The Mathews High School cross country teams hosted their first home meet of the year at Beaverdam Park in Gloucester on Sept. 10. Cushioned between torrential rains and abnormally high fall temperatures, the mild weather that day was appreciated by all the runners.

Lancaster and King William High Schools sent their teams to compete against the Blue Devils. Both the Mathews girls’ and boys’ team won their races. For the boys, the Lancaster team placed second, with King William taking third. In the girls’ race, King William placed second behind Mathews. While many of Lancaster High School’s girls finished strongly as individuals, they didn’t have enough girls to place as a team.

In the girls’ race, Sarah Whitley of King William finished first place out of a field of 27 runners with an impressive time of 21:58. She was followed by two runners from Lancaster, M. Frere and V. Waller. In fourth place, Rileigh Betz was the first of the Mathews girls to cr...