A picture-perfect September day saw Exeter cross country turn in some high-level performances at the Choate Invitational in Wallingford, CT.

Bo Howland-Vlahakis, Ava Bullock, and Harper Peters each crossed the line first in their respective races, with all three building such commanding leads and finishing nearly a full minute ahead of the next runner.  

Howland-Vlahakis set a personal-record and was the first of three Exeter runners that finished in the top five of the results. Howland-Vlahakis cruised to a time of 15:39 while Owen Welch followed in third place overall with a time of 17:25. Will Miller captured fifth place as he crossed at 19:31. Artur Novaes-Ferreira and Ethan Benenson also performed well, coming in at 18:01 and 18:17, respectively.

Ava Bullock was tremendous in the girls' veteran race, earning the honors of top-finisher with a time of 19:18. Alice Rourke finished sixth overall at 20:48 while Sophia Butler followed in eighth place when she crossed at 22:14. Marley McMahon (22:30), Jocelyn Wen (22:37), Olivia Littlefield (22:46), and Emerson Seymour (22:54) all turned in solid times.

Harper Peters captured first place overall in the mixed boys and girls novice race. Peters cruised to a time of 19:10 to capture the top spot and lead nine Big Red girls who were first to cross in the section. Sollie Beer was the first Exeter boy to cross in the mixed division, coming in at 20:32.

Big Red will return to race action on Saturday, September 20 when they head to the annual Manchester Invitational. The race day schedule is as follows:

Manchester Invitational 
9:00am – Girls 9^th Grade Race (2 mile)
9:30am – Boys 9^th Grade Race (2 mile)
10:00am – Girls C Race (2 mile)
10:30am – Boys C Race (2 mile)
11:00am – Girls B Race (5km)
11:30am – Boys B Race (5km)
1:00pm – Girls A Race (5km)
1:30pm – Boys A Race (5km)