APAC Tried to Run, but Couldn’t Hide

AISG was scheduled to host the annual APAC Cross Country Championship on October 21-23 this year. AISG was supposed to host seven guest schools including Brent International School (Manila), Concordia International School (Shanghai), Hong Kong International School, International School of Beijing, Shanghai American School (Pudong), Shanghai American School (Puxi), and Western Academy of Beijing.

Thursday evening, the night before APAC runners were scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou, AISG was closed due to a typhoon warning. On Friday it was confirmed that APAC XC was cancelled because of the typhoon warning. However, the typhoon passed by and there was no rain and minimal wind. The AISG cross country team was disappointed about the cancellation because they had spent a great deal of time training and were looking forward to the race. Thomas Sepahi, captain of the varsity boys’ cross country team, said, “When I found out that the race had been cancelled I was devastated: I woke up in the morning to a text and a few e-mails confirming it . . . I was shocked—it felt as if three years of work had gone to waste.”

Personally, as a cross country runner, I was excited and was looking forward to putting all my hard work from both off-season and in-season to the test. When I woke up on Friday, I was devastated when I checked my email and discovered that APAC was cancelled. Last year I made the APAC team but I wasn’t  able to go, so I was looking forward to this year’s APAC and to see what I could do after two years of training.

To the runners’ contentment, postponing APAC became a possibility. After collective consideration by the athletic directors from all of the schools that were involved, it was decided that APAC XC would be rescheduled for Monday, November 7, and Mr. Elliot confirmed this the following Wednesday. Everyone on the cross country team was thrilled to learn that APAC had been rescheduled at Concordia International School of Shanghai.

Thomas described his thoughts about the new opportunity, saying that “the team was really excited . . . to get the chance to show what we could do. Managing to go to Shanghai and get the silver medal where we raced two years ago was an amazing feeling.” He added, “the team did really well and I’m very proud of our accomplishments this season.”

The boys’ varsity team placed second and the girls’ team placed third, with both teams earning sportsmanship awards. The boys’ team was lead by senior Christoper Renfrow finishing 8th, and Ibrahim Bah finishing 9th. Nina Sepahi, who finished 5th, led the girls’ team.

Yan Li reflected, “I feel like all of the intense training that we put into it really paid off at APAC. I think this was a great ending to the season for me as a senior.” Personally, I’m satisfied with how our team did, and thrilled that APAC happened. For that, I thank Mr. Elliott for the work that he went through to make sure we had the opportunity to have our last APAC, mostly for the seniors’ sake.

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Photo by Coach