Fleet Feet of West Hartford donated more than 30 pairs of sneakers Wednesday to the Academy of Computer Science and Engineering cross country team, fitting students with new shoes ahead of their upcoming competition.

By Mia Jaworski

Fleet Feet, located on Farmington Avenue, sized and fitted each student after Sabrina Lumbra, a science teacher and science department chair at the CREC magnet school who also works at the retailer’s Glastonbury location, alerted Fleet Feet owners Dave and Fernanda Jacobs that the team needed new sneakers.

Though unfamiliar with the West Hartford location, Lumbra immediately clocked in and got straight to work fitting students for sneakers.

“These kids never dreamed of getting to wear a pair of shoes like this,” said John Tusch, Comp Sci High Theme Coach.

Some students received sneakers valued at $275.

“I feel like I’m walking on clouds,” one student said.

The Academy of Computer Science and Engineering, also known as Comp Sci High, is a Title I school, meaning it serves a significant population of students from low-income families and qualifies for federal funding to support educational programs.

“Almost every kid here needed a new pair of sneakers,” said coach Kevin Zalucki, whom students call Coach Z.

Zalucki coaches alongside his best friend, Mark D’Alesandro, known to the team as Coach D. Their energy helps fuel a close-knit team, where students share embraces and chants of “XC.”

The cross country team has grown from six students to 35 in the past three years, a change Zalucki credits in part to team captain Miles Jackson.

Jackson won the fourth and fifth Greater Hartford Conference regular-season meets and hopes to run for the University of Connecticut next year.

Fleet Feet has organized similar events for Bloomfield High School and Windsor High School. The retailer also offers a 20% discount to schools and hosts “spike nights,” when high school track teams can get fitted for racing shoes.

The event also included several boxes of Luna’s Pizza, which students eagerly dug into. Amid the excitement, Zalucki reminded the runners to “leave it better than they found it,” a reflection of the team’s emphasis on character and respect for others.

After receiving their new sneakers, students broke them in with a few laps around The Center before boarding the bus.

“These kids have had shin splints, soreness and blisters,” Tusch said. “This opportunity is going to have a huge difference.”

Comp Sci High will compete in the Greater Hartford Conference meet at Stanley Quarter Park next Tuesday.

“We’re going to win,” Zalucki said.

Last year, the girls cross country team won the title, while the boys team fell short by three points. This season, the team hopes to build on that success and bring home another championship.

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