Maine Junior Olympics 2022

The 36 degree winds were blowing in Maine at the Junior Olympics Sunday even harder and faster than The Country School runners were racing. But when the winds died down and the competition ended, five teammates had successfully qualified to race in Texas on December 10th in the National Junior Olympics Championships. Racing in his first-ever big-time race, Harper Merrill made a strong start on the 2K course, defended his position during the circuitous middle stages of the grass and trail course, and sprinted hard into the finish line headwind to take 17th, with top-30 in the northeast qualifying. The 8 & Under race is a competitive affair that requires determination and tenacity and Harper showed it. Lexie Killam toed the line in the first race of the day and, like Harper, in her first Regional Junior Olympics competition ever. Having won the Connecticut JO Championship in the 8 and Under age bracket, Lexie’s parents, coaches, grandparents and siblings had high expectations for her results. Lexie did not disappoint, finishing as the fastest 7 yr old in New England and New York. Tash Frusztajer battled next, moving up to the 3K distance for the 9 & 10 band. Cleverly settling in after the ferocious sprint across the 200 meter field, Tash steadily attacked throughout the race, including powering past three competitors late in the final 800 meters to punch his ticket to Texas. Anna Gunderson, Maybe Hladky, Maribel Smith, Tille Killam and Laila Goodman cheered on their teammates in the first three races and then ambled to the start, exposed to the biting winds while receiving final instructions. The racing was ferocious and it took determination not to give away spots over the icy and cold 1.86 mile course. When the gasping was over, Laila and Tillie took 21st and 25th to move through to Texas. Maribel took 55th, Anna 58th and Maybe 75th to finish as the 7th team in the whole northeast. With so much youth on the girls team and having won the CT Middle School Open XC Championship this year, they look forward to continuing their training and success. The final race for The Country School as they affiliated with Litchfield Track Club for post-season competition was Luke Schupp in the 13 & 14 year old race. Racing gamely around the four loops circumnavigating Noble High School’s playing fields and woods, Luke put together all his hard training to nab 47th place out of the 109 competitors. Finishing less that one minute out of making it to Nationals, Luke will continue to train for what will be an outstanding 8th grade XC season.