Varsity:  This is always an exciting race with teams from all over the state coming in to see what the competition is like.  This year four early girls races took all the dew off the course and conditions were near ideal, except for some softness in the course due to recent rains.  We had drawn lane 23, which turned out to be a blessing, since lanes 1 through 10 had to make a severe angle across the field to avoid the backstop.  Everything went off without a hitch as the runners sprinted to the first hill.  No one team dominated from the beginning as runners from 16 different schools were represented in the top 20 when they hit the mile mark.  Spencer came through in 27th and Ryan Donlin hit the mark in 50th.  Our five other runners ran as a pack posting 6:01 for their first mile.  Compared to last year the pace seemed slower and the mile times confirmed that suspicion.  The next mile saw Ryan inch up on Spencer and Danny Stein move slightly ahead of our pack, with Kyle Finnegan slightly dropping off the pace.  Cresting the long hill at 3400 meters, Danny Stein and Ryan Donlin started to consistently gain places.  Danny move into the top 60 and Ryan broke into the top 40.  The real surprise for us, though, was Peter Hilboldt who was out in front of both Zach LaVallee and Andrew O’Sullivan.  A strong surge up the final hill moved Ryan (36th) to within 9 seconds of Spencer, who finished just out of medal territory in 31st.  Danny was our third man in 52nd, while Peter, Andrew and Zach came across the line within four seconds of each other (65, 68 and 69).  The star of the race was Peter who ran within 11 seconds of his PR on a very challenging course.  With 18 full teams in the race Priory finished a respectable 7th.  A solid effort but one in need of improvement if we want to make a statement at the District race on this course.