By Charlie Walsh ‘23

The Crusader Duel meet is the perfect way to kick off the outdoor track season. It is a friendly competition against your peers.

The six team captains were divided into two teams. Teams Walsh, Heilmann and Worthington were in white, and teams Bowes, Kennedy and Morrison were in black. Each team took turns drafting players until no one was left. Bragging rights were on the line, along with first dibs at pizza.

Afterwards the competitiveness in each of us came out. Many of us argued over who has the better team and who would come out as champions.

On Thursday, the 6th annual Crusader Dual meet was under way.

Sophomore Gavin O’Connor said, “I love the fact that the coaches allow us to be on our own, forcing us to figure things out for ourselves in this meet. It is a great opportunity for everyone, especially the underclassmen, to learn.”

Right from the start, both teams seemed pretty even with just a few points difference. At the halfway point, it was the same story. One simple mistake could be the downfall of either team.

Every point mattered, and each team was willing to give it their best.

My favorite part about these races is that you are able to practice using strategy instead of other races where you compete for first place almost every time. I wanted to make sure that my team was in the best position to score points and win, even if that means having to sacrifice first place in one event to score better in the next; therefore, that’s what we did.

With the meet winding down, only one race could decide it.

The last two events were the big man relay and the 4×400. As captain of the white team, I was confident in these two events.

The last two races were ours; we were able to get first in the big man relay and second in the 4×400. With a final score of 66-58, the white team won.

Junior Danny Macis said, “It was great seeing each team competing to win; I’m glad white team came out as champions.”