The state’s returning Gatorade Runner of the Year, the 5-foot-7 junior won the Division 1 state meet this past season with a time of 17:50.18, breaking the tape 17.35 seconds ahead of her next-closest competitor and leading the RedHawks to a sixth-place finish as a team. Connolly was in fifth place with less than a kilometer to go at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional championships when she fell and was unable to finish the race. The Boston Globe Division 1 Runner of the Year, she did not lose to an in-state runner during the 2017 campaign.
Connolly has maintained an A average in the classroom. She will begin her senior year of high school this fall.
Connolly has volunteered locally with the Special Olympics and as a peer tutor. She has also served as a youth running coach in addition to donating her time on behalf of multiple fundraising campaigns to benefit cancer research.
