Junior Barret Acker lunging towards the finish line, with fans cheering him on.

AWHS cross country races through the Concrete Pipe trail

September 17, 2021

The AWHS boys cross country team lining up next to Novato High School and the starting line. (Ethan Frankel)

AWHS boys and girls cross country teams took on Novato High School and Marin Catholic High School in a league race on Wednesday, Sept. 15. The three schools sprinted three miles on the Concrete Pipe trail in Fairfax, California. AWHS placed second, with Marin Catholic placing first and Novato placing third, in both races.

The boys tasted defeat for the first time in four years in a tight finish with Marin Catholic. They were missing their top seven runners, who didn’t run because they were resting up for the De La Salle Nike Invitational this Saturday. Without the top seven runners, senior Rowan Campbell was the top runner for the Falcons and got fourth place overall with a time of 17 minutes and 17 seconds. Sophomore Jackson McFerron finished in fifth place right behind Rowan with a time of 17 minutes and 20 seconds.

“I had an interesting start, I kind of tripped a little bit then made it back up to the front… This race for me was one of my top races. Coming in first for t

Sophomore Ally Greenwald striding towards the finish line to complete her race. (Ethan Frankel)

he team is definitely a very good feeling,” Rowan said. .

The girls finished in second place, with Marin Catholic taking first. Sophomore Ally Greenwald was the top runner for the Falcons and finished in second place overall.

“I liked my pace, and how I kept up with the other competitors,” Ally said..

The Falcons’ next cross country race is the De La Salle Nike Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 18 at De La Salle High School in Concord, California. The De La Salle Nike Invitational is the only race that AWHS will participate in that will have Division 1 schools (AWHS is a Division 4 school). They will compete against some of the top schools in the country, such as Arcadia High School who are ranked fifth in the country by Runners World.

Senior Rowan Campbell trying to stop himself from falling at the start of the race. (Ethan Frankel)

“We are not going into this race expecting to win, but I want these guys to compete against some of the top competition in the country.” said AWHS head coach Robyn Berry. “It should be a great experience for our runners and I hope they run well and have fun.”