In the season-opening Richard Clark Invite, Republic’s cross country team earned four medals with top-25 individual finishes in Class 5. Gracie Troester took first in the girls race, while Kristin Probst and Millie Waterman also medaled. On the boys’ side, Brady Purcell secured a medal.
Troester not only took first place with a time of 18:37.40, but also shattered the course record, set a personal best, and established a new school record. She finished nearly 47 seconds ahead of the second-place runner, earning one of three girls medals won by Republic. Probst followed with a 12th-place finish in Class 5 and a time of 20:19.64, also earning a medal. Waterman took 24th place, earning the last medal for Republic with a time of 21:40.57.
Waterman, a sophomore, said she felt more comfortable coming into this year’s race after having run the course last year. “Last year I was pretty nervous, but this race, I knew it was just the first one of the season,” Waterman said. She surprised herself with her medal-winning finish. “I was pretty excited,” Waterman said, noting that she beat her older sister Becca’s junior-year best time by five seconds. “I already called her,” she added with a laugh.
Misora Nambara, Catherine Wilson, Mylee Ramsey, and Mei Pruett rounded out the girls team’s efforts, with Nambara just missing a medal.
Brady Purcell led the way for Republic’s boys, securing a medal with a 14th-place finish and a time of 16:42.07 in the Class 5 5000-meter run. Following Purcell, William Payne took 28th place with a time of 17:25.57, and Cooper Davis finished 29th with a time of 17:38.41. Rounding out the team’s effort were Kaisei Wilcutt, Joey Mullins, Hayden Mitchell, and Gabe Benjamin.
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Cannon Underwood finished 25th in the Class 5 JV race with a time of 20:31.59. Peyton Brake, Dalton Glendenning, Parker Vermont, and Jack Noggle also competed for Republic.