Ginger Long

U-32 cross country runner Ginger Long, right, leads St. Johnsbury’s Adele Bernier up the final climb during last year’s NVAC Mountain Division Championships in Craftsbury.

U-32 Sophomore

Cross Country Runner

The Raiders' top gun was back in action at the Manhattan Invitational, where she finished 11th in a field of 167 competitors during the the Varsity B race. Long recorded a 2.5-mile time of 16 minute, 2.4 seconds to help her team place third out of 21 schools. She kicked off the season with a 5k time of 19:52.2 during the Essex Invitational, shaving over 11 seconds off her personal-record time as a freshman. Long will be one of the pre-race favorites to win the individual title at the Division II state meet Oct. 29 in Thetford and the Raiders are likely to be front-runners for the team crown along with Harwood and Middebury.