Conard’s Sherry wins second straight player of year award

Gavin Sherry’ s already-expansive trophy case might need another shelf soon.

The Conard junior was named the Gatorade Connecticut Boys Cross Country Player of the Year for the second season in a row on Thursday. Sherry, the first Conard athlete to ever win the award, won the Northeast Cross Country Club Championship last November with a time of 15:13.70, and placed second at the East Coast Cross Country Championship in December.

He placed first in every dual meet he ran in last season, but because of COVID-19, did not have a chance to contend for a second straight State Open or Class LL title. He won both as a sophomore in 2019 and placed second in each as a freshman.

His time of 15:06, which he raced against rival Hall in a dual meet on Oct. 8, 2020, was the fastest time ran by any Connecticut boys cross country runner in 2020.

“I think my mentality is one of my biggest attributes,” Sherry told The Courant in 2020. “So far I haven’t had much go not my way. I haven’t had that much of an opportunity to deal with that adversity. I’m just trying to keep it as positive as I can for when that does happen.”

Sherry won his first Gatorade Connecticut Boys Cross Country Player of the Year award following his 2019 sophomore campaign and excelled in his first season of indoor track in the ensuing months. He won the 3,200-meter run at the State Open and Class LL championships, won the 1,600-meter run at the CCC championship and excelled at invitationals all across the northeast.

His time of 8:54.47 in the 3,200 at the State Open was the fastest ran in the country in 2020.

Sherry has won a total of five state titles as an individual or as part of a relay. He didn’t run indoor track as a freshman, and his sophomore season of outdoor track was canceled due to COVID-19.