Caleb Freeman, Julian Spector and Griffin Robinson crossing the finish line
On Saturday, September 7, 2019, the Haddam Killingworth High School Boys and Girls Cross Country teams opened their season as they traveled to Somers, NY to compete at the Big Red Invitational. The teams competed on a challenging 5,000 meter course against over 30 schools from New York and Connecticut. Both teams began their season with a successful start as theboys team who is ranked 9th in the state of Connecticut won the Division 3 race with a score of 66 points. The boys were led by junior Matt Jennings who placed 2nd in a time of 16:28. He was followed across the line by senior tri-captain Christian Uzwiak who placed 10th in a time of 17:22, then junior Fisher Harris 15th (17:38), junior Sean Rutledge 17th (17:45) then a trio of tightly packed Cougars led by sophomore Caleb Freeman 22nd (18:03), junior Julian Spector 23rd (18:03) and senior tri-captain Griffin Robinson 24th (18:04).
The boys freshman team placed 2nd in their race as a team scoring 88 points and were led by Mason Gorham who placed 3rd overall in a time of 9:00 for the 1.5 mile course.
The Girls team placed 3rd overall in the Division 3 race, scoring 92 points. They were led by junior Meara Bodak, who placed 12th in the race in a time of 21:21 for the 3.1 mile course. She was followed by senior tri-captain Julia Callis 16th (21:41), then a trio of sophomores: Ali Twachtman 22nd (22:31), Brianna Minervino 28th (23:07), Ava DiMatteo 30th (23:15); then senior tri-captain Lauren D’Amico 31st (23:16) and sophomore Charlotte Selmer 34th (23:37).
Lauren D’Amico and Brianna Minervino running up the hill
The girls freshman team placed 3rd in their race with a score 67 points and were led by Isabel Beradino who placed 7th with a time of 11:18 for the 1.5 mile course.
The cross country teams will next be in action on Saturday September 21st as the Varsity teams will travel to Bear Mountain, NY to compete at the Suffern Invitational while the JV squads will compete at the CT RIver Valley Invitational in Cromwell.