MIDDLEBORO — The team’s home meet against Sandwich High School and Carver Middle High School brought a day of personal records for Middleboro High School’s cross country teams. 

Both the girls and boys varsity teams won their meets on Thursday, Oct. 17 and several runners ran the 2.9 mile course faster than they ever had before.

“It’s good to see them [getting faster] as we head into championship season,” and “[breaking personal records] when they’re at their most fit,” said Sachems Head Coach T.J. Smith. 

“We see how hard they work,” said Assistant Coach Heather Montross. “For them to actually see those results is very important.” 

The course starts and finishes on the track, takes runners around the school’s football fields and through a section of trail. Out on the trail, runners faced a dauntingly steep climb. 

Team captain and senior Lekan Sotonwa won the boys race, clocking in a time of 15 minutes and 37 seconds, which is just a few seconds off the course record he currently holds. Thursday’s victory meant he finished the season undefeated. 

“It felt amazing because it was my last race of the season,” he said.” I felt really proud of what I accomplished.”

In addition to attaining personal bests, Sotonwa had another team-focused objective this season. 

“I’m trying to get everyone to improve their time and feel like they are part of a team,” he said. 

Junior Haley Washburn finished third in the girls race after a Sandwich High School runner and her teammate Charleigh Butler passed her in the final stretch of the race. 

“I can’t hold back now and put everything I worked for on the back burner,” Washburn told herself during those final meters, noting “it still felt good coming in the place that I did.” 

Running a cross country race takes “a lot of mental toughness,” she noted.

“There are some spots [where you’re telling yourself] I need to stop, but you have to keep going even through the physical and mental pain,” Washburn noted. 

As she charged her way up the steep climb, junior Ana Machado told herself “Come on Machado, you can do this. Don’t quit now.” 

Talking to yourself from “a different point of view,” she said, makes it “so much easier to motivate yourself.”

This win brings the 2024 season record to six wins, one loss for both Sachems teams. The Sachems will compete in their final meet of the regular season Tuesday, Oct. 29 against Cohasset High School at the Middleboro High School track.