By Senior Correspondent Marty Ogden, Editing, Photos and Graphics by Ron Knapp

In honor of MySportsResults 25 years of covering Connecticut high school track & field and cross country, we continue our look back at 25 of the best male athletes over the past quarter of a century for the cross country season. If you think we are missing some of your favorite athletes then welcome to our dilemma since trying to select 25 athletes from the last 25 years was nearly an unbelievable task.

We hope you enjoy the first part of our overdue series as we start with the males who made an impact on our sport since the fall of 2000. Additional segments will feature the remaining group of male athletes as well as the list of the females who influenced the state’s cross country scene since 2000.

Brian McGovern, Fairfield Prep, Class of 2001

There was an 11 year gap where a boy from Connecticut didn’t qualify for the National Cross Country Championship. It seemed like the impossible was achieved after two generations of high school athletes went by when McGovern qualified in 1999 and 2000. The native of Newtown placed 15th in 15:15 and 17th in 15:31 both years he competed. He was a two time State Open and New England champion and a four time All New England selection. In short he dominated his era and ushered in the coverage from MySportsResults.com.

Ahmed Haji, Conard, Class of 2004

Known for his conservative starts and pacing, Haji scored his 2002 Open victory starting in dead last after taking a fall and somersault in the first few meters. By the 400m mark he had raced to the front for his first Open duel with Griswold’s Gavin Coombs. He surged to the lead with 1k to go and held off Coombs for the win. As a fearless competitor, Haji’s accomplishments are more remarkable in that in his junior and senior years he competed in the late October and November races while adhering to his fasting during the Ramadan holy month. Those list of accomplishments included a junior season as champion in Class LL, Open and New Englands, a senior campaign that led to a Class L title, Open runner-up behind Coombs and another New England title. Haji qualified in both those seasons for the Foot Locker National Championship finishing 8th as a junior in 15:15 and 21st in 15:39 as a senior over the 5k course. His winning time of 15:20 in the 2023 Class L meet over the old road and path course was a Wickham record.

Gavin Coombs, Griswold, Class of 2004

In the toughest race of his splendid career, Coombs sped to his fastest time of 15:21 to edge defending champion Haji by a second for the 2003 Open championship on a warm autumn afternoon at Wickham Park. His title came on the heels of back to back Class SS titles and his close finish to Haji the previous year. Coombs showed early promise as a hard nosed competitor during his sophomore season finishing 16th at the New England meet which he followed with 3rd places as a junior and senior. After his 3rd place in 15:27 at the Northeast Foot Locker Regional as a senior, Coombs started the Championship race at Balboa Park in San Diego but wasn’t able to finish.

Tradelle Ward, Griswold, Class of 2006

As Griswold’s next rising star, Ward built his championship resume with back-to-back Class M titles in his junior and senior years that he followed with an Open title in 15:49 as a junior and runner-up to Jay Koloseus as a senior. Ward performed strongly on the regional stage as well with his third place finishes at the New England championships in his final two seasons. Ward culminated his career with a 14th place at the Foot Locker National Championship in 15:28.

Jay Koloseus, Guilford, Class of 2006

After his runner-up finish behind Ward in his junior season, Koloseus turned the tables and won the 2005 Open in 15:32, the 5th fastest time on the old Wickham course dating from the early 80s to 2006. The week before, Koloseus had claimed the Class MM title in 15:33 over the same course. Koloseus was a top contender at the New England championships when he finished 5th as a junior and runner-up in his senior season. Koloseus also qualified for the 2005 Foot Locker National Championship where he finished 20th in 15:40 at Balboa Park in San Diego.

Donn Cabral, Glastonbury, Class of 2008 

There are so many very accomplished runners on this list, but Donn Cabral is the only one to claim to be a two time Olympic finalist. While he certainly improved after high school, he was a recognized national class runner in his prep years. After playing soccer his freshman year, he switched to cross country and finished 3rd in the State Open as a sophomore before winning the next two Open crowns as a junior and senior. He was All New England as a sophomore before following up his CT titles with two New England victories. His final two years in high school he also qualified for Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals, taking 21st as a junior in 15:57 and using that experience to take 8th as a senior in 15:19. The Wickham course was changed to all natural terrain his junior year of 2006, but his best time of 15:32 at the 2007 Open still holds up as the 11th fastest individual of all time.

Matt Terry, Danbury, Class of 2008

The Hatters won every title from FCIAC, Class LL, Open and New Englands from 2006-2008, finished 21st, 5th and 18th at NXN and set the record for the fastest combined time of 1:21.06 in 2007 that lasted until Ridgefield broke it by over a minute this year. Terry led the way in most of the big meets. He was a three year New England qualifier and was the State Open runner-up his junior year and 6th his senior year with a 15th place finish at NXN in 2007. He also finished 4th both his junior and senior years at New Englands. His consistent high quality running on the state, regional and national level make him more than worthy to represent one of the best teams to ever compete in the Nutmeg State in the last 25 years. 

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John Raneri, New Fairfield, Class of 2010

As a freshman and sophomore, Raneri was a steady performer but gave no indication of the heights he would reach before his high school career concluded. As a sophomore he was 38th at the Open with a dozen returning runners in front of him. But by the following autumn, he won the Class M title, was 2nd at the Open and 9th in New England. Not only did this season give him strength and speed, it gave him confidence to simply dominate CT his season year. Raneri went undefeated, taking the Class M, State Open and New England titles that was held at Wickham Park. At the Foot Locker Northeast regional, the Rebel became the first person from his school to qualify for Nationals with a 4th place finish. He traveled to nationals with his middle school coach, Jim Keller who had helped design the course when he was the meet director back in the 80s. He finished 35th place and was named Gatorade Athlete of the Year in 2008 and 2009. His best Wickham Park time of 15:40 from the State Open is still ranked 16th all time. 

Chris Bendtsen, Wolcott, Class of 2010

Chris Bendtsen comes from a distinguished running family that has deep roots in CT. Bendtsen’s mother was a Kittridge and was All State for Rockville and his uncle Chuck was State Open champion in 1985 with his other uncles Jim and Steve also very accomplished runners themselves in the 1980s. Chris found immediate success in high school, placing 5th at the Class M championships as a sophomore but became one of the best in the entire state with a 18th place finish at the Open as a junior and an even better race at New Englands where he beat all CT runners with an 8th place finish. But his senior year he was Class M champion and runner-up at both the State Open and New Englands behind John Raneri. He was able to receive a measure of revenge on his in-state rival when he finished eight places in front at 27th at Foot Lockers Nationals, His best time on the Wickham Course of 15:43 is ranked as the 19th individual on the all time Wickham List. 

Connor Rog, Fairfield Prep, Class of 2012

Confident is a word that can best describe Connor Rog who was a three time Class LL champion from 2009 to 2011. He had a successful middle school career and found immediate success as he was 9th in the Class LL race. But by sophomore year, he was a force to be reckoned with in any race he entered, finishing in 13th place at the Open and 23rd in New England. Junior year he was the pre-meet favorite at the Open but just got nipped at the line and took 2nd to Brian Fowler who had an amazing finish that day. He got a measure of revenge the following week when he took 3rd at New Englands and was the top CT finisher. His senior year he moved up one place in both races, finally earning a State Open Cross Country title and he was New England runner-up. That same year, he also qualified for Foot Locker Nationals where he finished 18th to become the 2nd of four boys from Prep to qualify for Nationals in 7 different years. His senior year we could not run at Wickham Park due to a severe October snow storm that brought extensive damage to the park but his best time from the Wickham Invite of 15:41 is still in the top 20 on the Wickham list. 

Henry Wynne, Staples, Class of 2013

Better known as a track athlete, Henry Wynne still had a great deal of success on the trails during the fall. He moved up from 74th at the State Open as a sophomore to 3rd as a junior and taking the crown as a senior. He followed a similar trajectory at New Englands finishing 7th as a junior and capping off an undefeated season as a senior. His winning time of 15:49 at Class LL is still ranked as one of the top 25 fastest individual times on the Wickham course and he was named Gatorade Athlete of the Year in 2012.

Christian Alvarado, Fairfield Prep, Class of 2014

Leading the next generation of Jesuits, Alvarado has come back as head cross country coach of Fairfield Prep. While in high school he broke the Wickham Park course record and his time of 15:31 is still the 10th fastest individual time on the course. He was a two time Foot Locker qualifier, finishing 39th as a junior and 20th as a senior. He was 15th at the State Open as a sophomore, 4th as a junior and won his senior year. He also won Class LL as a senior. At New Englands he improved from 9th as a junior to 4th as a senior.

Trevor Hopper, Ridgefield, Class of 2014

When two championship level runners meet each other, only one can win. After taking 2nd at both the Class LL and State Open championships to Christian Alvarado, Hopper came to New Englands and found another level to his running. He started off the pace group, but eventually pulled into the lead, breaking future American 5k on the roads national record holder Ben True’s course record at Derryfield Park in Manchester, NH. As a senior he ran 15:08.5 on the challenging 5k course. He continued his season by taking 5th at Nike Northeast Region and 37h at NXN. His 2nd place time of 15:31 is the 10th fastest individual performance in the history of the course.

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