On Nov. 1, the Monmouth Academy Cross Country teams went to Belfast, Maine, and were surprised with the great turnout they had at the Class C State Championships. The boys raced at 11 a.m. and the girls raced at 11:30 a.m.

At the end of the races we looked over to see the looks on Coach Amero’s and Coach Menendez’s faces as they learned that the boys took first place, and the girls took second. At that moment, all of the hard workouts, sweat, and dedication were made 100 percent worthwhile. They were so proud of both their teams.

The boys won with 72 points, making them the 2008 Class C State Champions, and the girls came in second with 80 points, making them the 2008 Class C Runners-Up.

On the way home, we celebrated the only way that we knew how, but we needed a little help. Police, Fire, and Ambulance vehicles all made our celebration possible by escorting us through Central Monmouth-sirens blaring while we sang, screamed and yelled through the town.

States was an amazing race, all runners went out there and laid it all on the line. With nothing to lose, they had already qualified.

The Monmouth boys’ team qualified for the 74th New England Championships in Manchester, New Hampshire, to be held on November 8. This is quite an accomplishment because only six teams, the winning boys’ and girls’ teams from each class and the top 25 runners, out of all classes, from each state are allowed to go. States involved in the New England’s are: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island.


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