The boys’ team placed fourth at the meet, hosted by the Cambridge School of Weston, one spot lower than a year ago.

“Sadly, we didn’t win any trophies or anything, and we did worse than last year,” Ricky Thurmond ’28 said. “But our team atmosphere was very good this season, and I felt like we were really supportive of each other.” 

Woolley, who crossed in second, and Laurenza, who took fourth, were significantly faster than last year on the same course. Woolley shaved 35 seconds off her time, while Laurenza dropped 2 minutes, 7 seconds.

Still, Wooley wanted to repeat a team championship.

“Our MBIL final was a bummer because, since we won last year, we thought we would win again,” Woolley said.

After a season of nagging injuries that sometimes kept the girls from fielding a full lineup, everything finally came together when it counted most, according to Varsity Girls’ Coach Stephanie McCully.

“However, when it really mattered during the MBIL championship, we were able to get five girls across the finish line,” McCully said.

Team manager Marguerite Bourgeois ’27 said she was also encouraged by the girls’ overall finish.

“I think for the MBIL championships, it’s important to note that maybe the team didn’t do as well as we wanted to, but individually people still did really well and had really good times,” Bourgeois said.

Leading up to the championship, each squad approached its final preparations a little differently. Boys’ cross-country head coach Ted Barker-Hook said the challenge was sharpening fitness without overtaxing runners.

In the final week, coaches balanced rest for tired—and in some cases injured—athletes with short, hard efforts, Barker-Hook said. Both teams closed out practice Thursday by asking every runner to clock their fastest mile as a final tune-up before race day.

“The idea was to run fast without piling up fatigue,” Barker-Hook said. “In our last practice before NEPSTA, we ran a timed mile at the track, and Gloria’s 5:57 made her just the third female Gator runner to break six minutes, joining Woolley and Olivia Thorsgaard ’18.”

Laurenza ’29 was excited about going into the final race of the season.

“We knew that we had a chance to win, but going into the race, we knew we didn’t have our best team,” Laurenza said. “So, we really just did our best and it wasn’t enough.”

The boys’ team also returned to the NEPSTA championship Saturday at the University of Maine at Augusta after placing second there last year. The squad finished 13th out of 22 scoring boys teams and 26 schools represented.

For the second straight season, the girls were unable to field a full team because of injuries and prior commitments, though several athletes still competed individually.

“NEPSTA for the girls is a little challenging because we don’t have a full team,” McCully said. “Some of our fastest runners, they’re in peak shape. Despite the challenges, the athletes were eager to make a splash as individual competitors.”

Laurenza finished 13th out of 123 varsity runners and became the first Brimmer girl to earn NEPSTA all-star status. The only other Brimmer runner to receive the honor is Brian Gamble ’20, a three-time NEPSTA all-star; the 2020 season was canceled because of COVID-19.

In the end, the boys finished 13^th, after having placed a historic second last year.

Looking ahead, Woolley and Laurenza plan to race in the 13- and 14-year-old girls’ 3-kilometer event at the Brooks Northeast Cross Country Championships at Franklin Park on Nov. 29.

“A year ago, Charlotte finished 9^th in this race as a 12-year-old running a division higher than her age,” Barker-Hook said.