Quinn Breaks Cross Country Record

Tri-Captain Runs 15:30 5K

Senior Jack Quinn in a recent cross country training session.

Luke Benson ('23), Orbit Contributor
November 28, 2022

Reading senior Tri-Captain Jack Quinn broke the school record in the 5k with a time of 15:30 at the Middlesex League Cross Country Championship on October 31st.

The 5k is a cross country event that consists of running 3.12 miles through various terrains. To achieve his record Jack had to run at a pace of 5:10 per mile. A time of 5:10 is impressive for one mile alone, needless to say running 3 at that time is even more difficult. In this race Jack beat his previous time in the 5k by 55 seconds, and it has taken a lot of hard work and determination to get to where he is today.

Quinn shared his training strategy. “ When you’re training you have to start not doing too much and slowly build up to longer training,” he said. This strategy has clearly paid dividends, putting him in the record books at RMHS.

Jack is the captain of the cross country team as well as the winter and spring track teams. To be elected as captain to all 3 teams is very impressive and speaks to his leadership abilities. Fellow cross country captain Andrew Abdella (’23) spoke highly of Jack as he said, “He helps in so many different ways, showing up to practice every day with a good attitude ready to go and treating everyone the same no matter what their level is.”

The all time 5k time in high school for the U.S. is 14:03 set by Colin Sahlman accomplished in 2021 at the Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championship. Although Jack’s time is still a long way from the record, it is not far off from some of the best cross country runners in the nation. Of the 2,300 runners competing at the cross country championship, only 73 of them finished under 15 minutes. This puts Jack competitive with most of the runners in that national race.

Jack has verbally committed to the admissions process at Hamilton College and will run track there. Hamilton is a high academic division 3 university in Clinton New York and competes in the prestigious NESCAC conference.

Quinn has high goals for the upcoming winter and spring track seasons. “I’d love to break the 800 and the mile records. Those are my big goals. It would be tough, but I’ve got to go for it.”