With temperatures in the mid-50’s and a slight breeze, conditions were excellent for a fast race at the Spiked Shoe Invitational in Stevenson, MD Saturday morning. Junior Bulldog runner Pierre Attiogbe took full advantage of the ideal conditions with a dominating wire-to-wire win in 16:03.  A pack of three runners stayed within reach of Attiogbe through the first 1.5 kilometers of the 5k course that featured several turns and switchbacks on the Greenspring campus of Stevenson University.  However, by the halfway point, Pierre had put them and the rest of the field out of sight and his only opponent was the digital timing board awaiting him at the finish line. 

 

Freshmen William Strong (17:09.4) and Sebi Hume (17:09.7) crossed the finish together earning 4^th and 5^th, respectively to lift the Bulldogs to first overall in the 11-team field with 47 points.  Gonzaga finished second overall with 59 points and Archbishop Curley was third with 133 points.  Aidan Urbina (18:09) was 17^th overall and Jack Thomas (18:18) was 20^th in the field of 196 runners.  Gonzaga also placed five runners in the top-20 but Urbina’s finish ahead of the Eagles’ fifth runner put STA over the top.  Other Bulldog runners turning in strong performances were John Rhee (23^rd, 18:28), Venya Kuzichev (27^th, 18:41), Laszlo Wolfe (30^th, 18:47) and Peter Donets (35^th, 19:00). 

 

The Bulldogs travel to Winchester, VA for the Judges Classic next Saturday, October 2^nd with the varsity race scheduled to start at 9am.