Stellar Performances at the 42nd Annual Wickham Invitational!

The 42nd annual Wickham Park XC Invitational — a marquee event drawing top talent from Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts — proved once again why it’s one of New England’s toughest and most prestigious cross country meets. 

 

With middle school races running alongside high school divisions on Wickham’s challenging terrain (grass, wood-chip, gravel, and punishing hills) , our young runners stepped up to compete among nearly 200 middle school boys in a 3 km battle of grit and speed.

 

Boys Middle School — 3 km

 

Henry Laurans (8th grade) stunned the field and wrote his name into school history. He not only shattered his personal best but also demolished a decade-old school record, clocking 9:55. It was a gutsy performance: Henry stayed shoulder-to-shoulder with eight of the state’s toughest competitors for most of the race, then broke away in the final 800 meters to seize the win. His new mark eclipses the previous school record (9:57) set ten years ago by All-American standout Robbie Cozean.

 

Meanwhile, Luke Ouellet — a determined 5th grader — blazed to 12:47, earning the second-fastest Country School fifth-grade time ever recorded on the course and finishing an impressive 92nd overall. He was closely followed by Clark Pennington (13:02), notching the third-best fifth-grade time. Bradley Kopeikin came in at 13:05 as the team’s fourth scorer, running the infamous triple-hill course including a brutal uphill finish over grass.

 

Rounding out the scoring were Ben Gelo, completing his first run ever at Wickham, and Micah Benton, finishing in 15:06 and 15:19 respectively. With that strong showing, our boys now turn their attention to their next challenge: practice begins Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday’s race at Hopkins.

 

Girls Middle School — 3 km

 

The girls’ squad continued their streak of excellence at Wickham, finishing a strong 2nd in Connecticut out of 10 competing teams, and further cementing the Owls’ status as a cross-country powerhouse.

 

The stars upfront were Liv Killam, seventh grade, and Maddie Staib, eighth grade, great friends and training partners, who led the squad to victory in 11:14 and 11:17 respectively, notching the third and fifth Country School fastest time ever on the Wickham course.

 

Lexie Killam (5th grade) outran expectations with a blazing time of 13:04, setting the fastest fifth-grade time ever run by a Country school girl, and claimed 48th place overall. Emerson Freeman (5th grade) followed closely in 13:34, placing 63rd for the fourth fastest school time ever. 

 

Not far behind Liv and Maddie and scoring important points for their team, Lucy Clark (7th grade) took 23rd in 12:11, and Quinn Freeman (8th grade) placed 25th in 12:13. Captain “Jonah” Benton ran a personal-best 14:55 on the challenging course, rounding out the roster with grit and heart.

 

In keeping with Wickham tradition, the top 50 finishers in each race were awarded medals, and everyone enjoyed the spread of refreshments graciously provided by our parents.

 

What’s Next

 

Both teams are gearing up for back-to-back contests this week: Wednesday’s showdown vs. Hopkins, and then Saturday’s McGee Invitational in Berlin, Connecticut. Watch for updates — and be prepared to cheer them on as they chase new personal bests and team triumphs!