The 2023 campaign came to a close on Saturday afternoon in blustery conditions at Willard Park in Devens. This was the site of the final meet of the season last year as well, but on a different course layout. The most notable change was the inclusion in the last mile of a trip up and down a hill in the woods that made up in steepness what it lacked in length.
The boys preceded the girls in Division 2, which were the last 2 races of the day. The boys were led throughout by the 11th grade pair of Luke Chisum and Will Jackson, who despite starting out at a quick pace found themselves looking up at over 30 competitors early on. By staying focused on a consistent effort throughout they were able to pick off runners until they wound up in 26th and 27th overall. Senior captain Daniel Narvaez was the third runner for Wayland, improving his place from last year's Division 2 race at this site. The Wayland scoring five was rounded out by Daniel's brother Adrian who came back strong after some struggles last week at the Division 2B qualifier and 10th grader Jayden Newland who finished off an impressive late season string of racing. The Wayland team also included senior captain Ben Caddoo in his final cross country race for WHS.
A week ago at the wave 2B qualifying race, Wayland squeaked through as the second wildcard team. At today's meet the team was also missing two athletes from last week's top five who were unable to compete. As a consequence, expectations for the Wayland team result were understandably restrained to say the least. However, on the strength of a consistent team effort the team was 20th of 23, beating out three teams who competed last week in wave 2C. With only one senior in the scoring five today and a handful of talented 8th grade runners who might actually come out for the high school team, the future of the boys team looks bright.
The girls race was the final event of the day, with the overcast conditions giving way to clearing skies and continued wind. Junior captain Arya Samaratunga executed yet another patient and complete effort, waiting out the early fast pace and moving up through the field noticeably in the second mile. At the end of the day this yielded a 35th place finish, an improvement over last year's result and a testament to her racing savvy. Today's race is the capstone of a remarkably consistent campaign that saw Samaratunga achieve DCL All Star status and lead the team in every race.
With the final meet of the season in the books, this website will go into hibernation until next spring when the preseason interest meeting rolls around. Coach Lee and I enjoyed seeing the progress made by the athletes on this year's team and we hope you found it edifying as well. I consider this to be at its core a life affirming activity, and I greatly appreciated that fact this season in particular. Thank you for taking part.
- Coach Mayall
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