For nearly half an hour after the Maryland State Championships, varsity cross country team captain and junior Isaiah Segal-Geetter stood waiting for the race’s results; cooling down and catching his breath. When he crossed the finish line, he had looked to his coach for a sign, but the small shake of the coach’s head suggested they might have just fallen short. All their runners were done, the scores would be close, but still no one knew for sure who won the meet.
Someone who had added up the results said it looked like they’d won. Still, the team didn’t believe it until the official results finally appeared. JDS had won the race with the combined placements of their runners totaling 57 points, only five points less than the second place Northern Maryland FCA. After hearing the news, Segal-Geetter ran straight to fellow teammate, sophomore David Federowicz.
“I remember going over to David and giving him a hug, and everyone was just very happy,” Segal-Geetter said.
This year, the JDS varsity boys cross country team lost their two top runners; alumni Jonah Berman (‘25) and Nathan Szubin (‘25). Despite that setback, Segal-Geetter led the team to victory in both the PVAC and state championships.
With leaders Berman and Szubin gone, Segal-Geetter received a new role on the team as team captain. Assistant coach Spencer Wood emphasized the importance of leaders like Segal-Geetter stepping up, giving mentorship and helping younger runners on the team.
“It definitely is not easy for him, especially since we’re asking him to speak up and talk to the other players,” Wood said. “And that was hard for him at first, but he improved a lot with his leadership later on in the year.”
Segal-Geetter felt prepared coming into the season, as he had trained over the summer. Even before the season began, he set his sights on success.
“I looked at who would be returning, and I saw that I had a really good shot to be the best runner in the league,” Segal-Geetter said. “My biggest goal was just to win the league.”
Segal-Geetter went on to place first in the first meet of the season, and quickly realized that PVAC championships could be his win, or to “go out and get,” as he said.
By the midseason PVAC XC Championships, Segal-Geetter’s running ability had stayed consistent. Despite running against new competition, Segal-Geetter regularly placed first and was especially proud of himself for placing first in the regular season championships.
“Eventually I kind of pulled away, and won the whole thing,” Segal-Geetter said. “It was really, really special for me. “That’s my biggest accomplishment that I’ve had in running.”
Segal-Geetter later ran a new personal record of 16:39 in the 5K at the end of the season. That time moved him to the 6th fastest JDS runner of all time in the 5K.
Segal-Geetter also paced alongside teammates Federowicz and freshman Jake Forseter during midseason championships, resulting in them running better times. Forseter, who currently holds the JDS freshman all-time 5k record at 17:04, was especially thankful for Segal-Geetter’s help in the race.
“I was very lucky, because the whole first mile, I was close to Isaiah and so his consistency… helped me, because I had someone to pace with,” Forseter said.
Segal-Geetter’s advice to younger runners is to keep running, since “every run matters,” even when they feel discouraged. Sometimes runners may not do as well, but it is still important to “stick with it, every single day,” he said.
At the end of the XC season, the varsity boys team won State Championships, beating out teams like Northern Maryland FCA and St. Andrew’s Episcopal school. The win was the result of the combined efforts of all five of the team’s fastest runners: Segal-Geetter, Federowicz, Forseter, junior Judah Trauben and senior Isaac Yourman. But, according to Wood, the win wasn’t even the most important part.
“First of all, we won the PVAC, we won a state championship,” Wood said. “But it’s not even just that. It was the people who stepped up as leaders.”
