School News
Six Years Running: Lowell Victorious at Small School Championship
by Dave Levy, Athletics Director
For the second year in a row, Mac did not trail for one single second. With a speedy and strategic start, Mac refused to let up on his competition. He flew up the first hill like he was all alone in Rock Creek Park, and as the race went on, his opponents just got farther and farther away. Winning the race by over 30 seconds, Mac repeated as the overall Small School Champion! Again! His time of 12:22 is a Barrie course record, besting his time of 12:53 in 2018 by 31 seconds and leading his team to their sixth consecutive Small School Championship!
For the second year in a row, Mac did not trail for one single second. With a speedy and strategic start, Mac refused to let up on his competition. He flew up the first hill like he was all alone in Rock Creek Park, and as the race went on, his opponents just got farther and farther away. Winning the race by over 30 seconds, Mac repeated as the overall Small School Champion! Again! His time of 12:22 is a Barrie course record, besting his time of 12:53 in 2018 by 31 seconds and leading his team to their sixth consecutive Small School Championship!
There were nine schools and over 100 runners in the race, and as the athletes popped out of the woods and sped around to the finish, it was astonishing how many were wearing green. With Zoe, Captain Dylan, and lots of parents on hand to support the Leopards, Lowell had three of the top five and 10 of the top 15. The Leopards defeated the next closest team by 40 points. There had been some conversation about a new champion this year at the Small School Championships, but Lowell had other ideas. Showing off the pack running that has provided the team with such extraordinary success this season, Isaiah, Amare, and Elias came in 4th, 5th, and 6th place overall. Isaiah, with notable 8th grade experience and leadership, ran 13:32 (a 40-second improvement over his 2018 time), while Amare ran 13:33. Elias, only moments behind them, came in at 13:40. With Ollie finishing 8th, in a time of 13:53 (also a 40-second improvement) in his final time through the course, Lowell locked up a very tight 1-5 spread of 1:31, a sign of an extraordinary team.
The city is paying attention as Lowell continues to shine. As soon as the meet ended, my phone was buzzing with an invitation to the 2020 DCSAA Championships—the most competitive cross country stage in Washington, D.C. It is an incredible honor for the team, and as the saying goes, Lowell will have an opportunity to do more than pick on somebody their own size.
Josie, running an extraordinary time of 15:52, zig-zagged around many runners to finish as the 4th girl overall. Ursula (17:04), Evie (17:05), Kellyn (17:05), and Naiah (17:28) were an amazing lead pack for the girls with another tight 1-5 spread of 1:36! Amazing!
Alex ran 22:12 a few weeks ago at Norwood and today pulled in at an amazing 16:13! His improvement of six minutes is a tribute to his hard work this season—what a performance! Amare W, who hurt his ankle yesterday, rallied and ran an exceptional 17:05—five minutes faster than his race at St Anselm’s! Abby, prioritizing cross country today, dropped two minutes, showing off her closing speed to come through in a time of 17:37. Gabriel dropped three minutes, running 20:48! What a day for this group of constantly improving Leopards!
Ian, now an 8th Grader, returned to Barrie for the first time in 4 years. Making his season debut, Ian had an absolutely remarkable performance of 14:00 and 10th overall! Putting his knee injury behind him, Ian helped the Leopards to a title. Making her two-mile debut, Ellie continues to impress. Since joining the team in early October, Ellie has increased her mileage in practice—and today she completed her longest race of the season—running an amazing 18:16!
Avery and Carter continue to run at an elite level. Pushing themselves in practice, Avery set himself up for an epic 9th place finish today, running 13:58, while Carter finished 15th in 14:06 (16 seconds better than 2018.) Noah was hot on their tail, flying through in 14:07, while Joshua finished in 14:18. Mario, running Barrie’s course for the 5th and final time, finished in an excellent time of 15:10. Graham continues to challenge himself dropping :40 off his time from Sandy Spring to run 17:05. Robin’s 20:01 was his best race of the season, while Matthew ran 20:48 and achieved a 1:00 PR. A model of consistency, Paolo ran 18:50.
Veteran athletes Emma (17:55) and Lily (20:40) supported our first-year runners throughout the fall. Antonia’s 22:33 was a fabulous way for her to finish her season. The team was buzzing for Caroline’s incredibly competitive 20:40 with Evie P right behind her in 20:46! Sawyer closed out a season of super hard work—he didn’t stop for one moment—with a great performance of 26:47! Jazz came through in 23:36, while Eliana showed off a great finish to complete the race in 26:52. Other first-year Leopards included Anneta coming in at 18:11 and Isabel at 20:34.
The names of the athletes have changed. But the results remain the same. For six years running, Lowell has raised a banner to celebrate their victory at the Small School Championships. I cannot say enough about the effort of this team—working hard every practice in the park to run as far and as fast as they can. Our athletes wouldn’t even recognize the August version of themselves—they are in the best shape of their lives. Congratulations, Leopards!
1640 Kalmia Road NW
Washington, DC 20012
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