Norwich’s resurgent cross country program is led by a pair of juniors who, by no means, fit your cookie cutter image of a distance athlete. One is known for his exploits as a record-breaking sprinter and middle distance runner. And the other? He started the fall sports season playing soccer.

Matt Murray has continued to set the bar high on the indoor and outdoor track and field programs under head coach Shaun Horan. Murray switched from football to cross country a season ago as a means to build endurance. Robert Jeffrey, Murray’s classmate, is the quintessential Johnny-come-lately. A longtime soccer player, he practiced with the soccer team in August before turning to cross country. Winning the Eddie Caputo Memorial 5K race helped Jeffrey make his decision to switch sports.

“He won (the Caputo Memorial) pretty easily, and I talked to him about the possibility of running cross country,” Horan said. “Once Robert figured out that cross country was something he could be successful at, he made the switch.”