WOODBURY — The 2024 season for Nonnewaug’s cross country teams saw a lot of success.
Nonnewaug sophomore Luke Lodice, who is in his first year attending Nonnewaug, earned All-State recognition by placing 6th in the CIAC Class SS boys championship, as well as placing fifth in the Winding Trails Invitational and ninth in the Connecticut River Valley Invitational.
“I was impressed with myself and the team over the season,” Lodice said. “I was proud of myself for passing the benchmarks, and seeing myself get better.”
Only around five out of 190 cross country runners invited to the State Open meet were sophomores, and Lodice was one of them.
“It feels really good to [succeed],“ Lodice said, “especially to be able to do it in a Nonnewaug jersey.”
Lodice’s freshman season of cross country, which he ran at Oxford High School, drew the eyes of many, including Nonnewaug boys cross country coach Deborah Flaherty.
“When I heard that he was coming, I began to look up his times on the CIAC website,” says Flaherty. “After meeting him, knowing his previous times and seeing him run the mile, I instantly texted the girls cross country coach [Arleigh Duff] saying, ‘This kid was going to be a beast.”
Like the boys, the girls had a successful season, winning the Berkshire League championship for the second straight year.
“It was so cool to win the league,” said junior Grace Rubacha, who was the team captain. “Everyone deserved it, and we all worked really hard for it.”
She attributed the teamwork on the team as a key factor for them in their back-to-back league winning season.
“Our team had great chemistry,” said Rubucha. “It was great to see how everyone got better over the season.”
Flaherty says she is “very happy” with the results from both teams this season.
“I am always proud of them after every season,” says Flaherty. “Every year is different, but there is always something to find pride in. I was very happy seeing the successes, even of those who didn’t win any awards, all of them set new personal records.”
