The Hawks’ cross country team began practicing on August 12 to prepare for their 2022 season.

     The cross country team signed up for an invitational on September 3 at Hood College. 33 other teams participated. Senior captain Sierra Weaver said the meet was weird. “There were a lot of people there and it was a lot of people who hadn’t run a race before, so [our team] didn’t know what we were doing,” she explained.

     James Ortt, junior team captain, also said the meet was different from most others, “but it was still really interesting to get out there and see different landscapes to run at.”

     They had their first league meet on September 13 at Fallston, against Fallston and Edgewood. This course had a few small hills and would require two loops to finish. The girls came in first overall with freshman Kendall Chandler leading for North Harford in second place with a time of 22:08, then senior Finley Lavin in fifth place with a time of 23:30, followed by Weaver in sixth with a time of 24:00. 

     The boys came in second overall with a first-place finish from Ortt (17:57), then junior Austin Parry with a 19:06 third-place finish. The next boy for North Harford was junior Blake Carberry, who placed twelfth with a time of 21:12.

     Weaver’s favorite meet was the Fallston course. “It was an easy course, but I didn’t like the loop,” she said.

     Ortt also liked the Fallston meet the most. “It was the first meet that I tried my best on and I was really happy with my performance,” he explained.

     The second invitational the team participated in is the Bull Run Invitational at Hereford High School on September 17. Bull Run is a course with many large hills. Despite its three-mile distance compared to a normal five-kilometers, most runners will struggle to achieve a personal best. The girls placed seventh, with Lavin leading in 21st with a time of 23:05. Next is Chandler in 29th place with a 23:39, then junior Ava Carberry in 49th with a 24:54.

     Overall, the boys got 21st place. Leading the boys in 27th place with an 18:02 is Ortt. Next, in 65th place is Parry with a 19:42. Third, in 139th place is Carberry with a time of 21:29.

     Ortt believes the Bull Run this year was much better than the previous year. “I was really happy with how I placed and I was really happy to see the team come out even though it was on the same day as homecoming,” he said.

     The team’s second league meet was against Joppatowne at Bo Manor. This flat course looped backward after stretching half the distance. The girls came in first overall with Lavin leading for North Harford in second place with a time of 22:16. Behind Lavin was Chandler with a time of 23:06. Following Chandler was Carberry with a time of 23:32. “Bo Manor was okay, but there were a lot of holes and there was no shade so I was dying of heat exhaustion,” Weaver said.

     The boys came in second overall with Ortt in first with a time of 17:24. Next was Carberry in fifth with a 20:05, then senior Ben Iampieri in eighth with a 21:35.

     Cross country is rapidly approaching UCBAC Championships and regionals shortly after. Weaver is looking forward to regionals. “Last year we did really good, so I really hope we can do really good again,” she explained.