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?
Randy Neish
Glastonbury, senior
Neish is the top returner from last year's State Open where he finished fourth overall with a time of 15:51. He was also second at the Wickham Park Invitational where he clocked a time of 16:18. Although he does have a best of 15:48 for the 5K distance, Neish specialty is the middle-distance events where he owns a 2:27 for 1,000m and has run 1:53 for 800m. He was also first in the mile this past June at the State Open with a personal best of 4:16. With the level of competition this year, the winner of this fall's state meet may be determined in the closing stages of the race. Based on his speed in the shorter races, Neish would appear to hold the advantage over his rivals.
