No Record, No Problem For Connolly
It's not like we didn't expect it to happen. Despite a quality field behind her, Natick's Grace Connolly turned the Division 1 girls' race into her own personal time trial, trudging through the muddy terrain in a winning 17:50, a comfortable 17 seconds ahead of Wellesley's Margaret Donahue. With a blazing opening mile of 5:22, Connolly had a goal of breaking the course record of 17:27.
"I was definitely going for that," she said. "I'm a little bummed I was hoping to go a little faster today. But I mean, I won All States so I'm happy with it. I definitely was trying to go for the record. That was a goal for me. Honestly, I wasn't able to get it today but it's something I can look forward to next year. The conditions were not really great today. I am not going to beat myself up over it."
Connolly's title was her second straight X-C title and eighth overall (indoor and outdoor track). Her cross country season isn't over quite yet. This Saturday she'll be in New York City at the famed Van Cortlandt Park where she'll be competing in the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals. At last year's meet, she placed fourth overall and then earned All-American honors in San Diego when she finished ninth overall at the national meet.
"It's not going to be an easy race," she admitted. "Every single second is going to hurt. But I am just so competitive and its just so rewarding. I am definitely super excited about that."