Girls' Varsity XC Win MBIL Championship
After a rough finish last season, the team pulled off a stunning victory, lead by three Middle-Schoolers.
On November 1 2023, Varsity Girls Cross Country placed last out of eight teams in the Massachussetts Bay Independent League (MBIL) championship race. One year later, the Gators clinched the title, beating second place Newman by just six points.
According to Head Coach Ted Barker-Hook, who is also the longtime boys' head coach and took over the girls' team this fall after last year's lackluster season, the team struggled with sickness and injuries throughout the season to the extent that they couldn’t field a full team of five until the final race.
“We did indeed face challenges in getting and keeping [the team] healthy,” Barker-Hook said. “In addition, we had two girls wrestling with leg injuries that occurred outside of school and had nothing to do with cross country or any other sports.”
Due to the team's health struggles, they had to work extra hard to recover and be ready for the championship race at the Cambridge School of Weston.
“From the middle of September, we set our sights on October 30 as the day when we absolutely had to have a team healthy enough to race,” Barker-Hook said. “On the way there, our girls spent a lot of time in the Fitness Center on the elliptical machine, stair climbers, and bicycles, trying to improve their cardio fitness while not losing too much of their running speed.”
According to Charlotte Woolley ‘30, who struggled with injury, this proved to be an extremely effective strategy.
“I did a lot of band training and strengthening my quads because my knees were injured, and I did a lot of elliptical to stay at my fittest,” Woolley said. “I tried to work the hardest so I could get back to where I was.”
Elliana Barros '30 races towards the finish line. Photo by Assistant Cross Country Coach David Cutler.
Elliana Barros '30 races towards the finish line. Photo by Assistant Cross Country Coach David Cutler.
Charlotte Woolley '30 rounds a corner with runners from other teams. Photo by Assistant Cross Country Coach David Cutler.
Charlotte Woolley '30 rounds a corner with runners from other teams. Photo by Assistant Cross Country Coach David Cutler.
Woolley placed second overall in the championship race, followed closely by the Gators’ other two middle school stars: Gloria Laurenza ’29 in ninth place and Elliana Barros ’30 in 11th.
For Barker-Hook, having such young stars is something he is incredibly thankful for.
“I am really excited and grateful to have Elliana, Gloria, and Charlotte running with us,” Barker-Hook said.
Barker-Hook also acknowledged the challenges that came with working with younger runners.
“There are challenges, both for me and for them and their families,” Barker-Hook said. “First is simple scheduling: the middle school schedule dictates that middle school sports begin well before varsity sports, and the girls have to make scheduling adjustments to be able to practice and race with us.”
Training also had to be different for the younger runners.
“It is a simple fact of physiology that 12 and 13 year old kids' bodies aren't ready for the kind of length or intensity of work that 17 and 18 year olds can do,” Barker-Hook said. “For example, whereas our senior girls were running 20-25 [miles] per week in October, our Middle School girls never approached 15 miles per week, even when fully healthy.”
The boys and girls team pose together after the championship race. Photo by Assistant Cross Country Coach David Cutler.
The boys and girls team pose together after the championship race. Photo by Assistant Cross Country Coach David Cutler.
Coach Ted Barker-Hook gives the girls a pep talk before the championship race. Photo by Assistant Cross Country Coach David Cutler.
Coach Ted Barker-Hook gives the girls a pep talk before the championship race. Photo by Assistant Cross Country Coach David Cutler.
However, for the whole team one thing remained consistent: training was significantly more intense than previous years.
According to Barker-Hook, this was done by implementing a new strategy—having the boys and girls teams train together.
“I think there is huge value in having boys and girls practice together: boys see firsthand the toughness and competitiveness of girls and gain respect for their athleticism, girls absorb some of the athletic aggressiveness of boys, and that often makes them more tenacious during races,” Barker-Hook said. “Reestablishing cross country as a true coed sport, even if there are separate races for male- and female-identifying, has helped both teams.”
Co-Captain Ruby Cohen-Weinberg '25 found Barker-Hook’s new strategy effective.
“I think having both teams practice together was definitely different, but I think it was good because there's more variety in being able to train with different people,” Cohen-Weinberg said.
Cohen-Weinberg also found Barker-Hook brought more intensity in general.
“He is definitely really challenging, but the way that he challenges you can definitely see results in how well we're doing,” Cohen-Weinberg said. “He definitely has pushed me harder than I have ever experienced in Cross Country. But I think it definitely had good outcomes.”
Gloria Laurenza '29 agrees with Cohen-Weinberg.
“He was a really good coach,” Laurenza said. “He really pushed us. I feel like he really understood where we were coming from.”
This extra intensity not only led to impressive performances from Middle School runners, but also from team veterans.
Co-Captain Chloe Rose Scolnick '25 improved her championship pace by 1:25 seconds, and Cohen-Weinberg improved her time by 57 seconds.
While coaching can be credited for these improvements, Barker-Hook emphasizes the hard work of the athletes.
“Ruby and Chloe deserve all the credit for their dramatic improvement over last season because they are the ones who did the hard work,” Barker-Hook said. “The results of their dedication to improvement speak for themselves.”
Indeed, the runners themselves are well aware of this, recognizing that it was their hard work that helped them achieve their goals.
According to Cohen-Weinberg, her hard work comes from an ambition to leave everything on the course.
“I think it's knowing that this is my last year running for Brimmer and knowing that I kind of just have to put it all out there,” Cohen-Weinberg said. “And knowing at certain courses that are really challenging, this is the last time I'm going to run it.”
Laurenza echoed Cohen-Weinberg', giving credit to her work ethic.
“My work ethic really helped me surpass what the high-schoolers were doing,” Laurenza said.
The girls react to the announcement about their first-place finish. Video courtesy of Assistant Cross Country Coach David Cutler.
The girls react to the announcement about their first-place finish. Video courtesy of Assistant Cross Country Coach David Cutler.
At the culmination of a season full of highs-and-lows, the girls sat down at the end of the championship race to await the results of all their hard work.
“They count down from last place to first,” Cohen Weinberg said. “And as they got closer and closer and closer, we didn't hear our name.”
When Newman was announced as the second-place team, the Gators knew they had won. They cheered, hugged, and Cohen-Weinberg cried tears of joy.
“It was such an amazing feeling because as someone who had been running for Brimmer for three years, we had never come to any victory of that sort, being able to feel like we won and we did is an amazing feeling,” Cohen-Weinberg said.
The other runners were also filled with happiness.
“It felt exciting,” Woolley said. “It was the first time in a while that the girls have won, which is really cool and it was just really exciting.”
Elliana Barros ‘30 agrees.
“It was really good,” Barros said. “It was my first championship and I'm glad that we got to experience it.”
(Left to right) Gloria Laurenza '29, Charlotte Woolley '30, and Elliana Barros '30 pose for a photo to celebrate the championship win.
(Left to right) Gloria Laurenza '29, Charlotte Woolley '30, and Elliana Barros '30 pose for a photo to celebrate the championship win.
As for the future, the team feels optimistic.
“Next year I think we can really elevate our goals,” Laurenza said. “Now that we know what we're capable of since this year we won the championship, we can go up over and beyond what we ever expected.”
The Gators will compete in the final NEPSTA race tomorrow, November 9, at Marianapolis Prep.
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