Printer Friendly Version - Cosgrove Gains by Running Through the Pain

Courtney Cosgrove recently completed her career as a senior captain for the Branford girls’ cross country team by running at the Class MM State Championship. Courtney, who has made high honors every semester at the high school, is vice president of the Physics Club and a member of the National, Science, and World Language honor societies. Courtney’s professional goal is to become a veterinarian and she’s also contemplating continuing her running career at the collegiate level. Photo courtesy of Courtney Cosgrove

Courtney Cosgrove has experienced her fair share of pain while running cross country at Branford, but she’s also gained a lifetime of positive memories, plus a great group of friends, and that makes all the aches and pains well worth it for the Hornets’ senior.

Courtney’s cross country career started at Walsh Intermediate School in the 6th grade and she’s been traveling the trails ever since. Courtney has come home exhausted after a long day of running on numerous occasions, yet she always revs it back up and gets back on the path the next day. Courtney does this because she loves her teammates, she loves seeing her efforts pay off with great times, and she loves helping her team succeed.

“Right when you finish the race, of course you feel physically drained, but it’s like a runner’s high where you have all this energy and are suddenly so happy that you finished and proud of yourself when you set a new personal record,” Courtney says. “That makes me happy and the thought lingers and not just after the race. I think back of good, competitive races with good times and that brings me joy. Those moments definitely make it worth it, knowing that all the hard work paid off for something where you can see a direct result, in addition to spending time with my team and seeing my teammates do well.”

Courtney and the Hornets have certainly done well throughout her four years with the program. Courtney was part of a Class MM state champion team as a freshman, has helped Branford win three Oronoque Division titles, and she’s twice earned All-SCC accolades. Courtney also captained the Hornets this fall and will continue in that role when she runs long distance for their indoor and outdoor track squads.

Courtney admits that she “wasn’t a great runner,” when she joined the Hornets, although she learned what it takes to become one, as well as an effective leader, by working with Branford’s varsity racers during her freshman year. Courtney says that she “always wanted to be like them and was always fighting to keep up with them,” and so she started running track and then stepped up her training regimen in the summer to get in tip-top shape for her sophomore season. Courtney quickly went from being the Hornets’ eighth or ninth runner to No. 3 in the pack and wound up earning All-Conference Second Team honors with her 17th-place finish at the SCC Championship.

“I was always trying to catch the girls in front of me. We had a really good team and they were always so fast. I was trying to keep up on those eight-mile runs and I didn’t want to run alone, so I had to push harder to stay with them, and that’s how it happened. I pushed myself harder, put in a lot of work that summer, and, from there on, I’ve been a better runner,” says Courtney. “I felt extremely honored because Branford cross country has been full of strong runners for the longest time and the fact that I was up there with those girls was very honorable and a great feeling.”

The great feelings kept coming for Courtney in a junior campaign that saw her help Branford continue its division dominance with a 10th-consecutive Oronoque title. Then at the conference meet, Courtney topped her achievement from the preceding season by making the All-SCC First Team behind a time of 20:23, which is her personal record (PR) for a 5K. Runners have to place in the top 12 to make the First Team and, although Courtney was on the outside looking in as she approached the home stretch, she dug deep for one last push that propelled her into the premier tier of an elite league.

“I was around 16th place or so and about to give in and say that Second Team was good enough, but with about 400 meters left, I saw a big group in front of me, and knew that I’d be upset with myself if I didn’t pass them,” Courtney says. “I got around them and a really amazing memory was that I passed [all-time Hornets’ cross country runner Cyrene Nicholas] for a second and we had a battle. She beat me, of course, but I’m sucker for friendly competition, and finished in 10th with a new PR...I knew I had to do it. It was now or never.”

Courtney says that race was “the best memory” of her running career thus far and she elaborates on the emotions she experienced upon crossing the finish line.

“I remember hugging Cyrene and collapsing to the ground and crying hysterically. I was so happy that I had gotten First Team and a PR,” she says. “I was physically dead, but so overjoyed. I was on the ground for five minutes and my parents had to help me up and collect myself because I was so overjoyed.”

Head Coach Kevin Connell says that Courtney wasn’t considered an All-Conference prospect upon joining his program, but progressed into one by studying what led her veteran teammates to success and then putting those habits into practice.

“Courtney wouldn’t have been on anybody’s radar, but here’s a kid who definitely put in all the work, was very motivated, and was fortunate that she had people ahead of her who’d been through all the wars before. And so she followed them, watched them, trained with them, and really reaped the benefits of that,” Connell says. “Courtney reaped the benefits of having those older kids on a very good team. She just kind of moved up and helped us out and that’s the exciting part.”

Connell adds that Courtney “was a like a big sister” with how she guided his team as its lone senior captain this season. 2016 was a different type of year for Branford, which only had five girls on the squad, but even though the Hornets were short on numbers, Courtney says they still “gave 110 percent in every race and that makes me happy.”

There’s no question that Courtney feels happy with how everything has unfolded at Branford and, even though this year marks her last go-around wearing the Hornets’ uniform, Courtney plans to keep hitting the road, so she can experience both the exasperation and elation that come with running.

“It’s been great representing my hometown and, to sum it up, I love it. I love the competition, I love watching my times improve, I love the team and our dynamic, and I love our coaches,” Courtney says. “If I’m not running or if I take a day off, I find myself upset. I’m addicted to it. I just really enjoy it and hope to continue running throughout my life—maybe not competitively, but because I love it.”