For the second year in a row, runner Elaijah Monteiro will be the sole representative of Dartmouth High School at the state championship on Nov. 18. 

Monteiro outperformed most runners at the Nov. 11 qualifying meet, smashing through to 27th place with a time of 17:05.7 in the 5,000 meter race. 

“It felt good, especially after being out for five weeks,” Monteiro said. “I’m glad to be the kid from Dartmouth representing [the team].”

The student athlete had an ankle sprain at the beginning of the season and couldn’t return until the end of September, at which point he had to “train pretty hard” to get back up to speed, literally. 

“Me and the boys like to say ‘the work is working,’” Monteiro said, which means the energy he puts in is paying off.

Despite qualifying for state, Monteiro didn’t quite accomplish all his goals on Saturday: He’s on a mission to break 17 minutes, which he missed by just five seconds. At the state championship in Devens, he’s looking to break through that barrier. 

Going into the race, Monteiro was full of confidence: “I was telling [my coach] that I knew I was gonna make it,” he said. 

Monteiro, both a senior and a team captain, is a key member of the cross country team. The only meet that Dartmouth lost over the regular season was against Brockton High School, a meet that Monteiro missed due to his injury. 

As a team, Dartmouth placed 10th at the state qualifiers, one of the best results that Dartmouth High School has ever achieved, said head coach Hilary Sousa. Dartmouth as a whole has never made it to the division state championship, but it usually has some individuals that push through. 

Sousa said the team had “a little bit more potential to place a little higher” in the qualifiers, but overall, “it’s been a great season.”

While he is focused on state at the moment, Monteiro said he’s looking to continue running cross country in college, and has been in talks with some recruiters at New England universities. 

Over the course of four years running for Dartmouth High School, he’s learned a lot about how to run his “own race,” rather than focusing on other competitors.

 “I know what works for me,” he said. 

Qualifying for state not only means another shot at a sub-17-minute run, but the qualification itself is “a reward,” Monteiro said. 

“[It shows] that it was worth it, deciding to do cross country,” he said. “The work is working, that’s what I always say.”

Monteiro will race in Devens at Fort Devens on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m.