioneers, taking 6th in a time of 20:26. To understand just how fast this race was, one need only note that LeVan's time would have easily won the Div. I (large school) race. 

Sophomore Caroline West ran an outstanding race of her own, crossing the finish line in 22:04 while placing 23rd, just four seconds off the career-best time she established at Galion two weeks earlier. 

Close behind West came "The Cavalry," a tight group composed of Janne Luley ('27), Claire Brown ('25), Leah Petras ('27), and Yuna Ravasio ('26), With times only ranging from 23:47 to 23:54, the foursome played a critical role in earning Reserve's fourth-place finish. Xochi Nandi ('25) rounded out the Pioneer varsity-seven with her best time of the season.

The squad will be quickly back in action again Tuesday, Oct. 1 at the Cuyahoga Heights Invitational, where the girls will need to avoid looking ahead to the upcoming rematch ten days later with a much improved Laurel School squad. The Heights course offers a range of terrain and is a "true" XC course, one on which the girls will need to focus more on racing and less on times. Tuesday should be another great test for the Pioneers.