By Charlie Gutierrez
On Friday, Sept. 27, the Columbus Cross Country team was competing at Larry & Penny Thompson Park in the Miami-Dade County Youth Fair Championship. However, the focus quickly turned away from the race as Matthew Nuñez '25 suffered a serious brain injury. Matthew was first transported to Jackson South Hospital and was later airlifted by helicopter to Jackson's main hospital campus where he could receive more specialized care.
Following this tragic event, the Columbus Brotherhood came together to support Matthew and his family. During this past week, Explorer Nation has shown their love and support in several ways beginning with all the members of the cross country team buzzing their hair in solidarity with Matthew, followed by the signing of a poster wishing Matthew well, which was kickstarted by his teammates. And most recently, the Columbus community honored Matthew with a prayer service after school on Wednesday, Oct. 2 in front of the big C. Attended by hundreds, including students and faculty, the touching event brought the brotherhood together.
So far this season, the Columbus Varsity Cross Country team has competed in four invitationals, the first was the Florida Horse Park Invitational in Ocala on September 7, where they placed 4th out of 47 teams. This was followed by a 1st place finish, out of 19 teams, at the King of the Hill Invitational in Miami on September 13. The winning streak continued on September 20 at the Spanish River XC Invitational in Boca Raton, where the Explorers beat out 26 other teams. Finally, in their most recent meet on September 27 at the Miami-Dade County Youth Fair Championship, Columbus finished 2nd out of 15 teams.
While Matthew continues to recover, what is certain is that we must continue to pray for a speedy recovery for Matthew.
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