Liv Killam Sets McGee Invitational Course Record in a Triumphant Return to Happy Mountain

There are few more fitting ways to celebrate an outstanding cross country career than to return to the course where it all began and leave your name in the record books. At this year’s McGee Invitational, eighth-grade captain Liv Killam did exactly that, delivering a spectacular performance on the rolling hills, wooded paths, roads, and grassy stretches of Happy Mountain.

Liv’s McGee story began as a fifth grader, when she won the sixth-grade girls’ race. Now, as she completes her Country School cross country career, she returned to the familiar course and produced a performance for the ages. Racing over the 2.2-mile circuit, Liv blazed across the finish line in 14:13, establishing a new girls’ course record!

Her victory earned her not only the first-place trophy but also a special plaque recognizing the fastest female time on the course this year.

In doing so, Liv joined an illustrious group of Country School runners who have earned McGee’s top honors, including her sister Tillie Killam, who captured both the trophy and course plaque during her own outstanding career, as well as former co-captain Maddie Staib, the legendary Anna Vlieks, and Henry Laurans.

For Liv, it was a fitting tribute to years of dedication, determination, and racing up and down Happy Mountain. She has come a long way since that fifth-grade victory, but her competitive fire remains undiminished. This time, she didn’t simply win the race—she rewrote the record book.

Not to be outdone, eighth-grade captain Lucy Clark repeated her top-five performance from last year’s invitational, racing to fourth place in 15:20.

Lucy earned another McGee trophy with a performance that ranks among the fastest Country School times ever recorded on the challenging course. Her consistency and determination have made her one of the team’s most dependable front-runners, and her latest finish was another reminder of the strength and experience she brings to the squad.

With Liv rewriting the record book and Lucy returning to the awards stand, Country School’s eighth-grade captains gave their teammates plenty of inspiration.

In the seventh-grade boys race, Bradley Kopeikin tackled the 2.2-mile course with characteristic determination, finishing 17th among a field of 73 competitors in 16:07.

McGee is not a course for the fainthearted. The relentless ups and downs of Happy Mountain demand strength, patience, and the ability to keep pushing when tired legs begin to protest. Bradley’s top-20 finish demonstrated his ability to meet that challenge against a large and competitive field.

The sixth-grade boys race offered an exciting preview of Country School’s future, as Callum Pennington and Clark Pennington took the race out hard, running shoulder to shoulder with the leaders and establishing themselves among the front-runners from the outset.

Callum ultimately secured sixth place in 11:09, followed closely by Clark in eighth place in 11:16. Their aggressive racing and tightly matched performances gave Country School two runners among the top eight finishers.

Sixth-grader Luke Ouellet continued the strong showing, crossing the line in 13th place in 11:42 over the 1.7-mile course. Teammate Luca Laurans followed in 16th place in exactly 12:00.

Although the races were scored individually rather than as a team competition, these four young runners demonstrated the value of racing together, pushing the pace, and refusing to give an inch to their competitors.

The fifth Country School runner in the field, sixth-grader Grady Wepler, turned in a determined effort of his own. Grady covered the course in 15:01 to finish 44th in a field of more than 50 runners. His willingness to compete against the entire field and keep working to the finish line exemplifies the spirit that makes cross country such a rewarding sport.

The day’s racing began with fifth-grader Zoe Robinson taking on the girls’ race with enthusiasm and determination.

Zoe covered the 1.7-mile course in 14:12, finishing 25th in a field of 52 runners and beating more than half the competition. For a young runner still developing her strength and racing experience, her performance was an encouraging demonstration of the progress that comes from showing up, working hard, and embracing a challenge.

As Zoe and her teammates discovered, Happy Mountain offers plenty of opportunities to test one’s resolve. Every hill demands an extra effort, every turn presents another challenge, and every finish line rewards the runners who keep pushing.

The McGee Invitational has long provided a special opportunity for Country School runners and their families to celebrate individual accomplishments while watching young athletes grow in confidence, strength, and competitive spirit.

This year’s performances continued that tradition. Liv Killam’s course-record run provided the headline, Lucy Clark’s fourth-place finish demonstrated the consistency of a seasoned competitor, and the younger boys showed that the future of Country School cross country is in capable hands.

From Zoe’s enthusiastic opening race to the boys’ determined finishes, every Country School runner had a role in making the day memorable.

And then there was Liv, returning to the course where her McGee story began as a fifth grader, climbing the hills of Happy Mountain one last time as a Country School runner, and leaving with a victory, a trophy, and a new course record.

Some runners win races. A special few leave a legacy. At McGee, Liv Killam managed to do both.