Congratulations to the Derby Middle School Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country teams for their performance recently in the Connecticut Middle School Cross Country Championship.
The meet is divided into two divisions – Small and Large.
The Derby boys’ team finished 41st overall, but 17th in the Small School Division.
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Derby’s Joel Capelle placed 43rd overall out of more than 400 finishers with a time of 14:39 over the challenging 2.3‑mile course at Wickham Park in Manchester.
He was 62nd at the mile mark, but passed 19 people in the final 1.3 miles with a strong finish. It was the fastest time recorded by a Derby boy over the course since 2019.
Joel earned a medal for finishing among the Top 50 runners.
Teammate Liam McLoughlin was next for the Red Raiders with a 136th place finish in the time of 15:48. Liam was 179th at the mile, but swept by 43 runners in the final 1.3 miles.
Derby’s Jayden Cooper placed 230th with a time of 16:47.
Also running well for Derby were Ajahni Dalhouse, Mac Gray, Rasheim McNeil and Keegan Goodwin.Meanwhile, Shea Gray led the way for the Derby girls. Also running well were Jess Herrin, Addysen McNeil and Aniyah Roman.
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