As the autumn leaves paint hues of red and splashes of orange across the Circle, Groton’s accomplished athletes set the fields ablaze with their outstanding performances from this fall. Over the course of the season, these talented athletes and teams have amassed a plethora of accolades, victories and milestones.

Boys’ Cross Country – Christopher Hovet

Leading the charge for varsity boys cross country is Christopher Hovet ’25, whose results at the NEPSTA and ISL Championships put him at the head of all New England runners. Chris placed fourth overall at ISLs and captured a first-place victory at the NEPSTA Division II meet with a time of 17:24. At ISLs, he felt that he “came up short.” However, Chris decided to “make up for it in New Englands” and go into the race with a different mentality. He says that he was “just happy to be there with everyone” and that “it was a great feeling to win.” Chris has had a successful season with his team, and he enjoys seeing their hard work pay off with personal bests for nearly everyone. The varsity boys cross country team finished sixth at ISLs and NEPSTAs.

Sculling FSA

Racing in a girls’ quad, Lauren Dubois ’25 (stroke), Kit Knuppel ’24 (3 seat), Hannah Gally ’25 (2 seat), and Agathe Robert ’24 (bow) emerged victorious in the Textile River Regatta. With their consistent pulling and Marlene Ma ’24 as their coxswain, the crew flew through the 4,500-meter course, besting top rowing club GMS and Groton’s ISL rival, Nobles. Despite having only two weeks to prepare for the October 1 regatta, the group walked into Lowell, Massachusetts, with a positive attitude. Agathe, reflecting on their race, says, “We were super excited to win this race because a lot of the other boats are rowing clubs that practice year round.” The sculling FSA team has had a successful fall term and is ready for the spring crew season.

Varsity Volleyball

For the first time in Groton history, varsity volleyball clinched a spot in the NEPSAC Class B Championships, ending their ISL season with a 9–3 record. This year, the team welcomed several talented young players who helped lead them to victories. Despite losing 3–0 to the top seed, King School, and driving three hours to Connecticut during exam week, team members recounted being ecstatic to compete in the first round of playoffs. Though this season has presented a number of changes for the volleyball team, such as the addition of a new head coach, these have been predominantly positive changes that resulted in improvements to team culture.When looking back on their games, co-captain Daisy Adinkrah ’24 said, “I was so proud of our team! We worked hard.”