Sports

Moulton ran out of father’s shadow

By Tom Haley
Staff Writer
Springfield High School’s Chris Moulton ran to the New England championship down in Smithfield, Rhode Island in 1983. Beating a field of the top high school runners in New England was no easy feat to accomplish, but running out of his father’s shadow was just as difficult.

Doug Moulton held a record for the mile at Springfield High with a time of 4:28.

“It took me forever but I got it,” Chris said.

Moulton was introduced to running long before high school. He attended races as part of a summer recreational program at a young age.

His freshman season at Springfield, he did not compete in cross country. He played football and was the leading tackler on the freshman team.

He also played basketball.

“I stunk at basketball,” Moulton said.

The sophomore season saw him convert from football to cross country. He recalls the football coach not being very happy.

“I knew I had a knack for running,” Moulton said of the move away from football.

That is an understatement.

He has held two SHS track and field record for 37 years and the cross country mark for 38 years. He also became an All-American at Keene State College.

He was actually ready to run for C.W. Post.

“The coach got fired and things didn’t work out. Keene State was a last-minute thing.” Moulton said.

The records he set in the Cosmos uniform were attractive to college coaches. He clocked 4:26 in the 1600 meters. 9:32.20 in the 3200 and holds the Cosmos’ record on the 2.5-mile course cross country course.

He recalled one race where a runner from Hanover High briefly held the record in a race where they both eclipsed the previous course record.

“I got it back. I didn’t want someone else to have my course record,” Moulton said.

Moulton and classmate Kathy Westney will be inducted into the Springfield High School Hall of Fame in 2021.

Like Moulton’s record, Westney’s have stood the test of time. She has three SHS standards that have endured for 37 years. They are 61.1 seconds in the 400 meters, a time of 2:20.1 in the 800 meters 11:58.5 in the 3200 meters and 16:01 on the school’s 2.5-mile cross country layout.

She is regarded as the most outstanding middle and long distance runner in the history of Springfield track and field.

Westney has a family with three grown children and lives in Western Massachusetts.

Moulton lives in Hillsboro, New Hampshire where he works for a company that makes light bulbs for automobiles.

They will forever be linked by long-lasting records and a place in the Springfield High School Hall of Fame.

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