As the end of October nears, the cross country season comes to a close. The boys will look to take their first league title in Cape and Islands League Play on October 31st at the Championships meet. Meanwhile, the girls are looking to continue running hard for a team that has been plagued by a lack of runners. The past week has held two meets for the team. The first was a home meet against Cape Cod Academy on October 17th, at their local Milestone Cranberry Bogs course. The course is 3.1 miles and takes runners across the grounds where the annual Cranberry Festival is held. The boys won by a score of 15-48, having all of the top six runners being Whalers. The girls also won their first meet against CCA by a score of 25-32. This is the first time that the girls have been qualified to earn a win. Most, if not all of the runners achieved personal records while at this meet due to the flatness and overall home field advantage of Nantucket’s home course. The next meet was a casual student versus adult meet around the Nantucket Public Schools campus on the Saturday of homecoming. Cross country originally did not have a meet scheduled due to the fact that weekend meets have to be an invitational, and there was not enough time to arrange one, so the school improvised. This meet included teachers at NHS and other local community runners. The meet was used for the team to get a sense of what running against fiercer competition would be like, but instead it showed how dominant the team really is. It was also used to give the team a way to enjoy the festivities of homecoming. Some staff participants include Principal Dr. John Buckey, English teacher Liz Reinemo, history teacher Eileen Fredericks, and music teacher Erin MacIver participated in the run. Besides championships, cross country also has one more meet against Sturgis East on November 7th (that was rescheduled from October 24th). The team will also participate in the upcoming Run for Robin race on November 5th.
With the end of the season comes the loss of the team’s seniors. The team boy’s captain, Joan Guzman, will be leaving, along with William Penalo, Ericson Bonilla, Karen Murtagh, and Matthew Gardner.
“They were all part of a great first year as a team and their spirits and attitude will be missed,” said sophomore Aidan McCormack. Though the team is losing a sizable chunk of its group, coaches, and teammates alike remain confident about the 2018 season. Each and every one of these seniors will be greatly missed.
It should also be noted that this is the team’s first year playing at a varsity level. Last year, their first year playing as Whalers at all, they played at club level. To be undefeated through its first year is an accomplishment that will be remembered for years to come. Look forward to the upcoming seasons of cross country at Nantucket High, because this teams spirit and grit won’t be going anywhere in the years to come.
Veritas 
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