Craftsbury Chargers and Campers shine at Vermont XC State Meet

On Saturday, October 26th, teams from across Vermont convened at the legendary Thetford Academy cross country course to compete in the Division 1, 2 and 3 Vermont State Championship races. In the Division 3 boys race, the Craftsbury Academy team put in an impressive showing to place fourth in a tight team competition. Craftsbury Charger Cormac Leahy led the way with a second place finish in 17:29, followed closely by teammate Charlie Krebs in fourth in 18:03. Rounding out the Chargers’ team score were Orion Cenkl in 21st (19:44) and Alan Moody in 34th (20:25). David Moody and Aidan Moffat ran strong races as well to place 81st and 90th, with times of 23:57 and 25:48, respectively. As a squad of mostly freshman runners, the team is looking forward to three strong years of cross country running together.

A number of 2019 Craftsbury running campers also ran in the Division 3 race, with Tobin Durham of Thetford Academy in 7th (18:26), Ben Craig of Peoples Academy in 8th (18:31), and John Lackey in 10th (18:33). It was terrific to see running camp friends on course working together to run their best, despite being on competing school teams! Craftsbury junior Nordic racer Eli Smith was right in the mix as well, finishing 6th in 18:19. 

On the girls side, Craftsbury Charger Camille Bolduc placed second in the Division 3 race in a time of 20:23, good for the 7th fastest time of the day among all divisions! Teammate Adrienne Remick ran a strong race to finish 7th in the Division 3 field in 22:13. Craftsbury camper Emily Bloom of Rice Memorial placed fourth in the same race in 20:45. 

The Division 2 girls race boasted a strong crew of Craftsbury running campers, with MegAnne Gilmore of Lamoille Union placing second in a blazing time of 20:14! Harwood Union runners Britta Zetterstrom and Caelyn McDonough helped lead their team the Division 2 team title placing 6th (20:53) and 12th (21:39), respectively. Fellow camper Shams Ferver of U-32 also put in a solid day to place 7th (21:03). In addition to our camper contingent, Craftsbury junior Nordic racer Maggie McGee of Lamoille Union ran her way to a 3rd place finish in 20:39!

More Craftsbury running campers on course: In the Junior Varsity race, Sophia Kehr of Champlain Valley Union placed 25th (24:23) and Laura Martinez of Harwood placed 31st (24:49). Atticus Phinney-Anderson of Essex ran a gutsy race in the Division 1 race to place 37th in 18:59. 

If we were to put together a 2019 Craftsbury Running Camp All-Star team for the Vermont State meet – overall, across divisions, with four runners scoring as per VPA standards – our team scores would be:

Boys, 154 points – Cormac Leahy 10th, Tobin Durham 43rd, Ben Craig 48th, John Lackey 53rd

Girls, 39 points – MegAnne Gilmore 5th, Camille Bolduc 7th, Emily Bloom 12th, Britta Zetterstrom 15th

With runners not removed from their respective school team scores, the girls score would be good for 2nd place and the boys score for 4th. That’s All-Star status right there – go Craftsbury running campers!