Runners to Watch: Armstrong Noonan, Darien

The high school cross-country season officially begins next week for Connecticut athletes.

During the last few days, MileSplit CT featured the top schools from each class in the Nutmeg State. In the coming weeks, we'll highlight the individuals to keep an eye on for the upcoming 2015 campaign. Can Staples' Hannah DeBlasi finish off her outstanding career with an unprecedented fourth straight state crown? Can Tolland win its third consecutive class title and fifth straight state crown. You be the judge by some of its talented harriers who will be returning to the trails?

Armstrong Noonan

Darien, senior

While his teammate Alex Ostberg was making most of the headlines, Noonan was manufacturing quite a year in track and cross country, too. He was fifth at the State Open, eighth at the New England Championships and placed 12th at the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals where he ran 15:48. Noonan's all-time best on the trails came at the FCIAC Championships where he placed third with a time of 15:35. The Darien runner demonstrated his versatility throughout the year with bests of 2:35 for the 1,000m, 4:17 for the mile and 9:05.82 for two miles. His two-mile effort came at the New Balance Nationals this past June where he was sixth overall.