Madison 7th Grader Earns All American Status at National Cross Country Junior Olympic Championships

Robbie Cozean of Madison, a 7th Grader at The Country School, placed 13th in a field of 363 runners at the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships, earning All American status in the process. Robbie qualified for Nationals, held in December in Myrtle Beach, S.C., after winning the 11-12 age group at Junior Olympics Regionals in Augusta, Maine, and his age bracket in the Connecticut Junior Olympics prior to that. Running primarily against older competitors, Robbie also placed second in the Connecticut Middle School cross country championships, a feat rarely been accomplished by a 7th Grader.

With the 2014 season now concluded, Robbie is already looking ahead to next year. “He is establishing goals for a year from now,” said John Fixx, Head of School at The Country School and one of Robbie’s cross country coaches. “Robbie has a remarkable ability to delay gratification and make incremental sacrifices to achieve a larger goal.”

Mr. Fixx, who has coached many runners in his 30+ years in education and who is, himself, a lifelong competitive runner and the son of Jim Fixx, author the The Complete Book of Running, said he has rarely seen such a young athlete with Robbie’s combination of talent, commitment, and drive. Robbie has been running for just three years, and has shown remarkable improvement each season.

In addition to his devotion to running, Robbie plays tennis and is active on The Country School’s award-winning robotics team, helping the school earn two medals at last year’s State Robotics Championship. He is also on the math team, a member of the select chamber chorus, and on the school’s Honor Roll and Effort List. Robbie is the son of Dr. Laura Miller-Cozean and Ron Cozean, who was himself a champion runner at Xavier High School and later at Yale.

In addition to Mr. Fixx, Robbie was coached by Dean of Students Beth Coyne, Spanish teacher Blair Balchunas, and volunteer coach Dr. Anthony Uzwiak, a nationally ranked marathon runner and a Country School parent. Throughout the season, he was supported by a crew of teammates, some as young as 6, who trained alongside him and urged him on.

Cross country has become a popular sport at The Country School, where students and parents recently joined forces to create a cross country trail on the school’s 23-acre campus. This year, the school was able to host its first-ever home cross country meet, with students of all ages training several times a week. In November, 15 students – ranging from 1st Graders through 8th Graders – competed in the Connecticut Junior Olympics, and all 15 qualified for Regionals.

The Country School is a coeducational, independent day school serving 200 students in PreSchool through Grade 8, ages 3-14, on its 23-acre campus in the Madison countryside.