I usually pride myself on knowing most of the athletes in this area so when the name Kouta Kobayashi appeared on the list at the 27th annual Woodstock Memorial Day 10K Road Race this morning, I just had to go talk to him.
The 14-year-old from Woodstock finished the 6.2 mile course in 41:31, good enough for seventh place overall. His sister, Maho Kobayashi who is just 16, was the second female to cross the finish line.
Unfortunately for Woodstock Academy, these two runners won't be on any of the Centaurs' running teams. It turns out both attend Whitinsville Christian Academy in Massachusetts.
"Last year, I thought I pretty bad here, so it was quite the improvement," Kouta Kobayashi, a freshman at Whitinsville, said.
"I didn't make it to states but I made it to the Districts (in Massachusetts) in cross country, indoor and outdoor track."
Scott Deslongchamps of Grosvenordale finished first overall in the race for a third straight year. Pomfret School squash and crew coach, Greg Rossolino, placed second overall with another high school runner, 15-year-old Brent Schouler of Northbridge, Mass. in 3rd. The top female runner was Laura Pagnozzi of Scituate, R.I., she finished 11th.