A dual meet, coaches hand timing, manual calculation of team scores displayed on poster board with mailing labels, and a course meandering around a school campus – for the coaches and parents watching the first meet of the 2020 Angel’s cross country season, it felt like cross country circa 1984; for the East athletes competing on a mercifully cool afternoon, it was their first experience with a low tech dual meet and a preview for most of the rest of this unique season.

The East Angels first experience with a dual meet in a generation was a success by every measure. For the Boys, junior Eamon Nussbaum surged midway through the race to take command and grab his first career win in 18:02. Ninth grader Grant Elliot used a final mile surge to grab third place. Junior Jack Kriekels and sophomore Ben Hopper finished together in 6^thand 7^thwhile junior Owen Congdon rounded on the team scoring with his 9^thplace finish. The Angels totaled 26 points, besting the host Golden Demons by a mere 3 points. In addition to the aforementioned underclassmen, 9^thgrader Kai Luna placed 11^th, sophomore Ian Logan 13^th, 9^thgrader Connor Beardsley 15^th, and two additional 9^thgraders, Elliot Brumbaugh and Nathan Turner went 1^stand 2^ndin the Cohort 2 race in times that would have finished in the top-15 in the Cohort 1 race; the future of East Cross Country is bright.

The Girls’ race pitted 2019’s 8^thplace 5A team against 2019’s 8^thplace 4A team. The Angels ran away with a commanding 20 point to 40-point victory over the Demons. Senior Laura Romero led from start to finish in a time of 20:24, followed by fellow senior Julia Schor who nabbed 2^ndplace in a spirited finishing kick. Senior Abby Howard finished 4^th, followed by juniors Ellison Mucharsky-O’Boyle and Annabel Filippini and senior Maya Nussbaumer in 6^th, 7^thand 8^th. Seniors Grace O’Meara (11^th) and Lilia Scudamore (12^th), 9^thgrader Sophia Shiroff (15^th) and junior Gemma Haller (16^th) all finished strong in the Cohort 1 race. In the Cohort 2 race, 9^thgrader Sasha Bull and junior Alia Quinby led the way in another race dominated by the Angels.

Click here for Angels and Demons Dual Unofficial Results

Next week the East Angels Cohort 1 will host a tri-meet against league rivals South and George Washington, while Cohort 2 travels to George Washington for a dual meet.