The Loomis Chaffee boys and girls cross country teams earned titles at the Founders League Championships on Saturday, November 2, held on Taft’s challenging five-kilometer course. Both the varsity and JV teams for each program claimed championships. 

The girls varsity team captured its fourth consecutive Founders League title, finishing with 25 points and placing six runners among the top eight. Senior captain Natalie Crocker led the squad, finishing third with a time of 19:10. Following close behind were junior Charlotte Preuss (4th place), senior captain Lexi Barry (5th), senior captain Delaney Pece (6th), junior Ani Tzonev (7th), and junior Maleah Cogle (8th). Freshman Neve Rugette completed the team’s top seven, placing 16th overall and displacing scoring runners from all other teams. Choate took second with 64 points, followed by Miss Porter’s at 114. 

The girls JV squad achieved a perfect score of 15 points to secure the JV title. Junior Frieda Bilezikian won the race with a time of 22:03. She and her teammates swept the top eight spots, including senior Maya Bell in second and sophomore Maddie Denaro in third. Twelve Pelicans finished in the top 15. 

In the boys varsity race, junior Alex Fisher secured the Founders League individual champion title, setting a course record of 15:55. Senior captain Jack Muhlhauser (4th), junior Joseph Hurd (5th), junior Miles Gackstetter (7th), senior Erik Lamphere (8th), and sophomore Amani Odenigbo (9th) joined Fisher in the top-10 and helping the team score 25 points for the win. Sophomore Ollie Denaro also contributed, finishing 19th and improving his position by 18 spots from the previous year. 

In the boys JV race, freshman Jackson Goings took first place in 19:27. Goings was joined in the scoring by sophomore Dylan Torizzo (2nd), senior Zac Kurian (4th), freshman Matt Cormier (7th), and senior Ciarán Bruce (8th), with freshman Cayden Tran and junior Chase Ivory displacing the next team’s scorers. The JV team finished with a score of 22 points, well ahead of the next closest team’s 51. 

Over 60 Loomis runners competed in the meet, with many achieving personal- or season-best times, marking a successful day for the LC cross country program.