The Loomis Chaffee boys cross country team successfully defended their Founders League championship on Saturday, November 1, at Avon Old Farms. 

The Pelicans knew the competition would be fierce, with several teams in contention for the title. Avon, which had narrowly fallen to Loomis in an October dual meet in Windsor, enjoyed the home-course advantage for the Founders meet, while Hotchkiss arrived as the recent winner of the Shaler Invitational. From the start, it shaped up to be a three-team battle for the top spot. 

Aware that every school would have runners affecting the scoring, the Pelicans focused on running as a unified pack to give themselves the best chance to defend their title. 

Leading the way for the Pelicans was senior captain Miles Gackstetter, who finished second overall. He was followed by junior Amani Odenigbo, senior captain Alex Fisher, and sophomores Miles Farkas and Jackson Goings, all of whom secured All-Founders League honors for finishing in the top 15. Junior captain Dylan Torizzo placed 16th, just outside the top-15 cutoff, while sophomore Cayden Tran rounded out the varsity seven. 

In the earlier JV race, freshman Seth Kalansuriya ran his best time of the season to finish second. His performance would have placed him 35th in the varsity field. Fellow freshman Theo Artemiuk finished third, and Quinn Mulligan came within seconds of breaking the 20-minute mark. Sophomores Walt Li, Ryan Park, and Nyle Sukhera, along with freshmen Nathan Xu, Austin Crocker, Gabe Chapman, Vincent Cho, and Jaiden Lee, all posted personal bests. 

Next up, the Pelicans will compete in the Division I New England Prep School Track Association championships at the Taft School on Saturday, November 8. 

Full results from the Founders League meet can be viewed here.