The cross country team swept both races Sept. 9 in the Rebel Invitational, the first meet of the season.

All 14 varsity runners, both boys and girls, finished in the top 30 of their races. Junior Aaron Bratt placed second overall, just seven seconds behind first place. The boys team beat 21 other teams from the DMV area, while the girls team beat 18 other teams.

The boys team beat second place Einstein High School by a score of 61 to 78, while the girls team beat runner-up Damascus by a score of 36 to 77. Sophomores Alicia Lauwers and Paula Bathalon led the girls team, placing fifth and sixth.

The impressive result wasn’t a surprise to head coach Stephen Hays, who has high expectations for the team this year.

“I thought we had a pretty good chance of sweeping both races,” Hays said. “We just mostly wanted to have a good race and get ready for the season.”

Junior runner Obi Onwuamaegbu credited a large part of the team’s’ success to the team dynamic.

“I think team chemistry really played a factor in us doing so well on Saturday because we held each other accountable,” Onwuamaegbu said. “With that comes fewer excuses to slack off, which makes everyone better.”

Hays is pleased with the makeup of the team this year, and says it has boosted team morale so far this season.

“We have a good group of underclassmen, and we didn’t lose too many from last year,” Hays said. “I think the kids know each other really well and are really supportive of the freshmen coming in.”

This Saturday Sept. 16, the team raced again at the Oatlands Invitational, one of the biggest cross country meets in the Northeast. Hays said he looked forward to it for better competition than their last race.

“We like going to Oatlands because it’s very competitive,” Hays said. “It will be a lot more competitive than the race we just had.”