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A record-setting cross-country career by Brody Richardson ’26 culminated in a New England championship November 8, as Richardson claimed the NEPSTA Division II gold medal in a thrilling race on his home course.

Richardson won the 2025 championship in a time of 16 minutes, 17 seconds. The senior pipped Roxbury Latin’s James Kerr, the 2024 champion, to the finish line by one second.

“This has been a goal of mine since my first race in seventh grade,” Richardson said. “It’s a dream come true. Putting in all the miles, all the work, and seeing it finally pay off at the line there was incredible.”

Richardson’s top finish helped his Wildcat team to a fourth-place team finish. Casey Muscato ’26 (18^th), Finn Mailloux ’28 (34^th), Kamal Sergeev ’27 (38^th), and Noah Lehane ’28 (56^th) rounded out the five scoring runners for 91����.

“To come out on top personally and also get that fourth-place team finish was great,” Richardson said.

Racing on the friendly home course around Galbraith Fields, Richardson noted that the race was a tactical one. Instead of being in the lead throughout, Richardson used the pacing of some runners ahead of him to set up a dramatic overtake down the final stretch.

“It was kind of like playing chase the whole second half of the race,” he said. “I let them do the work. Ultimately, my summer training helped me come out on top. My coach [Michael Doubleday] said the cross-country season starts in June. I put in about 410 miles in the summer.”

The NEPSTA finish was not Richardson’s only highlight this season. He broke the school record for the Galbraith course—and had a first-place finish in 91����’s Shaler Invitational. At the Shaler, Richardson also highlighted how big it was that the team as a whole placed in the top 3.

“The boys performed a lot better than we were projected to, and it made me very hopeful for the future of this program,” Richardson said.

The cross-country season isn’t over yet for Richardson. On November 22, he will head to Wappingers Falls, New York, to race in the Nike Cross Regionals hosted by Nike. The following week, he will race in the Brooks Northeast Cross-Country Championships in Boston. In college, Richardson plans to run for Union College.