Olivia Flaherty-Lovy, Editor-in-Chief
When senior Andrew Malling joined the track team in the spring of his freshman year, he never suspected that one day, he would be the fastest cross country runner in the FCIAC. He just wanted to try something new.
“I joined for a mixture of reasons: I liked a girl on the team, wanted to lose weight, and was trying to find a new mix of people to hang out with,” he said. The next fall, Andrew joined the cross country team, turning his back on the football program he had been a part of for eight years. “This was a tough decision for me, but I wanted to show people that I could make Varsity.”
To prepare, Andrew spent the summer before his sophomore year running, and logged 300 miles by the start of the season. “That was probably the proudest moment of my cross country career,” he said. “I went from being the slowest kid on the track team to being one of the top 7 Varsity runners.”
Andrew improved steadily throughout his first season, clocking a personal best of 18:54 for the 5000 meters (5k). As a junior, Andrew ran his fastest race of the season (17:00) in the FCIAC championship, where he finished 23rd and earned All FCIAC Second Team. However, his senior season was when he really started to gain fame, winning each of his five races in regular season meets.
To top it off, on October 18, Andrew made history by winning the FCIAC championship with a time of 15:47, with an average mile time of 5:05, breaking the record for the fastest 5k run by a New Canaan athlete. He became the first boys cross country FCIAC champion from New Canaan in 42 years, following Mike Cotton’s wins in 1975 and 1976. Not only did he make history, but Andrew moved up 22 spots from his 23nd place finish in FCIACs as a junior.
To prepare for this race and for the season in general, Andrew ran about 450 miles over the summer, which would be like running from New Canaan to Baltimore, Maryland and back again. To Andrew, that kind of preparation exemplifies his favorite part of the sport. “I see my lonely runs as a time to get to know myself better, and to have almost a spiritual experience,” he said.
Andrew’s track coach Bill Martin noted that Andrew’s hard work and dedication over the summer were keys to his success. “He’s a captain by virtue of performance, and a leader by example,” Coach Martin said. “Perseverance, hard work, sacrifice, dedication, desire- all of those words apply to him when it comes to running.”
This year, Andrew has also been leading his team behind the scenes as a co-captain alongside seniors Aidan Coffee and Cem Geray. “Andrew is honestly one of the most hardworking kids I’ve ever met,” Cem said. “A year ago I’d never have imagined that he would place first in FCIACs. It’s honestly been a real privilege to run with him.”
As Andrew and the team prepare for States, State Opens, and New Englands, Andrew is looking forward to continuing to lead the team on and off the course. “It’s a pretty daunting task to focus on yourself as a runner, and have to control an entire team at the same time, but I really do see the entire team as a family,” he said.
