8 Rutland Herald Fall Sports Guide 2018
HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW
Cross country teams hit the trail
By TOM HALEY STAFF WRITER
Thetford residents Dan Grossman and John Morton really started something .
The gorgeous cross country course at Thetford Academy inspired Grossman , who recruited two-time Olympic biathlon skier Morton to design the school ’ s 5K Woods Hill Trail , a layout touted by many as the finest cross country course in New England .
The course has hosted the New England High School Cross Country Championships several times , and the Vermont State Meet since 1992 .
Not only do the state ’ s high school cross country runners look forward to competing on this showpiece , but most also go there every year for another gigantic event called the Woods Trail Run that attracts high school teams from other states . That meet , which serves as great preparation for the State Meet , will be on Oct . 6 .
“ The Woods Trail Run is a great meet ,” Mill River cross country coach Kell Giffin said . “ There are runners there from Connecticut , Massachusetts , New Hampshire and New York , and there are some very fast runners . You get to test yourself against some very good competition .
“ But they also have races for runners with similar times , so even if you aren ’ t one of the fastest runners there , you can still win your heat and not get discouraged .” Giffin also likes the facility . “ It is wide . There are not many places where you can ’ t pass a runner . They do a great job there and it ’ s very well run ,” he said .
Area cross country runners will compete each week on a Tuesday in the Marble Valley League meets with
ROBERT LAYMAN / STAFF PHOTO
Members of Rutland High School ’ s cross country teams run through the rain around the perimeter of the field at Giorgetti Park during a preseason workout .
appearances here and there at larger invitational events on the weekend .
But the gorgeous facility in Thetford is never far from their consciousness . It is the Mecca of cross country in Vermont .
Fair Haven
Chris Stanton takes over as coach at Fair Haven and didn ’ t have much of a problem learning his athletes ’ names . There are only two of them — Chris Wenzsil , a senior boy , and freshman girl , Katrina Stevens .
“ It ’ s a real building year . You ’ ve got to start somewhere ,” said Stanton , whose son , Lee , ran cross country for Fair Haven and the University of Vermont .
“ We are hoping to pick up a few more when school starts . I think we ’ ve got to get the middle school program going again . That should be our focus .”
Green Mountain
Seems like Scott Renfro never left town . The Green Mountain graduate got a degree in physical education and is now in his 25th year on the Chester campus .
“ I ’ m now the longest-tenured teacher here ,” he said recently as he was about to begin his seventh season as the Chieftains ’ cross-country coach .
Renfro is working with eight runners — four boys and four girls — and hopes to get more competitors once school begins .
Boys on the squad are junior Kameron Cummings , sophomore John Oakes and freshmen Mitchell Rounds and Myles Garvin . Girls include juniors Laurel King , Zoe Zvec and Pearl Jackson , and sophomore Lily Jones .
Renfro knows that winning championships with so few runners is not in the cards , but he looks for effort and improvement .
“ I just want them to run their best ,” he said .
Mill River
There isn ’ t quantity , but there is quality . The Minutemen started with only six runners , three boys and three girls .
Brogan Giffin is back as a sophomore after a very strong first year of cross country and track and field .
He won a lot of the Tuesday weekly Marble Valley League meets last year and is looking to improve on those performances .
“ He put in a lot of work this summer and we have some goals for him that involve improving over last year ,” said Kell , his father .
Adam Luzader is in his first year of running cross country . He was a sprinter on the track team with top-five finishes at the State Meet .
The third boy is Andres Perez Maillo Marton , a junior exchange student from Spain . He got a late start with the team because he hadn ’ t arrived when preseason began on Aug . 16 , but he competes in triathlons in Spain so he figures to have the endurance .
The girls are Sadira Majorell , Jenna Spoth and Annika Heinz .
Heinz is a freshman who competed in middle school cross country .
“ She did very well in middle school but it is a big jump from eighth grade ,” coach Giffin said .
Majorell and Spoth are juniors .
MSJ
The soundtrack for MSJ ’ s season should be Sly and The Family Stone ’ s “ It ’ s A Family Affair .”
Brothers make up five of the six-
Continued on Page 15