Newington's Geisler Heads to Storrs

Sam Geisler, who recently wrapped up an illustrious running career at Newington High School, will take his smooth strides to the University of Connecticut to compete at a Division I level. The 2021-graduate will join a Huskies XC/TF running team as he pursues a degree in nursing.  

“What excites me about competing at Uconn is that I am now at the bottom of the pack again. I respect the grind of all athletes and I know that now that if I’m at the bottom, I’m going to have to push myself further to better myself and rise to the top,” stated Geisler, “While many may look at that as a negative, I see it as a challenge.”

Geisler leaves NHS after four impressive years, both athletically and academically. He was the President of Future Business Leaders of America, a club that was focused on empowering young business people through social connections and entrepreneurship. He also served Vice President during his junior year and helped to facilitate student activities and events.

“I’m definitely going to miss the people the most,” Geisler said of NHS, “I felt as though my team was one of the closest teams you could have, and the student body as a whole was very connected and intertwined well.”

All-conference in both cross country and track & field, Geisler set records on the trails at NHS and finished as a two-time state championship on the track. He teamed with Michael Bohlke, Luke Brown, and Reed Campbell to win both the Class L state championship and the State Open championship in the 4x800 relay. The foursome ran an 8:02.51 to capture the class title and then knocked off nearly five seconds, running a 7:57.79 to win the Open.  

​“The feeling after the state open was amazing, and I definitely couldn’t have done it without my team,” recalled Geisler, “This may sound hard to understand but I was almost praying that we were a little bit behind the other team, as it gave me something to push for. Going into the last 100 meters was painful, but I could see my team on the sidelines and remembered who and what I was doing this for. It was the perfect way to go out.”

Sam Geisler (far left) combined with Reed Campbell, Luke Brown, and Michael Bohlke to win the 4x800 relay in the Class Finals and State Open