The Martlet Mush is Back: The First Since 2019

By Rhys Marschke ’24

As we are now almost two weeks removed from Halloween festivities and the annual Martlet Mush at Westminster, reflecting back on the event seems easy. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and different restrictions on our school and campus, the Mush was one of the awesome things that was taken from us. This is my third year at Westminster, and was also the first Martlet Mush I had experienced; I had merely settled for hazy details and tails of the Mush history books prior to this Halloween.

The 2022 Martlet Mush was a hit. We are fortunate to have an event as enjoyable and engaging as it makes its return for the students and faculty members. From my perspective, I got to truly observe the Mush — I oversaw the race, since I am on our cross country team and did not run the race. Excitement was high amongst runners whether you wanted to win the whole thing and had record-breaking goals, or you were being forced against your will to run this agonizing three miles by your coach and planned on walking a majority of the course. Unfortunately, there were no records broken, but there were definitely some very impressive runs. The overall winner was a person who I was not surprised to see separate himself from the pack: Mr. Cary. He cruised through the fluorescent final chute at a mark of 22:13. Although Mr. Cary crossed the finish line first, it was not by much. Shortly thereafter, Will McCarthy ’25 and Matteo Garibay ’25 crossed the finishing line together, each refusing to pull ahead of the other. Running is always easier when you have someone by your side, but to do so while running a genuinely impressive time is a commendable act. Both finished with times of 22:19, only six seconds back from the leader. The first female runner was star Varsity Girls Soccer goalkeeper, Liz DiBlasi ’23, halting at a final time of 25:18.
 
The Martlet Mush allows our community to show its true colors, which are bright and beautiful. This was a day filled with smiles and reflection, and while some students see having to run the Westminster Cross Country Cross course as a burden, most use the opportunity to push their limits and potentially surprise themselves. To me, this day represents Westminster’s motto of Grit and Grace better than any other of the year, because the students who choose to take this challenge head-on and battle through the tough task in front of them, while every single student does it with a smile on their face (even if it does come after they have found their breath again).