John Nimmo sprints down the stretch to a 6th-place finish at the Country Day Cajun Classic cross country meet.

Coach Rudy Horvath ’86 went deep into his roster to fill out his line-up for the Country Day Cajun Classic cross country race. The event took place on Saturday, Oct. 11 at City Park.

By design, all 20 runners who raced in Mississippi last week sat this one out. That left only two of the team’s top ten runners, juniors John Nimmo and Nick Slay, available to anchor a depleted squad. Further hampering Horvath’s efforts to field a competitive top five were an ALS service project that culled out National Honor Society members, along with an ACT test administration.

The hearty souls who did show up to compete on Saturday morning were welcomed with less than ideal conditions — high humidity, temperatures in the 80s, and a course still damp from the previous evening’s rain shower.

That didn’t stop Nimmo and Slay, both of whom are in the thick of the battle for the Jays’ seven slots at state next month, from running solid races. Nimmo was especially strong, posting a time of 17:20 for the three-mile course.

“That’s just five seconds off of his personal record,” said Horvath. “To flirt with a PR in these conditions is impressive.”

Slay finished ten seconds back and seventh overall, followed by senior Daniel Langteau, junior Jose Cusco and junior Evan Ruppert. Also competing were junior Peyton Ruppert and senior Glenn Lorio.

As a team, the Jays finished well back in the pack this week, a result that Horvath expected. “I’m not disappointed at all,” he said. “How could I be? Everyone gave their best effort.”

Next up for the Jays is the Walker Shootout on Oct. 18.