By Matt Diglio
(September 11, 2023) — The Haddam Killingworth High School Boys and Girls cross country teams began their 2023 season on September 9, 2023, as they traveled to Somers, New York to compete in the Somers Big Red Invitational against 50 teams from New York.
The Boys team raced well on the challenging 3.1 mile course, overcoming the heat and extreme humidity to place first overall as a team in the Division 3 race with 57 points, defeating the 16 other teams from New York in the race. The boys were led by junior co-captain Jack Cozean, who crossed the line in a time of 17:10 to place 4th in the race and was quickly followed by teammate and sophomore Daniel McCourt, who ran 17:11 to place 5th. Next to cross the line were senior co-captain Luke Hedges 13th (18:02), junior Matt Lara 17th (18:13) and sophomore Cash Smigel 18th (18:13).
The Girls team, missing two of their top runners, also had a strong start to their season, as they placed 2nd as a team in the Division 3 race with 72 points. They were led by sophomore Grace Mitchell who, despite taking a wrong turn, still placed 6th in the race with a time of 21:34. Following her was senior Sydney Adelberg 10th (21:56), sophomore Delaney Aronson 20th (23:22), sophomore Julia Downing 24th (23:55) and sophomore Amelia Riggs 30th (24:18).
The HKHS Cross Country team will next be in action on Saturday September 16, 2023 as they travel to Attleboro, Massachusetts to compete in the Highland Park Invitational.
