The first weekend of October has special significance for the cross country world of South Louisiana. This is the weekend of the Catholic High Invitation in Baton Rouge, which has historically yielded some of the fastest times in the state for any given year. The top twenty individuals in this race are awarded bright orange t-shirts with the outline of a runner in stride, around which are circumscribed the name of the invitational. The simple, spartan design belies the prestige of wearing it.
Cade Martin, senior captain, has a total of six orange shirts in his possession, counting the one he earned on Saturday, October 6th with his 5th place finish. If the worth of a man, or the talent, or the grit, could be measured in orange shirts, Martin would be among the elite. Colin Volpe, an eighth grader of particular toughness, earned his first this past Saturday.
Holy Cross, in the varsity race of more than 300 finishers, finished eighth in the varsity race, with Cade Martin in 5th place, Lyric Lee in 47th, Tharon Blanchard in 51st, Everett Planchet in 93rd, and Christian Liang in 101st. On the Junior Varsity side, Holy Cross placed 5th overall, with Skyler Madison placing 21st, Bradley Boozer in 44th, Josh Atkins in 83rd, Christian Dreis in 85th, and William Schatz in 101st. For Middle School, Holy Cross placed in the top 10 of over 30 teams, with Colin Volpe in 6th place, Aedan DeFrates in 39th, Landon Davis in 74th, Alex Walser in 88th, and Dominic Pellegrin in 96th.
Next up for Tiger Cross Country is the Allstate Sugarbowl Cross Country Classic, this Saturday, October 13th in City Park. Go Tigers!