This year, the Benet Academy boys cross country season officially began on August 19. The team has been training during the summer since June 17. The team has been training intensely for months, and the beginning of the season has gone by smoothly. After an unfortunate turn in the weather, the team was forced to run inside because of extreme heat on August 26th and 27th, but the team transitioned back to outdoor running easily. The mileage has varied each day, with some days being speed, distance, and tempo workouts. The team has been waiting for their first meet for 3 months, and they showed the other teams what they had been waiting for.
The first meet of the 2024 season commenced on September 7 at Katherine Legge Park in Hinsdale. The temperature was in the lower 50s, and the runners ran their races with confidence and determination. Top varsity performers at the meet were Finn Richards, who earned 3rd place overall with a time of 14:15, Aiden Hulett, who earned 39th place overall with a time of 15:28, and Jeffery Lange, who earned 81st place overall with a time of 16:04. All of the varsity runners finished in top places in their race, and their team finished at 14th place overall. The Freshman/Sophomore team also finished with times reflecting their training. Their fastest runner, Ben Marks, ran his race in a time of 17:42 finishing at 92nd place. The team finished in 16th place overall. The runners for the Open race, which consists of freshmen to seniors, also ran great races, finishing in 14th place as a collective team. Their fastest runner, Colby English, finished his 2-mile race at a time of 10:49 at 21st place. The entire team ran 1 and 2-mile races against 23 of the best teams from the area. The cross-country team had a great first meet to ease them into the promising season. Jeffery Lange, Student Government president and boys cross country varsity runner, was asked what he has thought of the season and his race performance so far, and he said that “The season is off to a great start! The team has been working hard for the past couple of months and now it’s all starting to come together.”
After the first meet and at practice the next week, the team officially welcomed Coach Duffy. Coach Duffy has been an avid runner for many years and has also always been a supporter of the Benet cross country team, and is excited to be a part of the running community.
The second meet of the 2024 season began on September 14 at Channahon Community Park in Channahon, just south of Joliet. The course took runners through a maze of different paths and turns into different forests and up difficult hills, but they adapted and finished their races quickly. Top performers at the meet were Aiden Hulett, who finished 3rd overall with a time of 15:41, Jeffery Lange, who finished 22nd overall with a time of 16:56, and Bob Johnson, who finished 31st overall with a time of 17:16. The entire varsity team finished within the top 50 places. The Freshman/Sophomore team also ran their races with great finishes. Their entire team, which consisted of 6 runners for this meet, finished in the top 60th places with their fastest runner, Ben Marks, finishing at 21st place. The runners for the Open race also had quick finishes. Their entire team finished in top places, with their fastest runner, Quinn Knox, finishing at 15th place with a time of 18:26. The cross country team competed against 24 other teams that were new competitors for Benet.
The boys’ cross country team is very excited for the rest of their season and meets, and they hope to continue finishing quickly and gradually getting faster as the season goes on. As the team aims to win another conference championship, they will continue to work and improve until the end of the season.
