Westminster Girls Win First-Ever Founders League Championship

The Nov. 2 race at Avon Old Farms was one for the ages. On a crisp, November day the Westminster girls toed the line with confidence and determination — and a fair amount of pre-race jitters — alongside the runners of the nine Founders League schools. The Westminster girls’ team brought home the Founders League title for the first time in school history, narrowly securing a victory over Loomis Chaffee in a 54-59 point finish. Annabelle Smith ‘21 shot out from the field early on to position herself in fourth place, just a few seconds behind the lead pack; she finished in fourth place overall, running a personal best time of 20:13 on the flat, grassy course. Miranda Douglass ’21 (eighth), Laura Mittelman ’20 (ninth) and Olivia Goldstuck ’21 (14th) finished in nearly rapid-fire succession — and in record times — to earn All-League honors (awarded to the top 15 finishers). Bethany Winters ’20 finished in a nearly 90-second season PR–breaking 22 minutes for the first time — to earn 19th place overall and finish ahead of Loomis Chaffee’s fifth runner, securing the team victory for Westminster. Bella Tawney ‘22 and Janessa Yan ‘22 ran gutsy races to round out the Westminster top seven; Tawney finished in a time of 23:17 (a 36-second lifetime PR) and Yan was seconds away from her lifetime best. In the girls’ JV race, Simone Routledge ‘23 bested her personal record by nearly 90 seconds (25:26) and was the first Westminster finisher in the field. Taylor Hill ‘22 and Hope Zimmerman ‘21 ran their fastest times ever by over 60 seconds to finish second and third, respectively, for the Martlets. Full results here.