Tuesday, the Pioneers hosted the Gators of Laurel School in a rare dual meet. These unusual, exciting opportunities allow runners to compete head-to-head, to know exactly who they are racing, to run tactical races. And once again the Pioneers rose to theoccasion, beating Laurel 23-34 (low score wins).
The victory wasn't easy. The hot weather caused captain Addie LeVan ('25) and Janne Luluy ('27) to finish the race on cramping legs, but both persevered to place 1st and 9th (respectively). Claire Brown ('25) came from behind in the final 150M to take 3rd place, passing Laurel's second runner in a dash to the finish. And Caroline West ('27), Yuna Ravasio ('26), and Miranda Wang ('25) pushed each other throughout the race to take places 5. 6, and 8 respectively. Senior Xochi Nandi ('25), who has been slowed all season by tired legs, demonstrated her usual grit in placing 15 th . It's not easy to have your body "out of sorts," but Xochi has continued to battle. Once again, it was "pack running" that made the difference as Reserve's runners flexed their collective strength to take over the middle of the race and cement the victory. WRA also had great showings in the 2-mile exhibition race, as Amira Cassady ('27), had an exciting result, suggesting that she's close to making the jump to the 5K distance. Lillian Han ('27) completed her first timed 2-mile, and both Erin Bickford ('26) and Sophia Korman ('27) battled through the heat and breathing issues to run solid times, again demonstrating the kind of toughness the entire squad had displayed all season. The two teams will meet again in October at Laurel in a rematch that that will hopefully find cooler weather for everyone.