In an exciting afternoon of racing, the Loomis Chaffee girls cross country team won the Shaler Invitational on Saturday, October 25, by a nail-biting two points. 

The varsity squad notched 53 points to finish first among 13 scoring teams in the meet, hosted by Williston Northampton School. St. Paul’s School placed a close second with 55 points, followed by Hotchkiss with 61. 

The Loomis team ran a smart, gusty race, improving the team’s position in the middle kilometers of the course and holding strong through the finish. Six of the team’s eight runners in the varsity race placed in the top 20 overall, and all eight placed in the top third of the race.  

Scoring key points were senior captain Charlotte Preuss (8th), senior captain Maleah Cogle (9th), senior Frieda Bilezikian (13th), freshman Tillie Killam (15th), and senior captain Ani Tzonev (18th), followed closely by sophomore Neve Rugette (19th) as the team’s first displacing runner. Freshman Aza Skinner (30th) and junior Lily Muhlhauser (33rd) rounded out the Pelican squad in a field of 107 finishers. 

In the girls JV race, Loomis placed second to a deep St. Paul’s squad. Sixteen of the 19 LC competitors in the race sped to personal-record or season-best times for 5 kilometers.  

Junior Morgan Touhy led the way for the JV team, placing fourth among the 79 finishers. Also contributing to the team scoring were junior Eleanor Cavenagh (6th), sophomore Ruby Hoffman (9th), sophomore Amy Xue (10th), junior Maddie Denaro (11th), sophomore Lucy Campion (14th), and senior Kya Hua (17th). Four of their teammates also claimed top-25 finishes: sophomore Talya Hadari (19th), junior Helen Lu (20th), senior Lucy Cohen (22nd), and senior Bridget Hamel (23rd). 

The team now gears up for the Founders League Championship meet on Saturday, November 1, at Avon Old Farms and the Division I New England Prep School Track Association Championship on November 8 at Taft.