Sherry’s high school running career is likely over after injury to his left leg

Gavin Sherry, a Conard senior who is one of the state’s most decorated runners, has a minor stress reaction in his left leg and is expected to miss the state track and field championships next week.

Sherry, who won the New Balance national indoor two-mile championship and finished second in the mile in March and was third in the Eastbay national cross country championships in San Diego in December, felt soreness in his leg at the end of the indoor season.

Conard coach Ron Knapp said Sherry took two weeks off, tried to run, felt something again, took another two weeks off, came back again but continued to feel off and was diagnosed with a stress reaction.

While Sherry is running, he has not trained to race as he normally would.

“I think he wants to not chance anything,” Knapp said. “It was enough to unnerve him; both him and his parents.”

Sherry and his twin brother Callum will both run at Stanford next year.

Knapp said it’s possible that Gavin could run for Conard’s 4x800-meter relay team on June 1 at the Class L championships but “with his attitude, if he’s not going at 100 percent ... you don’t want to do something that’s just halfway or three-quarters, that’s the way he is.”

Sherry had an outstanding indoor season as a senior, setting state indoor records in the 1,600 (4:11.19), 3,200 (8:54.47), one mile (4:02.69) and two mile (8:48.59). He became the second Connecticut runner to win the Millrose Games high school mile in January and won the State Open 1,600 and 3,200 titles. Last spring, he won the State Open 1,600 outdoors with a state record 4:01.88 and turned around and won the 3,200 as well that day.

In cross country, he won the New England cross country championship, State Open and Class L cross country titles last fall and finished third in San Diego at the national championships in 15:17.3. He was also the State Open and New England champion in 2019, but neither the State Open nor New England events were contested in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns.