Brunswick made its first-ever trip to the Bowdoin Park Cross Country Classic count, as the Bruins had a strong showing in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.

On the short list of the best courses in the nation, the site of Nike Northeast Regionals provides infamously demanding terrain, offering a significantly grueling challenge as the first half of the race is nearly entirely uphill. 

Senior Nathan Lee wowed the crowd as he came from behind in the home stretch to win a photo finish in identical times of 15:36.5 over his opponent, last year’s NYPSAL champion. Lee’s time would be the fastest ever by a Connecticut runner on the Bowdoin course, and tenth fastest all time.

Junior Teddy Hojlo impressed as well, finishing fourth overall, only three seconds behind, in an effort that registers as the 17th fastest all time. 

The team had to wait until the conclusion of the second heat to learn that their places and the individual victory had held up. The lineup of Armaan Lakhani (17:15), Arjun Kolluri (19:19), and Sawyer White (23:59) completed the race roster, which earned 19th place among runners from over 50 schools.