Brunswick's cross country team followed up on its unblemished FAA regular season by securing the post-season tournament championship title at Waveny Park in New Canaan on Monday.

Heavy favorites on paper, the Bruins had faced some health challenges and were prepared for a possible nail biter. Instead, the result was a near mirror of last year’s victory, as Brunswick again earned 33 points. 

Coach Jackson dove inside the numbers: “Last year, we won with 1, 2, 7, 8, and 15. This year, it was 1, 2, 7, 9, and 14. As similar as those tallies are, the stories of the seasons could not be more different. Where last year was a comeback story, this group led from start to finish.” 

As they had done all season, the Bruins were staked to an early lead by the combination of Nathan Lee and Teddy Hojlo. The pair worked together to control the race up front. In a replication of 2023’s order of finish, Lee defended his individual title (16:10) by a narrow margin over Hojlo (16:11). 

In an attempt to explain the impact of his top performers on the rest of his program, Coach Polikoff merely suggested the obvious: "Don’t measure our numbers; do measure the significant growth of the rest of our runners." 

Indeed, the meteoric rise of Arjun Kolluri and Shaurya Gupta has been a catalyst of the season’s success. The race plan for them was to use their speed early in order to establish position, gain some separation, and rely on the strength of their training to hold on late. Each runner was well positioned in the top 10 after the first mile and maintained his placement through the rest of the race, Kolluri matching his PR (17:09) while earning seventh, and Gupta setting a new best (17:25) in ninth. 

Captain Alex Mastellone put it most succinctly: “Their emergence has been crazy.”

As Armaan Lakhani willed his way around the course, it became increasingly clear that he would give his team the points needed to win the title. A game-time decision, Brunswick's usual third runner was not only braving an injury just to compete, but also had not run more than a few minutes in the dozen days since it had occurred. Although 10 spots behind his recent placements and off his pace by over 75 seconds, the effort to finish 14th was more than enough (18:11), ensuring the team title was never in doubt. 

“That is one competitive kid,” noted Coach Jackson.

Ollie Hegeman entered the race knowing full well that if the team was down a man, the race would come down to him. He would need to produce no less than his best run of the season and even that could not guarantee a victory.  Certainly it was a lot to ask of any competitor, much less a recent convert to cross country.

“He proved up to the task, turning this motivation into a milestone,” said Coach Polikoff. 

It would be his first ever sub-30 place and sub-20 minute time, posting a near full minute improvement (19:52) on the right day.

Anchoring the team, Mastellone’s 45th place completed the team scoring with an inspired season best time (22:06). The team greeted his arrival with appropriate acknowledgement of what was accomplished, but with an eye looking ahead toward the New Englands.

Brunswick cross country has made the most of the 2024 season and has sights set on more.

Coach Polikoff made sure to note the shared work ethic and camaraderie that have made this season what it is, while offering this hint at the team's potential: “They are simply the fastest roster we have seen in the FAA — and there’s not a senior in the room.” 

Team Scores

• 33 Brunswick
• 54 GCDS
• 60 Hopkins
• 100 Masters
• 125 Rye Country Day
• 162 GFA
• 172 St Luke’s
• 236 King