The East Jefferson Rivals cross country teams competed in the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational at Lakewood High School in Arlington this weekend, with plenty of runners showcasing their skills. 

There were 13 races throughout the Saturday, Oct. 8 event encompassing all ranges of abilities. All runners competed over a 5K course in sunny and warm conditions. 

The first race for the Rivals team was the boys junior varsity Bronze Race in which junior Henri Huber took seventh place overall out of 453 runners. His personal record time of 19:44.2 led the team to a ninth-place finish out of 51 teams. Fellow junior Indigo Gould followed Huber closely, also with a personal record (PR) of 19:54.7 to take 11th place. Freshmen Grady White (121st, 22:15.1) Rylen Kruse (135th, 22:23.7), Dustin Hines (158th, 22:38.7), and junior Alex Lott (435th, PR 30:41.3) rounded out the JV squad. 

The girls team raced next in the varsity Silver Race with 306 competitors. The team took 15th place overall out of 40 teams and was led by senior captain Camryn Hines. She ran a seasonal best (SB) of 20:34.1 to take 17th place overall. She was followed by a trio of juniors, Fiona Fraser (37th, 21:19.3), Tadu Dollarhide (120th, SB 22:35.0), and Sylvia Butterfield (125th, PR 22:37.2). 

Freshmen Hilina Taylor-Lenz and Leah Ferland also both set PRs, running 25:03.8 and 25:31.3 for 270th and 281st places, respectively.

Junior Soare Johnston competed in the boys varsity Silver Race and ran a huge PR of 45 seconds to place fifth out of 320 competitors in 16:42.6. 

In the varsity Gold Race, senior Sebastian Manza demonstrated that he’s rebounding from illness with a time of 16:33.6 to place 26th out of 301 athletes. It put Manza on a good trajectory to compete well in the upcoming postseason.

The last race of the day for an EJ athlete was the girls Elite Race, which was an invitation-only event. Junior Aliyah Yearian exceeded expectations and ran to a ninth-place finish out of the 145 participants. Her time of 18:17.1 smashed her previous PR by 25 seconds and firmly establishes her as one of the top contenders for the state championship meet in November.