Saturday, Oct. 17 was cold, wet and dismal. The muddy ground squashed with each step and gray specks of moisture floated through the sky. And yet seven boys and five girls from AHS stripped down to their meager uniforms and prepared to run 3.1 miles in the inhospitable weather of the South County Invitational race.
“The weather conditions made it hard to run in,” said junior Caroline Kane, who finished first for the girl’s varsity team. The course included slick, muddy hills, a creek, and rocky, unstable ground- all of which caused problems for the runners. Results, and times, were consequently lacking below expectations.
Adding to the difficulty of the race was the numerous injuries present in key athletes. Junior Natalie Johnson did not race due to injuries. Junior Ahmed Bile, Sahnun Mohamed, and senior Michael Ejigu all were unable to participate due to various sustained injuries.
“I was extremely frustrated,” said Ejigu in regards to his injured ankle, “probably more frustrated than I’ve been in my life. I wish I could have been there to support the team.”
The Atoms cross country team hopes to rebound from the lacking performance at South County and recover from any prevalent injuries before the upcoming District race on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
