West Hartford’s Hall High School boys and girls cross country teams have qualified for the State Open.

Hall Boys Prerace Warmup. CIAC Class L Division State Championships. Oct. 25, 2025. Photo credit: Jackson Tucker + Bramley Cyr

By Eliot Norwood

As October began to wind down and fall foliage reached its peak, cross country championship season arrived.

Runners who have been working all summer and fall training, racing, and fine tuning their fitness come together to race in championship meets. This past week, the Hall Boys Cross Country Team competed in several championship meets against teams from all over the state of Connecticut.

Starting off the week on Tuesday, Oct. 21 was a look to the future as the freshman raced in the CCC Freshman XC Championships on a blistering 2-mile course at Fisher Meadows in Avon. Simultaneously, the sophomores went down to the Connecticut shoreline to race in the Old Saybrook Frosh-Soph Invitational on a very fast 5K course looping around Old Saybrook High School.

The freshmen were able to place fifth against a very talented field on the fast 2-mile course moving up well and passing several runners in the latter portion of the race. 

Meanwhile down in Old Saybrook, the sophomores took the lead early in the race and never let up. They finished the race in a tight pack led by Jackson Tucker with a time of 17:55 and won the race with a significant margin of victory. In the four years that Hall has run at this meet, this is the first time they have gotten the win, showcasing a dedicated and talented group of underclassmen and a bright future for the team in years to come.

Hall Boys Postrace Awards Ceremony. Old Saybrook Frosh-Soph Invitational. Oct. 21, 2025

Three days after that, on Friday, Oct. 24, was the JV Valley Championships back at Fisher Meadows in Avon. This meet was for juniors and seniors who were not running in their respective state meets the following day as well as any freshmen or sophomores that wanted to run one more race during the season and see if they could run a lifetime best on the lightning fast course nicknamed “the PR machine.” Hall was able to take the win with a first place finish by junior Henry Mazur in a time of 17:22 followed by a solid pack of Hall runners which secured the win.

The course lived up to its name with 16 out of the 18 Hall runners competing running personal bests, closing out cross country careers for many of the seniors and giving younger runners looking to run on the varsity lineup in future years something to build on into the track seasons and next year.

Hall Coaching Staff. CIAC Class L Division State Championships. Oct. 25, 2025. Photo credit: Jackson Tucker + Bramley Cyr

The following day, on Saturday, Oct. 25, would be the State Class Championships on the hilly 5K at Wickham Park in Manchester. Coming into the meet ranked No. 12 in the state after a rough race at the conference championships, Hall would have a tough test in the Class L Championships going up against No. 7 Amity, No. 10 New Canaan, No. 13 Fairfield Warde, and No. 16 Newtown, and would need to place top two to secure their bid to the State Open. Hall was able to rebound and run a good race and through smart racing and strong depth, and they were able to place second place in a very good field.

Hall Boys Prerace Huddle. CIAC Class L Division State Championships. Oct. 25, 2025. Photo Credit: Jackson Tucker + Bramley Cyr

Hall was led by senior Jonah Schulman – in a personal best of 16:21 – who finished third in the race overall. He was followed by junior Alex Martin-Casas in a time of 17:06, holding off multiple runners at the line. Rounding out the scoring pack was senior Fox Mace as well as juniors Elias Miettinen and Sam Chaparro, both of whom took big steps forward during the season. All three of them finished the race less than a second apart from one another in 17:32.

Senior Eliot Norwood (17:47) and junior Liam Holt (17:56) rounded out the team for Hall. All seven runners ran personal bests for the tough course and were able to move up through each mile of the race. Hall was able to qualify for the State Open which will be held at Wickham Park in Manchester on Friday morning, Oct. 31. They will look to get a top-six finish to qualify for the New England cross country championships in Thetford, Vermont the following weekend.

If they can stay healthy and run a good race, the Hall boys will have a solid chance to qualify and finish off the season strong.

The Hall girls cross country team tied for first place in the CCC championship. Courtesy photo

The Hall girls cross country team finished tied with Farmington and Simsbury for first place in the conference championship, and finished fourth at the Class L race on Oct. 25.

The Hall girls will compete at the State Open on Friday, Oct. 31.

The Hall girls cross country team has qualified for the State Open. Courtesy photo

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