In the cross country team’s tenth year competing in The Manhattan High School Cross Country Invitational, competitors traveled to New York City on Oct. 14 to race against the best schools and competitors across the U.S. and Canada.

The Vikes have gone to the meet annually since 2007, with the exception of 2014. Participation has always helped the team gage how its runners compare to some of the best schools and competitors in the country, coach Stephen Hays said.

Competitors follow a 2.5 mile course around Van Cortlandt Park.

Junior Aaron Bratt was Whitman’s top finisher, placing seventh in his heat with a time of 13:08.3. Sophomore Benjamin Lesser was the closest behind Bratt, finishing at 13:50.4 in 33rd place. The boys competed in the Varsity D race this season, one of the seven races that varsity boys teams can compete in. The different races are arbitrary, and do not represent level of difficulty.

Next year, Bratt hopes that he and the team can substantially improve their times.

“Personally my goal for next year is to be under 13 minutes,” Bratt said. “And as a team I’d like to see the rest of the top five boys be in the 13:30 range.”

The girls raced in the Eastern States Championships, the most prestigious race in the meet. Sophomore Alicia Lauwers placed 48th, finishing at 16:02.1. Sophomore Emmersen Weinberg placed close to some of her teammates, at 16:24.3, 13‒finishing 22.2 seconds behind Lauwers and 13 seconds behind junior Breanna McDonald.

“I was very impressed with Emmersen,” Hays said. “She had a fantastic race and finished much higher than she normally does relative to the others on the team.”

Because the team is young, Hays noted that nerves might’ve affected some of his younger runners but said that the team still kept their cool and had strong performances.

“We were in the top race of the day for the girls. In fact, the number one team in the country was in that race,” Hays said. “So some of the girls were a little nervous thinking that they couldn’t perform well, but they ended up performing great.”

While the race was the main focus of the trip, runners also enjoyed other aspects of the weekend getaway.

“My favorite part about the whole meet was spending time at the hotel with the team,” McDonald said. “We stayed up and chatted, and just had a good time.”

With tough competition and a spirited environment, the meet continued to prove a worthwhile experience for the team, Hays said.

“It’s a great location, great venue and it’s a tough race,” Hays said. “I just love going there.”