The FWCD Cross Country team competed in its third meet on Saturday, September 9, and has enjoyed a successful start to the season thus far. Here is a breakdown of the team’s past three meets:

Birdville 6-Mile Relay (Saturday, August 23): The Cross Country team competed in its first meet of the season on August 23. Teams of three runners ran two miles each, for a total of six miles, on a grassy, somewhat hilly course near the Tarrant County NE campus. Country Day’s lead Boys Varsity relay team – consisting of Cooper Baird ’15, Sawyer Stratton ’15, and William Newton ’16 – finished in third place in a field of 24 teams.

Burleson Elk Run (Friday, August 29): Less than a week after their strong showing at Birdville, the FWCD Cross Country team competed in their first 5km race (3.1 miles) of the season in Burleson on a wet and muddy course. In the Girls Varsity race, Melody Rodriguez ’15 medaled with a 17th place finish, and in the Boys Varsity Race, Cooper Baird ’15, Sawyer Stratton ’15, and William Newton ’16 all finished in the top 10, finishing in 2nd place, 5th place, and 10th place, respectively. As a team, the Boys Varsity team finished first overall, handily beating a field that included over 20 teams. The FWCD Boys Varsity team also won first place at the Elk Run in 2013.

Southlake Invitational (Saturday, September 6): The Cross Country team ran in a highly competitive meet in Grapevine, featuring some of the best teams from Texas and surrounding states. Instead of entering the 4A-and-under division and competing against schools of similar size, the FWCD Boys and Girls Varsity teams entered the 5A-6A division in their respective divisions, both of which contained over 300 runners. As a team, the Boys Varsity team finished in 15th place out of 51 teams, finishing just behind longtime North Zone rival St. Marks.

Looking Forward: The FWCD Cross Country team has four meets remaining this season, and they are looking to build off of their successful start. On Saturday, September 20, the team will compete in the Marcus II Invitational, and on October 4, the team will travel to the Woodlands to compete in the Nike South Invitational. Following these meets, the team will run in Norbuck Park, Dallas against all North Zone schools on October 17, before competing in SPC at Norbuck Park three weeks later.