Fairfield Warde’s Will Brisman finished third at the FCIAC Championships last Wednesday. Register file photo
Junior Will Brisman and the Fairfield Warde boys’ cross country team have quietly put together an impressive season.
Ranked eighth in the Week 5 state cross country coaches poll, Warde finished third as a team at the FCIAC Championships last week.
The Mustangs look to finish high at the Class LL state meet this Saturday. Brisman captured third place individually at the FCIAC Championships, running 15 minutes, 47 seconds.
1. In his third year running on the team, what has his progression been like? He finished 10th at FCIACs last year (16:09) and 42nd as a freshman (17:35).
Warde head coach Tim Foster: “So his freshman year was solid, and then last year it was a group of five to six guys training together and something just clicked in his head and he just took off. Mentally, it’s been a huge shift in how he looks at racing and it’s carried over to this season.”
2. Not a lot of people know too much about Will state-wide. What’s this season been like for him?
Foster: “We haven’t really seen much in the regular season from him, he had a slight injury out in Warwick, R.I. (Ocean State Invitational), that’s why we didn’t race him. But it went away and FCIACs was kind of his first big race of the season.”
Brisman: “I guess I’m lesser known than some of the other guys. I run really hard. Strategically I’m a little different, I tend to go out pretty fast; I know they tell you not to, but I try and hold on as best I can.”
3. You finished 16th overall at the Class LL state meet last season as a sophomore. What are your goals for this Saturday?
Brisman: “I definitely want to go all-state and I definitely want to do better than I did last year. My state time is pretty far off from my FCIAC time last year and I definitely want to make that much closer, even though Wickham is a tough course. As a team, I think we can go and qualify for Opens and go past that…hopefully go to New Englands.”
4. You are the fourth fastest runner in Warde history since 1987. What does that mean to you to be next to names like Harry Warnick (now at Villanova)?
Brisman: “It’s awesome definitely. They all went on to D1 schools and were all very successful and it’s good company to be in.”
5. What is something people don’t know about you?
Brisman: “I have a tortoise. Her name is Russia, she’s a Russian tortoise, so not very original, I guess.”
