Manan Manchanda ‘19
EE Senior News Editor
This past month, the Boys’ Cross Country team finished off their season with a big win at FCIACs, placing third overall. As Trumbull finished with 109 points, they surpassed their close rivals Danbury and New Canaan with 111 and 118 points respectively, earning a lower score and ultimately placing them higher overall.
Trumbull has not placed ahead of Danbury at the FCIAC championship meet in almost 40 years. This streak was broken when Chris Lepore (‘19) and Tyler Rubush (‘18) led the Trumbull Boys XC team to their amazing performance at this year’s championship meet.
As a result of Trumbull’s exceptional performance, many personal best times were set. Tyler Rubush, one of this year’s captains, passed 7 runners in the final 200m of the race, including junior Chris Lepore, and finished 1st Team all-FCIAC in 15th place.
Lepore finished immediately after,with a personal best time of 16:31, beating his previous best by over 30 seconds.
Lepore commented on his experience and outlook for his Cross Country career.
“Going into the FCIAC championship, I knew everyone was going to step it up, so I was going to have to also if I wanted to place well. I focused on putting myself into a good position throughout the race, and I was really happy with my performance. Being called up during the awards ceremony for a medal was a pretty surreal moment.”
“As I stood up in front of everyone, I thought about how I had come farther than I would have ever imagined and how all my hard work paid off,” Lepore said.
It was super special to achieve 2nd-team all-FCIAC, and I’m excited to see how our team will perform next year because I know we have a ton of potential to do well in the FCIAC Championship and beyond,” Lepore said.
Armando Ulaj (‘18) also set a personal best. He came into the season with a personal best of 18:04, and finished with a time of 16:47, and he was also 2nd team all-FCIAC.
James Dubreuil (‘19) also placed well, snagging a spot on 2nd team all-FCIAC. He continually improved throughout the season, and had finally achieved a time of 17:13. Dubreuil had never broken 18 minutes for a 5K before.
At the FCIACs, his time was 1 minute and 44 seconds faster than the previous 5K championship race.
Dubreuil reflects on his effort this season and how it culminated into his remarkable performance at the championship meet.
“I began my training career in order to create a base for me to work with. This training helped me excel during the season to marks I had never reached previously. As the season progressed, the continuous workouts began to pay off.”
“As we were coming closer to the FCIAC meet I knew I could have a shot at being in the top 30. Once it happened, it was nothing like I could imagine. I was one of the four all-FCIAC runners on our team this year and it felt great to know that I helped to lead my team to a third place finish at the FCIAC championship meet,” Dubreuil said.
The Boys’ Cross Country had an outstanding season and we hope to see even greater accomplishments by the team in the coming years.