Phillips Academy Boys' Cross Country Opens Season with Strong Showing at the Manchester Invitational
Phillips Academy boys' cross country returned to in-person competition for the first time since November 2019 on a beautiful Saturday in Manchester, New Hampshire for the 46th annual Manchester Invitational. In a deep, talented field, BXC runners distinguished themselves by competing hard and working together in packs.
Setting the tone for the races to follow, the JV squad conquered the hills and concrete obstacles of the well-worn, difficult course. Paced by captain Matthew Ottenbreit ('22), who was 17th overall, the PA runners finished 8th out of 32 teams in the strong field. PAXC debut runners Max Gomez ('23), Luke Piasecki ('24), Nigel Savage ('23), and Max Boesch-Powers ('24) delivered on the promise of their training, and returners Ethan Qi ('23) and John Wang ('22) picked up right where they left off in 2019.
Toeing the line for the last race of the day, the boys' Varsity runners lived up to the expectations set by their BXC and GXC teammates. It was something of a youth movement in Manchester as five out of the top seven PA finishers were underclassmen, which is exciting both for this season and the future of the team. Leading the BXC runners was ninth-grader Tam Gavenas ('25), who stayed tough on the hills of the second mile to take 26th place, crossing the line as the first ninth-grade finisher in the race. Adding to the first-year strength, Luke Williamson ('25) and Luke Francis ('25) came through as the 6th and 11th fastest ninth-graders in the race. The race also saw excellent PAXC debuts from Jack Wilcox ('22), Aidan Lin ('23), and Constantine Krenteras ('24) while veteran Isaac Heitmann ('22) proved that he's ready to run well this season.
The PAXC boys are looking forward to competing at the NMH Invitational next Saturday (10/2) in Mount Hermon, MA.