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By Lisa Moore
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
If you happened to be in the vicinity of Wellesley Middle School Friday morning, you might have caught a glimpse of the hundreds of middle school students in their bright blue, yellow, and red shirts running along the mini marathon racecourse as they wound their way for nearly a mile and a half around the school.
Now in its eleventh year, the mini marathon is a tradition that promotes fitness, friendly competition, and Raider Pride. The race is voluntary but all students are encouraged to participate and get time to practice for it in the weeks prior during PE class.
The mini marathon is a popular event among the students, as is evident from the nearly total school participation rate and the smiles on the students’ faces as they finish the race or cheer on their schoolmates.
The top three finishers from each grade received medals for their achievement and bragging rights among their classmates. This year’s winners and their finishing times are as follows,
6th grade boys: 1st place Trevor Mullin (9:54), 2nd place Max Stickun Pickering (9:57), and 3rd place Matt Lussier (10:05).
6th grade girls winners were, 1st place Caroline McCurdy (10:26), 2nd place Rory Clare (10:27), and 3rd place Abby Roberts (11:18).
7th grade boys winners were 1st place Mark Henshon (9:54), 2nd place Jackson Claflin (9:57) and 3rd place Effa Fouda (10:05).
This year’s 8th grade boys winners were 1st place Brendan Clare (9:37), 2nd place Jason Norris (9:38), and 3rd place Robbie Lynch (9:46).
The 8th grade girls top finishers were 1st place Ella Midura (10:49), 2nd place Nellie Thompson (10:53), and 3rd place Nora Bannon (11:12).
With over 900 participants, this fun and spirited event organized by the WMS Fitness and Health staff could not be possible without tremendous community support.
The event’s organizers wished to thank the Wellesley Police Department, WMS custodial staff, DPW, Marathon Sports, WMS administrators, nurses, office staff, teachers, WMS PTO, and a host of parent volunteers led by coordinators Dayna Coakley and Amy Leibowitz for their supportive efforts.
