DM Cross Country

Brandon Smoot ‘25 & Daden Grogan ‘25 ran their first college race yesterday at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, VA. Brandon is running for St. Mary’s College and Daden is running for American University.

As always, @collegeparkrun was an excellent host for our pre-season tuneup 5k. Our guys are ready for Friday’s season opener at Trials of Miles

Sayid will graduate tomorrow with highest honors, and with three Top 10 finishes at the WCAC Championship! The fourth fastest 5k runner in DeMatha XC history, he will attend Penn State this fall. Congratulations, Sayid, and thank you so much for all you’ve done for the program!

Sayid demonstrated leadership by doing things the right way, his focus unique over the program’s last decade. Asked what advice he would give his younger teammates before he leaves, Sayid said, “Whatever you do, just have fun and don’t let anybody take that fun away from you.”

Today marks the last full day that DeMatha’s seniors will be high schoolers. Tomorrow they will join more than 10,000 men who call DeMatha their alma mater. We’ve spent the past few days honoring the seniors from our 2023 cross country team and today we recognize Sayid Shakur.

Andrew has the highest career GPA of our XC seniors at 4.339. He will graduate with highest honors on Friday and will attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. Congratulations, and thank you for your service to our program and your future service to our country!

Reflecting on his four years, Andrew says his favorite cross country memory is “hanging out with Uncle Austin during the bus rides to meets. And getting to DeMatha by 5:30 a.m. was always a blast.”

In his 5k debut at our second time trial on the College Park parkrun course, he ran 29:42. Three years later he set his high school PR on the same course in 21:15!

Like his classmates, Andrew began his high school career in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic. With strict limitations on practice attendance and few opportunities to compete, Andrew still decided to spend the fall training with the cross country team.

In two days, DeMatha’s 2024 graduating class will receive their diplomas and end their high school careers. We’ve spent the past three days honoring seniors from our 2023 cross country team and today we thank senior co-captain Andrew Righi for his leadership.

Chase tells his younger teammates to “outwork talent and never give up.” After he graduates on Friday, Chase will attend Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he was offered scholarship money for both academics and athletics. Congratulations, Chase, and good luck at FDU!

Only two runners in program history finished their careers with faster 5k times than Chase (Cory Puffett ’10 with a 15:27 and Robert Patterson ’09 with a 15:48). Chase broke Puffett’s DeMatha 1600m record at this spring’s WCAC track & field Championship, winning in 4:14.13.

Chase only ran cross country at DeMatha in 2023, but he left quite a mark on the program. After debuting with a respectable 18:25 at Trials of Miles in Leesburg, Va., Chase went on set his career PR of 15:51 at the Milestat Invite and then won the WCAC Championship in 16:07!

We are just three days away from graduation! Before they go, we are recognizing and thanking the senior members of the 2023 DeMatha cross country team. Today we recognize the individual WCAC champion, Chase Lopez.

Graham will graduate with honors tomorrow. He plans to attend Anne Arundel CC next year, with hopes to eventually attend the US Coast Guard Academy while developing as a tennis player. Congratulations, Graham, and thank you for three amazing years of dedication to our program.

A key member of DeMatha’s 2023 WCAC Championship team, Graham reflected on a key moment in that season. “Racing at the Skip Grant Invitational last year where we came in second, we beat Gonzaga for a second time and it gave us the confidence we needed going into championships.”

In four days, DeMatha’s seniors will walk across the stage at the National Shrine and receive their diplomas. As we approach this significant milestone, we are honoring the seniors of DeMatha’s 2023 cross country team. Today we thank senior co-captain Graham Fenn.

Peter was a great leader who had the respect of his teammates. He will graduate with high honors on Friday and will attend Virginia Military Institute in the fall. Congratulations, and then you so much, Peter, for your contributions to the cross country program!

His advice for younger runners is to “fully embrace the cross country experience and just go on the grind. Your mind and body will adjust before you know it.”

We are five days away from graduation and in this final week of their high school careers, we are recognizing all the senior members of the 2023 DeMatha Stags cross country team. Today, we spotlight senior co-captain Peter Brown.