Chesapeake Cross Country Team Starts Strong

The Chesapeake High School boys cross country team has a grudge to pick.  After winning the county championships and coming in fourth in the state championships last year, they are not happy to be ranked 25^th in the pre-season rankings.

Though Running Maryland has cited a lack of depth on the team as a determining factor in the preseason ranking, 2011 Cross Country All-County runner, Alex Love said, “We run as a pack and as long as we keep doing that we run strong.”

The three top runners, Love, Sam Phipps and Ted Tibert are adamant that sticking together is the key to repeating last year’s county championship.

“We are sticking together as a team and are prepared to do whatever it takes to repeat our county championship,” Love said.

Saturday morning at the South River Invitational eleven teams including Severna Park, South River, Northern, Broadneck, Old Mill, Glen Burnie, North Point and Arundel, gathered for the first in-county meet of the season.

As teams began to set up their tents just above the starting line, Chesapeake continued down the path several hundred yards as though to set themselves apart from the rest of the teams.  While other runners mingled and mixed, the Chesapeake runners gathered in a one group, as though to prove their unity before the race began.

Unlike many teams who went into the meet trying to get a feel for their top ranked runners, Chesapeake had one goal going into the Saturday’s meet.  They were shooting for a win.  And a win is exactly what they got.

Love, having trained throughout the summer, both with his teammates and members of the Severna Park High School team, was the first runner across the line.  Second and third place spots were taken by teammates Tibert and Phipps. 

The next three Chesapeake runners were Michael Ferguson in 16^th,  Matt Fontaine in 25^th, and Wes Clulow in 28^th.  Dan Hendrix rounded out the varsity team with a strong sub-20 minute finish.

This week will see the team competing in two more meets, a six team county meet at Arundel on Wednesday and the Magruder Invitational on Friday. Chesapeake is expecting a strong showing at both meets.