COLEBROOK — Sportsmanship was on display at the finish line of the Housatonic Mountain Bike League’s (HMBL) culminating race of the season on Nov. 6.
“I’ve never seen a more collaborative, congenial group in 20 years of coaching many sports” said Salisbury School Assistant Coach Ian Johnson in a brief speech before announcing the season’s winners.
“These guys are just having fun, that’s the emphasis,” said Kent School Head Coach Curtis Scofield. “It’s the best kind of competition.”
More than 80 riders from eight regional schools convened at Norbrook Farm Brewery’s esteemed trails system on a warm and blustery Wednesday afternoon for the race, which snaked through varied topography in the forest behind the brewery. Out of four competition categories, category 1 holds the highest opportunity for points, and thus presents the most grueling course: three laps around a 3.3 mile loop that encompasses jumps, steep berms, and tough uphill climbs. The other categories follow variously abridged circuits, though none escape the challenges of pedaling through unpredictable and exhausting terrain.
“It’s one of the best networks in Connecticut — even New England,” Johnson said of the brewery’s extensive system. “It provides everything you could possibly imagine” for a cross-country mountain biking course, Scofield said, noting that it caters to “a nice cross-section” of abilities and strengths.
Alec Linden
The Hotchkiss School, Kent School, Salisbury School, Indian Mountain School, Berkshire School, South Kent School, Trinity Pawling School and Rumsey Hall School all provided energetic teams for the day’s contest. Most participating institutions had hosted a race during the regular season, with the final occurring on neutral territory.
Despite the camaraderie and genial atmosphere, it was a competition, and there had to be winners. After a 54-minute ride, the top three competitors all finished within a minute of each other. Hotchkiss sophomore Thatcher Meili beat out Kent School senior Shaun Neary by about 20 seconds, while Cyrus Taber, a Berkshire senior, finished closely behind in the bronze position.
True to Johnson’s appraisal of the athletes, riders who finished stuck around and enthusiastically cheered on other competitors who crossed the finish line well after the podium spots had been claimed.
Neary won the overall individual title in Category 1 for the season after ending up second last year. Neary was humble about his achievement, quick to comment on the skill of his competitors, claiming that Hotchkiss rider Asher Frankel, last year’s victor, might have taken it if he weren’t sidelined by injury. Neary was proud of his performance during his final year with the team, though: “I was consistent — I was second in every race,” he said.
Meili finished second in the overall individual standings, with Taber taking the third spot. Each rider was satisfied with the day’s conditions, comparing the unseasonable warmth to last year’s race day which was plagued by flurries and frigid temperatures. “Last year I wore my ski gloves,” Taber said.
Hotchkiss took first in the team rankings for the third year in a row, despite having lost their top athlete halfway through the season.
Awards were doled out in the other categories as well. The trophies themselves were a stylish design, consisting of a bike gear mounted on a sleek wooden frame, which recipients proudly toted while a crowd of riders, parents and coaches cheered on.
The ceremony concluded under the darkening sky, and the riders wheelied and drifted back to their team buses in the carefree, contented manner that follows the end of a good season.
Cornwall Consolidated School seventh graders Skylar Brown, Izabella Coppola, Halley Villa, Willow Berry, Claire Barbosa, Willa Lesch, Vivianne DiRocco and Franco Aburto presented a group research project on the life of Naomi Freeman Wednesday, April 23. In attendance were U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., John Mills, president of Alex Breanne Corporation, Cornwall First Selectman Gordon Ridgway, Cornwall Selectman Jennifer Markow and CCS social studies teacher Will Vincent.
To memorialize Freeman, the seventh graders petitioned the town selectmen to rename Great Hollow Road where the Freemans once lived. New street signs for Naomi Freeman Historic Road were created with some help from the town highway department.
“No one in this community, or the state for that matter, will ever forget that this happened here,” said Hayes.
Cornwall Highway Department helped the students create new signs to install on Great Hollow Road.Photo by Riley Klein
Per Cornwall Historical Society records, Freeman’s story began in 1794 when she was born in Vermont. John Sedgwick and his wife Abigail, of Cornwall, adopted her in 1801: an act that protected her from slavery, which was still legal in Connecticut at the time.
Sedgwick included Naomi in his will and she received a dowry after his death in 1820.
Naomi later married Obadiah “Obed” Freeman, a man who had been enslaved in Cornwall. She purchased an acre in Cornwall, becoming the town’s first African American woman to own land, and the two settled on Great Hollow Road in 1828.
Nearly 200 years later, the street itself bears her name.
“We are really proud of the work we’ve done and that Naomi Freeman will continue to be an impactful presence in our town,” said CCS student Vivianne DiRocco.
DiRocco and her classmates Skylar Brown, Izabella Coppola, Halley Villa, Willa Lesch, Willow Berry, and Claire Barbosa discovered Freeman’s story earlier this year while conducting research into important women in Cornwall’s history. The full project will be presented at Troutbeck Symposium May 1.
“One of the archaeologists who excavated the Freemans’ home told us about a gap in Connecticut’s history concerning the everyday life for free African Americans. We hope that we filled that gap a little bit,” said Lesch.
There are no known photographs or portraits of Freeman. The students utilized artificial intelligence to create images of what she might have looked like during her life in Cornwall.
The students created artwork to show what Naomi Freeman, her husband Obed and daughter Sarah might have looked like living in Cornwall.Photo by Riley Klein
“What an incredible example of what happens when young people are given the tools, the encouragement and the space to lead,” said CCS Principal Leanne Maguire. “Thank you for showing us what is possible when curiosity meets courage.”
John Mills, president of the Alex Breanne Corporation in West Hartford, was consulted by the students to help unearth census data and track down living descendants of Freeman. His company researches formerly enslaved people and brings their stories to light.
Mills said he was surprised to see the extensive research that was conducted by the students by the time he was contacted. His company sometimes helps render images for individuals lost to history, but the students had even taken that on themselves.
“I’m incredibly impressed with what you’ve done here,” said Mills to the students. “Now you’re a part of the celebration and civic engagement.”
The Town of Cornwall has several job openings for the Town Beach: Beach Director, Water Safety Instructor, and Certified Lifeguards. For more details and to apply, contact First Selectman’s office 860-672-4959.
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