Many athletic events in the Mid-Atlantic region were cancelled due to the harsh weather ahead of Tropical Storm Ophelia, but the Blue Storm girls' cross country team climbed into a bus at 6:30 am Saturday, September 23 and headed for Oatlands Plantation in Leesburg, VA for the 2023 Oatlands Invitational.

Some early season success bumped Mercersburg up into the class A section of the meet, which included hundreds of runners from girls', boys, varsity, JV, large school, and small school teams. Six separate races were run at thirty-minute intervals beginning at 9 am, and the miserable conditions were just another challenge that all the runners had to face.

"We decided to have "Type 2 Fun" by going to this meet in a tropical storm" said head coach Betsy Cunningham. "Type 2 fun is something that isn't fun at the time, but in retrospect, builds character and is fun to look back on. Our girls were apprehensive of running in the storm but it turned out to be really fun and a great bonding experience for them. Maddie Chu '27 and Susanna Huang '27 ran especially well, achieving lifetime PRs. Maddie PR'd by 2 minutes which is amazing in these conditions. Our varsity did a great job leading the way. Anne Sehon '25 finished top for MA followed by Leah Willis '24. Our team score was 27th out of 31 in the "A" division which was the faster section. Our JV finished 12th out of 22 teams." 

Mercersburg times are listed below; for complete meet results click here.

The Blue Storm hosts the Family Weekend Cross Country Invite on Saturday, September 30 at 9:30 am.

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