Jairo Barrera – Lawrence

During Jairo’s time at LHS, he participated in the JROTC program where he found a supportive community that kept him accountable and reminded him of the importance of resilience and consistency.

One day, he saw the Cross-Country team practicing and discovered his future sport. His involvement in assisting a middle school race taught him about passion, determination and testing one’s limits which he observed in the kids.

During his final two years at LHS, he became a member of the Cross-Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track teams where he served as a captain.

He wants to continue his involvement in the Lawrence middle school clinics and motivate his college friends to find a passion for running when he attends Middlebury College.

Taylor Callanan – Andover

Taylor was a four- year member of the Cross-Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track teams where she was also a captain for all three. She cited the importance of learning to pace herself and always drew inspiration from her teammates.

She found time to be an organizer for Soles4Souls, served as president of Habitat for Humanity and worked at a local ice cream stand.

She volunteered for Sidney’s Rainbow Run and plans to join a running club to stay active while attending Villanova University

Benjamin Falk – Andover

Benjamin said running changed the course of his life by teaching him to always finish whatever he started. He found inspiration from running the Feaster Five during his senior year while recovering from an injury. He said it rekindled his passion when he needed it the most. He discovered his appreciation for his running community.

The four-year member of the Cross-Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track teams was a student with numerous interests. In addition to being a three-sport captain, he played violin in a chamber orchestra and volunteered to play at town and school events. He participated in the Boys State Government Program and was a lifeguard and swim instructor at Brooks Summer Camp. He had a perfect MCAS score in science.

Benjamin plans to continue his running at St Lawrence University and stay connected to the local running scene through road races.

Nicolas FloresQuero Llamas

After being injured as a freshman, Nicolas learned the importance of patience, discipline and structure which lead to his future athletic and academic success. As a four-year member of the Cross-Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track teams, he focused on training properly and other aspects such as nutrition. This led to him running a 9:34 two-mile, the second fastest in NAHS history.

He became involved in the NA Youth Track program and volunteered for local road races, including the Feaster Five and Step Up for Colleen. He joined the Student Council, Outreach Club and became a USA Youth Hockey referee.

His role as Cross-Country captain was indicative of his leadership qualities which he will bring to Merrimack College where he plans to continue with Cross-Country and Track.

Callista Giles – North Andover

Callista comes from a family of runners and cited running as being one of the most important things to her. She started with youth track in the third grade and cross country in the sixth. She saw running as a “source of therapy and a way to find the best people.”

An injury during the Indoor Track season showed her how much she really loved running and her teammates who had been with her since middle school.

While a member of the Cross-Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track for four seasons, she still found time to be on the Yearbook Committee, served as a Student Ambassador and worked part-time at a Senior Care center.

She will be attending Penn State and plans to continue running road races in the future.

Rose Kiley – Andover

Rose was attracted to running from the start. While being part of the Cross-Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track teams all four years, she said it became more than that. She mentioned the opportunity to challenge herself, be part of something bigger and to aim for a common goal. As a three-sport captain, she drew inspiration from her teammates. She saw a different side of the sport while competing in the Feaster Five Road Race and said “it’s something that brings people together “.

She served on the National Honor Society Executive board at AHS, Warrior Way Student Organization and had part-time employment at local restaurants.

Her future includes attending Holy Cross College and plans to stay active in the local running scene by competing in road races and volunteering.

Anwar Mamdouh – Methuen

Anwar was a very engaged student while participating in numerous clubs and organizations including the National Honor Society, NHS for Science, President of the Green Team, Host/Founder of AP Biology Tutoring Bootcamp and Science Fair Chemistry Winner.

He began his running career as a freshman with Indoor Track and continued all four years. He used his role as captain to mentor the underclassmen.

His application cited running in the D1 MIAA States as being the culmination of all his training and effort over the summer and fall.

Anwar spent six weeks last summer as a paid research intern at The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard conducting wet-lab single cell RNA research.

His plans for the fall originally were for MIT, but will now attend Harvard where he plans to continue running in 5K’s and the marathon.

Alvin Nguyen – Methuen

When Alvin joined the Cross-Country team as a freshman, he was determined not to be the last runner. He said he wanted to be “an emblem of grit” for his coach. He started from the bottom and worked his way up while running four seasons of Cross-Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track. He became a team captain in all three sports and finished with a personal best of 4:57 in the mile and 10:57 in the two-mile.

He served as class Vice-President and was a member of the National Honor Society. He had an internship with the Methuen Public Schools IT Team. As a Youth XC coach, he felt that running was “less about talent and more about mentality.”

Alvin will be heading to Georgia Tech where he will major in Computer Science.