September 23rd – 45th Annual Canterbury Invitational
Another hot, sunny day greeted the Deerfield harriers as they arrived at the Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut, for the 45th running of the Canterbury Invitational. Deerfield runners look forward to this meet every season because of the host school’s wonderful hospitality, the challenging course, and the tough early season competition. This year’s edition was no exception. Despite the elements, all the Big Green runners turned in solid performances and executed their race plans with discipline and focus. In the end, Deerfield captured third place for the second consecutive year, finishing behind Hotchkiss and Loomis Chaffee.
Will McNamara ’18 and Ricardo Gonzalez ’19 ran together at the front of Deerfield’s pack for the first two miles, chasing a very quick lead pack over the hot, hilly Canterbury course. McNamara pulled away from his teammate on the final hill, ultimately finishing first for Deerfield in 9th place overall, his second consecutive top-ten finish at Canterbury. Gonzalez was close on his heels in 13th place, followed by his classmate J.J. Siritantikorn in 15th. Siritantikorn turned in his best career race on this hot day, breaking his PR on the Canterbury course by more than 30 seconds. Marco Marsans ’18 (18th) and Declan Cullinane ’21 (22nd) rounded out the scoring five for Deerfield. Jake Meier ’20 completed his first 5K for the Big Green, running a smart, disciplined race to capture 28th overall, and his veteran teammate Tom Dillon ’18 ran a big season’s best time to earn 30th place.
Next Saturday, Deerfield will travel to Westminster School in Simsbury, Connecticut, for the Richard Miller Invitational. This meet offers both Varsity and Junior Varsity races, so the entire team will be back in action for one more big meet before kicking off the dual meet season at St. Paul’s School on October 7th.