Three Wheeler School runners qualified for the New England All-Star Meet, which consisted of the top harriers from the NEPSAC Championships held on Nov. 9 at St. Mark’s School. The highlight of the meet was a victory in the girls’ race by senior Lily Foulkes.
Foulkes, who was the top Rhode Islander at the Brown Invitational last month, ignored the cold conditions, blazing to a winning time of 18 minutes, 46 seconds at the NEPSAC meet. Looking relaxed and confident, Foulkes took the lead from the start. Despite taking a wrong turn near the two-mile mark and being redirected back on the course, Foulkes still won by 14 seconds! Next on the agenda for the Wheeler standout is the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals at Van Cortlandt Park on Nov. 29.
In a talented field of accomplished runners in the boys’ race, Wheeler’s Ian Steller finished third overall with a time of 16:07. Stellar went out with the leaders and passed the opening mile in 5:12. He maintained that pace until the finish to become the fastest runner ever for Wheeler at the meet. Stellar beat all the Division I runners, including a stacked Exeter team that had won the New England Meet the last five years. Stellar’s teammate, Michael Matt, showed his true grit, outkicking two runners the final 100 meters and finishing 31st overall with a time of 18:04.
“It’s tough to put to words how incredibly proud I am of these athletes,” said head coach Tom Wharton. “They have each put in countless hours of training over multiple years to reach these truly amazing feats. Their hard work and discipline paid off and today they really put Wheeler on the XC map.”