On Dec. 2, McLean ran their first indoor meet of the season at Thomas Jefferson Middle School (TJMS). Although the track was not ideal, McLean was able to pull off a 1st place finish for the boys, and a 2nd place finish for the girls.

“I think we did great given the environment and our goals this past weekend,” Distance Coach Matthew Christianson said. “The TJMS meets do not allow for optimal performances since the track is not a great surface, and the competition isn’t usually great.”

On Dec. 9, McLean traveled to the New York Armory for the Jim Mitchell Invitational. There, many of their runners were able to qualify for regionals and states, including Sophie Knudson in the women’s pole vault. She was able to clear the state qualifier and school record of nine feet, having gone all the way up to ten and a half feet.

“Sophie was a standout performer, but almost everyone else did really well,” Christianson said. “It was overall a very successful start of the year.”

McLean’s next meet is at Liberty College on Dec. 16. They hope to continue their successes and work further on the goals they set at the beginning of the year.

“Our biggest goal this season is to get as many people as possible to the State Championship at the end of February,” Christianson said. “We are in a position that we can win the District Championship as a boys team, and get very close to that on the girls team.”