The Winchester Thurston School’s cross country teams are making history. Cross country is the introvert’s team sport, and thus, many of you may not have heard of our successes so far this season. With countless boys WPIAL and state titles, cross country is no doubt Winchester Thurston’s best sport in history. As parent Aparna Brown (Delia’s mom) has said, “The boys team has a very storied history, but this is all completely new territory for the girls. And to have it happen simultaneously with such a strong boys team is a unicorn moment.” Here are some highlights from the beginning of this unicorn season:

Boys XC Wins their Section; Girls XC is Section Runner-Up

On September 17th, the Winchester Thurston cross country teams competed for the Section Title at the Youthtowne cross country course, near the Pittsburgh International Airport. Senior Charlie Routledge was sadly sick and was not able to attend the meet. Even without Routledge, the boys team won the section! Most notably, sophomore Jack Iyer pulled his weight, placing 4th and coming in as the first runner from Winchester Thurston with a time of 16:56. The girls placed second in their section behind OLSH (the infamous bumblebees). Some notable performances came from senior Sarah Nixon and junior Abby Weinstein, who both beat Madeline Schmiedeknecht’s school record in the 5k of time 19:39. Sarah Nixon, who just edged out Abby Weinstein’s time of 19:48, placed a new school record of 19:35.

Winchester Thurston XC Sets the Foundation with Hershey Clean Sweep

On September 20th, the cross country teams embarked on this first journey to Hershey this season. After stopping at the Bedford Subway, where, sadly, Coach Frey ran out of coupons, the Bears’ vans continued on their way to Exit 247. The pasta dinner at Mangia Mangia that night prepared the teams for their big day tomorrow. This meet is very important, as it ensures runners are familiar with the serpentine state course and because is a good predictor of the results of the state meet. The Foundation meet is held at the same course as States. Additionally, the same teams that Winchester Thurston will likely be competing against later in the season were also there that weekend.

The girls team raced at 9:30 and consisted of seniors Sarah Nixon, Delia Brown, and Hannah Hammons; junior, Abby Weinstein; sophomore, Indie Pascal; and freshmen Currie Bigham, Lucia Littel, and Zoe VanDivier. Some standout performances came from Nixon, Weinstein, and Pascal. Each of them earned individual medals for placing in the top 20 runners. Sarah Nixon placed 4th with a time of 20:46, Abby Weinstein placed 5th with a time of 20:52, and Indie Pascal placed 15th with a time of 22:03. The girls team, handedly, placed 1st overall. They even beat OLSH, who they previously lost the section title to.

The boys team raced at 11:00 and consisted of seniors Eli Desimone, Charlie Routledge, Peter Heintzleman, Baba Sylla, and Andrew Shlomchik; junior, Joshua Matthews; sophomore, Jack Iyer; and freshman, Otis Pascal. Some standout performances came from Desimone, Routledge, Iyer, and Heintzleman. Each of them earned individual medals for placing in the top 20 runners. Eli Desimone placed 1st with a time of 16:42, and won the meet. Check out his interview for winning the meet here (and see if you can hear Frey talking in the background). Charlie Routledge placed 5th with a time of 17:15, Jack Iyer placed 10th with a time of 17:31, and Peter Heintzleman placed 15th with a time of 17:37. The boys team demolished the competition and placed 1st in their section overall.

Both teams had achieved a clean sweep at the Foundation Meet, winning both the Boys A and Girls A races. Only two other teams have managed this feat in the history of the meet: North Allegheny (4x), and Quaker Valley. This is the first time in single A history that a team has even done a clean sweep.

Winchester Thurston XC Smashes it at Youthtowne Clash, 1st for Both Boys and Girls

This past weekend, once again by the Airport, the Winchester Thurston Bears had a great show at the Youthtowne Clash. This meet combined A, AA, and AAA section schools into varsity and junior varsity races. This provided more competition than their other races, as the Bears competed against large schools such as Seneca Valley and Allderdice.

Sarah Nixon, Abby Weinstein, Delia Brown, Indie Pascal, Currie Bigham, Lucia Littel, Hannah Hammons, and Zoe VanDivier competed in the Girls Varsity race. The girls placed 3rd overall as a team, but ultimately won the 1st place trophy for the single A section. Some notable performances include: Sarah Nixon’s new school record of 19:20, placing 8th; Abby Weinstein’s new PR of 19:24, placing 9th; Indie Pascal’s new PR of 20:51 (breaking 21:00!); and Hannah Hammons’s new PR of 23:52 (breaking 24:00!).

Eli Desimone, Charlie Routledge, Jack Iyer, Peter Heintzleman, Otis Pascal, Joshua Matthews, Baba Sylla, and Andrew Shlomchik competed in the Boys Varsity race. The boys placed 2nd overall as a team, but ultimately won the 1st place trophy for the single A section. Some notable performances include: Charlie Routledge placing 3rd with a time of 16:10, which was a new PR; Eli Desimone placing 6th with a time of 16:29; Peter Heintzleman placing 14th with a time of 16:46; and Jack Iyer placing 15th with a new PR of 16:49.

Sarah Nixon Holds New School Record

Madeline Schmiedeknecht held the girl’s school record for the 5k with a time of 19:39. At the Section Meet, senior Sarah Nixon beat the Winchester Thurston girl’s 5k school record with a time of 19:35. Abby Weinstein, coming in just behind Nixon, also beat this prior record with a time of 19:39. At the Youthtown Clash, this past weekend, Sarah Nixon demolished her previous record with a time of 19:20. Will Nixon continue to race this strong? Make sure to get your autographs before she graduates!

Cross Country Coach Jen Bigham Wins Great Race

This past Sunday, the Great Race 10k was held in Pittsburgh. Winchester Thurston XC coach and parent (and Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier) Jen Bigham won the race with a time of 35:22 (a 5:41 min/mile pace!). She placed 25th overall, but was the first woman across the line. Not only are the cross country teams strong, but the coaches are even stronger. The coaches: Bruce Frey, Jen Bigham, and Ben Litman are most definitely the key to Winchester Thurston’s cross country success.

I encourage you all to try to make it to one of the cross country meets this season. We may not have tailgates or Taco Trucks, but you may be witnessing history. It is very likely (fingers crossed) that the girls and boys teams will be state champions this year. Many of the athletes, including myself, are graduating. Cross country meets are not only fun, but you will be supporting these athletes, who have put so much work into their sport.