On Saturday afternoon, Evelyn Apazidis took the top spot at the annual Bob Pratt Invitational at Sunken Meadow State Park.

The junior paced the field in the girls’ 3.85k race in a time of 17:15, out-kicking Mt. Sinai’s Carli Sheiffele to the finish line by less than two seconds. Sophia Dabbraccio (3rd/17:31), Mia Trama (9th/18:22), Nikki Quartuccio (21st/19:43), and Ali Puopolo (35th/20:55) rounded out a strong showing from the Bears.

Evelyn had this to say about her race:

I had the lead for the first two miles. Once we entered the last 800 meters of the race, I could hear my teammate, Sofia Dabbraccio and the second place runner behind me, so I started to kick, but I sped up a little too soon and died out, which was when the second place runner took the lead for about 100 meters.

However, I pushed a little harder and the last 200 meters we were neck and neck. I just closed my eyes and sprinted. It was very painful and all I could think was how bad it would have been if I got second place in the last 100 meters of the race after being in first the whole time.

Overall it was an amazing start to our season and I am super proud of our whole team. Sofia placed 3rd overall--this being her first meet ever--and Mia Trama placed 9th, placing three out of our five runners in the top 10. SBS came in second place, losing by one point to a team with over 15 runners. I cannot wait to see what this team does next!

The Brook is back on the course this Friday when they host Portledge on the 1st annual Fall Portledge Day.

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