Cross Country Flourishes at Lowell

 

Now in its ninth season, Lowell Cross Country has grown dramatically since Coach Dave Levy arrived on campus. In 2010 the team featured just 6 runners, barely enough to score. (Cross country is scored by adding up the points earned by a team’s first five finishers.) Now, the team has over 30 runners on the roster, has won four consecutive Independent Small School Cross Country Championships, and has been invited to the Maryland/DC Private School Championships each of the last three years, finishing 5^th out of 22 schools just a year ago. The team does not shy away from big time competition: last season, Lowell had two athletes in the top 10 in both the boys and girls races at the Landon Invitational, one of the most prestigious races in the Mid-Atlantic. Coach Dave calls this year’s team “the most talented we’ve ever had.”

 

 

Coach Dave: We’re off to a great start. Many members of the team ran a lot of miles over the summer, and regularly emailed me a log of their workouts. Dylan ’20 ran nearly every day! We had a few preseason practices before school began to get the team in gear. Since then, our runners have run hard in the park and competed in a very muddy meet!

 

 

Coach Dave: A love of the sport. Through that joy, the program has instilled a culture of hard work. In every workout, whether it’s intervals or a long run in the park, runners are challenged to go farther each day (and they do!) and push their boundaries. The team is very supportive and is always cheering for one another—there is a human title for everybody at the end of practice!

 

 

Coach Dave: It poured only moments after the start, so our runners were trekking through the mud. The conditions weren’t great for running personal records (PR’s), but that didn’t stop Emma ’22 from running a huge PR of over a minute! Frederick ‘19 finished in the top 15 for boys, and Natalie ’20 in the top 10 for girls.

 

 

 

Coach Dave: Absolutely. It won’t be easy. Every year the Congressional, British School, and Lab School teams improve. Each of the last two seasons, the meet has been decided by less than 5 points. We graduated two key members of the team a year ago, both of whom are running in high school. Still, I think this is the most talented team Lowell has ever had. Our top seven are in amazing shape. I can’t wait!