Everett Miller found a home on the Old Saybrook boys’ cross country team. As a speedy junior this fall, he has established himself as a key member of the varsity squad. On Sept. 20, Everett finished 9th at the 35th Going to the Sun XC Invitational. He grabbed a personal best time, racing to the tune of 17:59, while helping Old Saybrook to a 3rd place overall finish in the event, which featured 12 schools.

Besides the obvious of looking to constantly improve his race times, Everett’s goal for the 2023 season is to extend beyond the regularly scheduled meets, and compete in the CT State Open Championship.

“My goal is to get my times as low as possible so I can really work on them next year, and hopefully be able to make it to State Opens this year is a big goal of mine,” says Everett. “That would be amazing.”

In pursuit of that goal, Everett logged impressive miles on Old Saybrook streets this summer, hoping to build a solid baseline for his junior season. He wanted to improve his overall endurance, along with his heart rate control, which will help him maintain a strong pace during events.

“I ran about 5-6 miles a day this summer, I really just went for long runs and tried to stay at a constant pace and get my heart rate down,” Everett says. “And I did a few workouts to try and get a little faster, but really it was mostly high mileage to try and level myself out a little.”

Along with the running miles, Everett added cross training this summer to work on other aspects of his fitness, which he hopes will give him a leg up this season. Biking and swimming were added to the mix of his training regime. These events also piqued his interest in competing in a triathlon.

“I did some cross training, some swimming and biking,” says Everett. “That really helped my breathing, and I got my heartbeat down. It also increased my leg strength and different muscles in my legs that I don’t always use when I’m running.”

The offseason training was not missed by Old Saybrook cross country Head Coach Pete Capezzone, who feels that with the improvement Everett continues to make each offseason, he has himself lined up to take on a captain’s role next year.

“As I see it, I think his biggest area of growth is his endurance,” says Capezzone. “He’s worked on getting mileage in this summer, big mileage, and I think that’s undoubtedly going to help him down the line, so his endurance and his strength have really come a long way. He’s one of those kids that leads by example, not a shouter or a screamer. The kids follow him and he’s undoubtedly going to be one of our captains next year.”

Not only has Everett shined on the course for the Rams, but he has also developed a passion for utilizing his running talents to help others in the community. Recently, Everett joined the CT Chapter of Achilles International, an organization that pairs athletes who need a guide with runners in local communities. Everett trained and ran as a guide for a blind runner in a summer race. He loved the experience, and hopes to continue his involvement with the organization.

“Something that was very different (about being a guide) was you have to tell them everything you see instead of just thinking about it in your own head,” says Everett. “It’s a lot of contact since they can’t see as well, you have to push and pull them a little bit and you have to be loud so people get out of your way, so that was a lot different for me but it was really enjoyable. He was super nice.”

Everett’s love for running first manifested itself on the soccer field, his first sport growing up. While soccer didn’t end up being his true calling, the massive amount of cardio involved in chasing a soccer ball around the pitch did steer him in the direction of the cross country team.

“I was always a soccer player, but I wasn’t really good at kicking the ball around, I was just good at the running part,” Everett explains. “That influenced me a lot, and then middle school I got into running and I kind of just kept running and decided to try it freshman year, and from there I met a lot of my friends so I stuck with it and became enthusiastic about it.”

Once immersing himself deeper in the Old Saybrook running scene, Everett found a thriving and supportive community there. Freshman year marked an important moment for Everett when he decided to turn his budding interest in running into his high school sport of choice. Along with a sport in which he excelled at, Everett also found his people, in the friends, teammates, and coaches he now surrounds himself with.

“Freshman year was a big year for me, probably the most important year, because that’s what really started my running and being comfortable in school all together,” says Everett. “I decided that running was what I wanted to do for the rest of school…the team is amazing because it’s really supportive and there’s so many different kids on the team and everyone works together. Then the coaches are really great so that’s a plus. Overall, it’s a really good sport, and all the other teams are super supportive so everyone is friends, and it’s about the least toxic environment you could be in.”

Everett hopes to continue to find that familial running community throughout his career, with a goal to run competitively in some capacity in college.

Capezzone sees Everett as a crucial part of the cross country team’s future, praising his work over the summer leading into his junior season.

“He trained very hard this summer, coming off of a successful sophomore campaign,” says Capezzone. “Heading into his junior year, he’s really kind of upped his game and worked hard this summer and trained. We’re hoping for special things from him. Can’t say enough about his work ethic, it’s very very strong.”