October 29, 2014

Hun School Cross Country Makes Strides; Hard Work Pays Off at Mercer Competition

Angela Rieder believes that her Hun School cross country team took a step forward at the Mercer County championship meet last Friday.

“I think we had a strong performance,” said Hun head coach Rieder, whose boys’ squad placed 13th of 19 schools while the girls placed 12th of 14 teams in the meet held at Thompson Park in Jamesburg.

“Our varsity has been working really hard this week. They have been really motivated. The heat, hill, and wind were a little off-putting. We didn’t have any personal records but on reflection afterward, I was really happy with them.”

Rieder was particularly happy with sophomore Alex Ill, who took 28th individually in the boys’ race with a time of 17:42 over the 5,000-meter course and senior Sean Duffy, the 62nd finisher.

“When we saw him originally, he was in 41st at around a mile or mile and a half and he made it up to 28th,” said Rieder.

“He was really steady, really strong, he went out smart. Sean Duffy did great as well. He is a senior so he only has a couple of races left. He has that mindset right now. He is focused so we are hoping to see good things from him in the next couple of races.”

On the girls’ side, junior Caitlin Murray showed good focus, taking 51st individually in a time of 22:31.

“Caitlyn Murray had a very strong race today,” said Rieder. “She was very positive, very focused, and very determined.”

Rieder is looking for some determined efforts as her runners conclude the season next week by competing in the state Prep A meet on October 29 at the Blair Academy and the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) championships at Peddie on November 1.

“We still have Preps and the MAPL meet,” added Rieder. “They are Wednesday and Saturday. The training is a bit tricky this week so we are going to use preps for training.”