Details
Westminster to Host Richard Miller Invitational Cross Country Meet
Westminster will be hosting the first Richard Miller Invitational cross country meet for eight participating schools, Saturday, September 30, on the school’s 5-kilometer course. Course Map.
The meet will include three 5K races with participants from Deerfield Academy, Kent School, Millbrook School, Salisbury School, Suffield Academy, Westminster School, Wilbraham and Monson Academy, and The Williston Northampton School.
The top 15 runners in each race will be recognized, as well as the top three girls’ and boys’ teams.
The timing of the events will be:
2:30 p.m. First boys’ race
3:10 p.m.First girls’ race
3:50 p.m.Second boys’ race
5:15 p.m.Results and team trophies
“The Westminster course combines hills and flats and has excellent spectator viewing points,” said Westminster cross country coach Mark de Kanter. “The meet will be a full-school event, with many of our faculty volunteering their time to help with the race.”
The meet is named in honor of Richard Miller, a longtime member of the Westminster faculty who started cross country at the school in 1972 and was a coach until 1991.
When asked about the first years of the school’s cross-country program, Miller said: “I began the program in 1972 and for three years we ran on campus – but not in the woods –and on the streets of Simsbury, running “home” meets at Stratton Brook State Park. During summers, I worked on clearing old roads in our woods that had once led to the so-called potato field area. I think we ran our first home meets on campus in 1975. Over time, I worked on clearing more trails and eventually developed a crew to help, though over the years, we did do trail clearing with team members on occasion.”
In recalling some highlights of his coaching career with the program, Miller said: “Cross country became more popular and we started developing some depth so that the teams of the early and mid-1980s saw some excellent running. For a time, we had runners who relished the long distance runs, enjoying the 10.3-mile run from campus to the end of the trail through Stratton Brook Park and back. Another highlight was whenever we were able to beat Berkshire, which didn’t happen often. And I was especially proud of the first year we hosted the NEs (NEPSTA Division II Cross Country Championships), Nov. 11, 1989. Coaches and captains said that we set a standard against which all future invitational meets would be run.”
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The meet will include three 5K races with participants from Deerfield Academy, Kent School, Millbrook School, Salisbury School, Suffield Academy, Westminster School, Wilbraham and Monson Academy, and The Williston Northampton School.
The top 15 runners in each race will be recognized, as well as the top three girls’ and boys’ teams.
The timing of the events will be:
2:30 p.m. First boys’ race
3:10 p.m.First girls’ race
3:50 p.m.Second boys’ race
5:15 p.m.Results and team trophies
“The Westminster course combines hills and flats and has excellent spectator viewing points,” said Westminster cross country coach Mark de Kanter. “The meet will be a full-school event, with many of our faculty volunteering their time to help with the race.”
The meet is named in honor of Richard Miller, a longtime member of the Westminster faculty who started cross country at the school in 1972 and was a coach until 1991.
When asked about the first years of the school’s cross-country program, Miller said: “I began the program in 1972 and for three years we ran on campus – but not in the woods –and on the streets of Simsbury, running “home” meets at Stratton Brook State Park. During summers, I worked on clearing old roads in our woods that had once led to the so-called potato field area. I think we ran our first home meets on campus in 1975. Over time, I worked on clearing more trails and eventually developed a crew to help, though over the years, we did do trail clearing with team members on occasion.”
In recalling some highlights of his coaching career with the program, Miller said: “Cross country became more popular and we started developing some depth so that the teams of the early and mid-1980s saw some excellent running. For a time, we had runners who relished the long distance runs, enjoying the 10.3-mile run from campus to the end of the trail through Stratton Brook Park and back. Another highlight was whenever we were able to beat Berkshire, which didn’t happen often. And I was especially proud of the first year we hosted the NEs (NEPSTA Division II Cross Country Championships), Nov. 11, 1989. Coaches and captains said that we set a standard against which all future invitational meets would be run.”
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