A handful of skilled and determined young runners from Londonderry have proven that they can square off with the best racers in the state and the region and come out looking plenty good. Now it’s on to a national event for the locals to see how they can fare.
Young Londonderry cross-country standouts Lindsay Gregoire, Libby Bono, Zach Crimmins, Andrew Law, and Cailin Borovicka all excelled at a championship event here in the Granite State in Amherst and then at the New England Regional Championships in Augusta, Me., as members of the Granite State Flash club to qualify themselves for the forthcoming national championships in Myrtle Beach. S.C. on Dec. 13.
All five members of the high-quality quintet have honed their impressive skills with the renowned Granite State Flash organization, which works with cross-country and track and field athletes aged six through 18.
Facing the top young racers at her age level at the regional competition in Maine, Londonderry North School second grader Gregoire qualified to move on by finishing 20th overall with her time of 9 minutes and 35.89 seconds.
Crimmins and Law, who are both North School second graders like Gregoire, helped their Flash contingent to a second place team finish with times of 10:25.16 and 10:37.23 respectively.
North third grader Bono helped her Flash squad to a third place team finish with a fine personal time of 10:22.89.
And Londonderry Middle School seventh grader Borovicka helped her GS Flash team to a fourth place finish by posting an individual finishing time of 13:03. She ran a distance of three kilometers (1.87 miles) while the other Londonderry harriers ran two kilometers (1.25 miles).
Granite State Flash athletes compete in USA Track and Field Junior Olympic competitions as well as various local races and meets throughout the year.
The focus of the Flash program is teaching running as a lifelong pursuit, increasing athletic skills and personal fitness levels, team competition, and sportsmanship and friend-making.