Two Harwood Union cross-country runners are advancing to the New Englands this fall. Their coach Matt Migonis provided these profiles for the runners. Good luck to Christopher Cummisky and Celia Wing!
Name: Christopher “Christo” Cummisky
Year: Senior
School: Harwood Union High School
Sport: Boys’ Varsity Cross Country
Christo entered his senior season as one of the unquestioned leaders of the boys’ Harwood Union varsity cross-country team. He was one of two captains on the boys’ team and by the end of the season he was the top-placing runner at every cross-country meet he raced in 2024.
Prior to this season, Christo had broken the 18-minute 5k barrier twice in his career (17:56 and 17:59 in 2022 and 2023 at the Maine Festival of Champions). This year he broke 18 minutes in seven of the nine races he competed in. He broke his previous personal best time in all seven of those races and set a new lifetime best mark on October 5 at the Festival of Champions meet in Belfast, Maine, crossing the line in 17:11.2. Christo also bettered his previous times on each course Harwood raced on this season with the exception of one.
Coming into the season head coach Matt Migonis believed that Christo had an outside chance of qualifying for the New England Interscholastic Cross Country Championships as an individual. Christo didn’t necessarily share that belief. However, as the season went on and his performances got stronger and stronger, Christo’s confidence also grew. Heading into the Vermont State Cross Country Championships last weekend at Thetford Academy, Migonis knew that New Englands were a real possibility for Christo. He just had to run a gutsy race with no fear and that’s exactly what Christo did. He refrained from going out too hard on the punishing Thetford course and when the opportunity presented itself in the second half of the race, he went for it.
Christo crossed the line in eighth-place overall in the Division 2 Championship race in a time of 17:47.4 which was nearly 1:40 faster than he ran on the same course at the State Championship last year when he finished in 19:26.9 for 24th place. This was one of the best individual performances by a boys’ Harwood runner in the last 10 years. With his place and time, Christo nabbed the final individual qualifying spot for the coveted New England Championship which will be held in Wickham Park, CT, on November 9.
While Christo still has one more race to run in 2024, it can safely be said that this was a dream season for the senior captain from Harwood.
Name: Celia Wing
Year: Senior
School: Harwood Union High School
Sport: Girls’ Varsity Cross Country
Celia came into the 2024 cross-country season with her most consistent summer of training under her belt. She also had a level of focus and determination that she hadn’t had prior to this point in her career. She was ready for a special final season at Harwood.
Celia and head coach Matt Migonis knew that the key to her having a successful season was to keep her healthy. Celia had dealt with various injuries over the past two seasons which kept her from running to her max potential, but Migonis knew that if she could stay healthy, she could do some amazing things this season.
This new approach to her training quickly showed just how special of a runner Celia is. She finished in the top 11 in every race she ran with the exception of the ultra-competitive Festival of Champions meet in Belfast, Maine, where she finished in 24th place in the field of 642 female runners. Her place and time were 12 spots and 24 seconds better than last year in Belfast. She was the runner up in three races including a very impressive second place this past weekend at the VT State Championship meet at Thetford Academy.
That second-place finish booked her ticket to the New England Interscholastic Cross Country Championships at Wickham Park, CT, on November 9. Celia’s time of 20:51 was nearly two minutes faster than she ran on the same course at the same meet the previous season when she finished 10th in the Division 2 race.
Prior to her stellar performance at the State Championship, Celia ran a 5k time of 20:30 or better in five of the seven races she ran this season. That’s something she had only done twice in her combined prior three seasons. She broke her lifetime personal best twice when she ran 19:44.8 at the Burlington Invitational in September and again in October when she ran 19:38.4 at the Festival of Champions in Belfast, ME. That mark of 19:38.4 puts her in sole possession of eighth place on the Harwood All-Time Fastest 5k times. This season has certainly cemented Celia’s place as one of the top female runners in Harwood Union history.
Celia will look to have one final strong performance in Connecticut next week where she’ll be racing against the best runners from Maine, Connecticut, Vermont, and Rhode Island at the New England Championship.
