The George Mason High School boys and girls cross country teams ran in state-level competition at Great Meadow last Saturday. Both teams brought home medals: The girls earned silver for their second-place finish, and the boys earned bronze for coming in third.

Freshman Blaise Sevier was the first finisher for the girls team, crossing the finish line at fifth overall with a time of 20:05. Fellow freshmen Corinne Carson also broke into the top 15 with a 14th-place finish at 20:36.

Other runners for the Mason girls team placed as follows: sophomore Kaitlin Kutchma, 23rd (21:22); junior Lauren Meinhart, 24th (21:24); sophomore Kate Atkeson, 27th (21:35); sophomore Alicia Devereaux, 30th (21:38); and freshman Clara Frost, 32nd (21:53). The girls team is still young, which promises much for the coming years.

The top finisher for the boys team was senior Jesse Schaffer, who was 13th overall with a time of 16:57. Schaffer also made the All-State boys team.

Many boys and girls ran their best times in the race, including junior Austin Gogal who came in 12th with a time of 17:24.

Other runners for the Mason boys team placed as follows: senior Jeremy K. Brown, 16th (17:35); junior Nate Jones, 25th (17:46); junior David Drawbaugh, 29th (17:56); and junior Truman Custer, 49th (18:30).

The second- and third-place finishes for the two teams come one season after both the boys and girls teams won the state championship.

“Despite the fact that it wasn’t quite the victory that we wanted, everyone ran their heart out and put forward an effort of a state-winning caliber,” Gogal said. “For me, this defeat only marks the beginning for a more competitive environment, one that we were not prepared for this year, but next year we will be ready.”