As the crisp fall weather chilled the air around them, the varsity girls lined up in their block and readied themselves for the race-opening gunshot. The gunshot would not only signal the beginning of the race, but also the start of the season for the girls and even the very first race of their highschool career for freshman varsity runners Adrienne Hodge, Ava Twait and Ellie Dewaard. Along with their outstanding performances, Kate Van Waning ‘26 managed to place first in the meet running 19.50.80 and was the leading figure to help push the girls to victory and place first in their opening meet.
The newly reformed varsity roster consists of nine underclassmen and only two upperclassmen as the season began, Van Waning and Susanna Olsen ‘27. Despite this, it was undeniable from the first practice that the new class of runners were talented and extremely hardworking. The meet was a test to see if this new generation of girls could compete and learn quickly. They passed the test with flying colors.
Hodge placed second with a time of 20.10.00, Twait placed fourth with a time of 20.39.30, Dewaard in fifth with 20.46.30 and Mia Ahn ‘28 finished just behind Olsen, running 22.28.00 and 22.11.00 respectively. The combined high placement of all the runners earned West High a total of 45 points and won them the first meet of the season.
