The 52nd Cross Country Canterbury Invitational took place on September 20, at the Canterbury School in Millford, Connecticut.1 The boys and girls teams emerged in 2nd and 3rd places, respectively.
Canterbury’s course begins with a mile through flat fields and roads, followed by a mile of woods that ends with a steep downslope and a long, slow hill.
The team used a strategy known as pack running, in which groups of two or three runners push each other to run faster by sticking together.
Newcomers Fiona Hao ’29 and Leah Chen ’29 placed 8th and 9th, at 21:26 and 21:27. Ava Lam ’29 finished in 14th place in 22:27. Co-captain Amina Wang ’27 placed 20th with a time of 24:01. Maya Clark ’28 finished 25:04 in 25th place, followed by Mia Tan ’28 in 27th place with a time of 25:12. Crea Kibar ’26 ended with a time of 25:24 in 29th place, securing a 3rd place finish for the girls’ team.
Head Coach Kira Shaikh said, “We placed third, which is the same as the year before. However, if one looks closer, the progress is clear. The Lady Bearcats scored 14 points less overall and ran 6 seconds faster overall. That progress comes from the execution of a strategy—running a conservative first mile, surging at the top of hills, running in packs, and above all else, passing opponents intentionally and with Hotchkiss pride. With the large number of young, speedy runners, the girls’ team will be one to pay attention to over the next few years.”
Wang said, “I hope everyone sees that their own effort contributes immensely to the team. As Coach Shaikh often says, ‘Every point matters, and every single one of us matters out there.’ I hope the team has felt the spirit of working together.”
Coach Shaikh said, “Our culture thrives on supportive competition between each other and ourselves, with a pinch of crazy. I mean, where else do you get 24 young women who want to run Cardiac and Tory’s Hill hill sprints?”
The boys also ended the Invitational on the podium, securing 2nd place overall in the Burke Division I Race.
Co-captain Copey Rollins ’26 led the way with a 3rd place finish in 16:35, followed closely by fellow captain Bastien Sever ’26, who claimed 5th with a time of 16:59. Co-captain Philip Fauver ’26 came in 13th with a time of 17:52, while Leo Hackett ’28 claimed 21st in 18:46. Aidan Rainville ’28 placed 40th with a time of 20:14, followed by Keven Luiru ’27 in 54th in 21:08 and Rintaro Aoyanna ’27 in 63rd with a time of 21:36.
Rollins said, “Our goal this year is to be one of if not the best cross country teams the school has ever seen. This is achievable if every runner is healthy and we are able to perform at our best at New Englands. We’ve had a strong first three races, and we want to carry this momentum through the rest of the season.”
The teams’ most recent meet was at Loomis Chaffee. The girls faced off against Loomis, Taft, and Exeter, beating Taft 16-42 and losing to Loomis and NMH, 35-24 and 31-25, respectively. The boys raced against Loomis, Taft, and Avon. The boys also beat Taft, winning 24-33, and lost to Loomis and Avon by 36-23 and 35-22, respectively.
Both teams will have a home meet on Saturday, October 11. The girls will race against Millbrook and the boys will face off against Millbrook and Trinity Pawling.
