Connecticut Junior Olympics 2023

The Country School Cross Country team had exceptional success, with 19 runners racing in the Connecticut Junior Olympics and 19 finishing high enough to “move through” a week later to the New England and New York Junior Olympics Championships. Since some of the runners are as young as 1st Grade, the success bodes well for the future of distance running on Opening Hill Road.

The day started off with Lexie K. winning the first race of the day, showing herself as the fastest 8 and Under girl–or boy–in Connecticut while punching her ticket to Region 1 Junior Olympics, near Lake George, New York. 

The 8 and Under boys race saw Flying Owlets Luke O. and Luca L. nab 1st and 2nd place in a hard-fought battle with an opponent, with the top three runners separated by only two seconds. Luke and Luca sprinted the final 300 meters exceptionally well, including the challenging uphill finish.

In the 9 & 10 year old race, 5th Grade All-American Liv K. hammered herself to 2nd place in Connecticut by tackling the 3K course of trails, hills, grass and roots. 5th Grade teammate Lucy C. was not far behind her, taking 6th place overall, making it into the top-30 qualifiers easily and earning her Saturday pool party and dinner at the hotel in New York. 

The boys 9 & 10 year olds toed the starting line next. Veteran Junior Olympian Harper M. took the race out hard, leading a fast pack of five competitors to the finish line, separated by only four seconds. Junior Olympics newcomers Sam G. and Arlo M. ran the 1.86 mile course in Litchfield to finish 13th and 15th and punch their tickets to New York.

The next race resulted in our 11 & 12 girls almost dominating, just as they took 2nd out of 70 teams in the Middle School State Championship two weeks earlier. All American Tillie K. led the team's success by taking 2nd place in a fine time, pulling teammate Anna G. right behind her in what might be Anna’s best race of the season so far. A newcomer to JOs, Nora M. sprinted across the finishing line in 14th place, winning her invitation to the New England and New York Championship meet. 

11 & 12 boys gave the coaches pride as veteran Junior Olympian Tash slashed the course in impressive fashion, garnering 5th place, with teammate Henry Laurans grabbing a superb 11th place finish to qualify to “move through” and qualify, followed by novice Sam C., 18th place, and running hard the whole way as he navigated White Memorial Forest’s trails for the first time.

Speedster Luke S. in the 13 & 14 year old division came to race hard and did, taking an outstanding 3rd place finish to qualify for the Regional JOs. He tackled the formidable Windmill Hill with resolve, racing up and down with the best in Connecticut, having been training all season on hills around campus. Luke was followed loosely by his fellow Captain Will L., in a superb 8th place, chased by teammate Liam M., smoothing through in a fine 18th place ahead of some tenacious competitors. 

A great thrill was watching Captain Maybe H. scorch the same 4K course to finish 15th in all of CT, smiling the whole time at her cheering teammates and truly enjoying–as all competitors should–the camaraderie and competition. The stalwart award goes to Maribel S. for nursing knee injuries all week, staying off her legs, and then coming out to gamely gimp around the 2.3 mile course to earn her hard-fought invitation to the Region 1 Junior Olympics.