A Weekend of Grit & Glory at the McGee Invitational

On a warm, unseasonably sunny fall day, the boys and girls squads from Country School took to the familiar but brutal terrain of Sage Park—home of the 33rd Annual McGee Invitational—where each grade level races its peers (6th vs. 6th, 7th vs. 7th, 8th vs. 8th) and where the competition gives a clear preview of who the rivals will be in the coming years.

When all the hard work was done and hands were sore from clapping, Country School had the two fastest times on the course, and most of the teammates walked away with medals, ribbons, trophies, and plaques.

The McGee Invitational is a celebrated fixture in Connecticut middle‐school cross-country and is known for being well organized by McGee head coach Paul Griswold and his team. The Country School squad is always proud to be invited.

The course is no walk in the park: beginning around the softball/baseball fields, then wind-through trails, driveway stretches, and culminating in the notorious “Happy Mountain” hill climb before the finishing dash onto a soccer/football stadium’s 50-yard line, where spectators pack the stands and cheer the finishers home.

6th Grade Girls

The first Country School race of the day was the 6th grade girls’ 1.7-mile monster.

• Lexie Killam “killed” the competition — she charged up the course, powering herself to 5th place in a time of 12:01, earning the last trophy spot and heralding a major impact in middle school racing.

• Close behind, teammate and friend Emerson Freeman finished 8th overall in 12:28, showing plenty of promise as she steps into the 6th grade next year.

6th Grade Boys

Next up: the 6th grade boys took to the line, heat rising, lungs burning—and the Country School’s young men rose to the occasion.

• Luke Oulette led the pack for the Owls, finishing 12th overall in 11:41.

• Then came Luca Laurans in 18th (12:11); Bradley Kopeikin in 22nd (12:19); followed by 5th-grader Callum Pennington in 23rd (12:33) – a strong showing stepping into grade 6 next year.

• Rounding out the team were Jack Dorlando in 36th (12:48) and Henrik Schmid in 42nd (13:20).

Even in the heat and on the hill, the Owls stayed composed and pushed through.

7th Grade Girls

The 7th grade girls event raised the intensity on the longer 2.3 mile course.

• Liv Killam, a veteran of the McGee event, blasted to a time of 15:15 to claim 2nd place overall — a major statement as she gears up for the state championships.

• Lucy Clark battled through the middle stretch of the race and grabbed the final trophy spot at 5th place in 15:54, proving she has the strength for the monster hills coming at Wickham Park in two weeks.

• Emily Antman rounded out the team with a solid effort — smiling, strong, and happy as she crossed the line and kept running right off to her soccer game.

8th Grade Girls

The 8th grade girls’ race was nothing short of thrilling.

• Team captain Maddie Staib stormed the course in 14:58, claiming 1st place, earning the girls’ fastest time of the day, and taking home a special plaque for that achievement along with the winning trophy.

• Close behind, captain Quinn Freeman delivered arguably her best performance of the season: 11th place out of 70 runners, finishing in 16:36, then immediately heading off to her soccer game.

8th Grade Boys

In the final race of the day — the 8th grade boys’ 2.3-mile tilt — the Country School put forth one of its most exciting performances.

• Captain Henry Laurans covered the course in 12:52, running mostly by himself, crushing the competition by over 45 seconds, and setting a new course record that may stand for years.

His win was a display of endurance, mental fortitude, and precise hill-work paying off — the spark of an extraordinary runner. Like Maddie, Henry earned not only the first place trophy, but a special plaque for having the fastest time on the course.

What It All Means

Between the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade races, the Country School cross-country teams showed depth, heart, and grit. They raced on a tough, hill-laced course under warm conditions that favored neither speed nor comfort—but they persevered anyway.

From the sixth-grade debuts to the eighth-grade victories, the Owls left Sage Park with trophies, plaques, strong times, and momentum. Next stop: the Hamden Hall Invitational on Wednesday — a chance to build on this success.