During their sophomore years at Conard (CT) High School, Liv and Tess Sherry put up times in middle-distance and distance events that caught the attention of major college programs. 

It was then that they made a hard decision.

The twins chose to stop swimming, a sport they had competed in since they were young, including their first two years in high school. But instead of swimming for Conard last fall, they joined the cross country team for the first time and made an immediate impact.

Now entering their senior years, the twins -- and sisters of former Connecticut high school star and current Stanford athlete Gavin Sherry -- recently committed to Georgetown University, becoming the first Class of 2025 girls recruits to announce they will be running for the Hoyas.

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“We still really love swimming,” Tess Sherry said. “We just felt it was time to switch completely to running.”

Liv and Tess are following in the footsteps of their older brothers, twins Gavin and Callum, who are entering their junior years at Stanford University.

As a senior at Conard, Gavin won Connecticut and New England Championship cross country titles and finished third at Foot Locker Nationals. He also won the 2-mile at New Balance Nationals Indoor and ran 4:02 in the mile.

Callum, meanwhile, was second at the state cross country meet and third at New Englands and finished second behind his brother in the 2-mile at NBNI.

Liv and Tess remember attending many of the cross country meets that their brothers ran, especially at Wickham Park. 

But back then, they were still committed to swimming in the fall.

As freshmen, the girls joined Conard’s outdoor track team and showed promise. Among freshmen, Tess was U.S. No. 14 (11:07.95) and Liv was U.S. No. 15 (11:08.04) in the 2-mile, while Tess was U.S. No. 36 (5:06.90) and Liv was U.S. No. 37 (5:07.03) in the mile.

The next year, the twins ran track again and were even faster. Tess had bests of 2:11.45 in the 800m and 4:49.20 in the mile, which were U.S. No. 32 and U.S. No. 10 among sophomores. Liv was close behind with bests of 2:11.78 in the 800m and 4:51.68 in the mile, which were U.S. No. 36 and U.S. No. 16 among sophomores.

Last fall, after receiving recruiting calls from college coaches, the Sherrys joined the cross country team. 

They had run cross country in middle school, but the high school races were longer and more competitive. Still, they adapted without a problem. At last year’s Connecticut State Open Championships, Tess was third and Liv was fourth. 

They then finished fourth and ninth, respectively, at New Englands.

“It was definitely different (than track),” Tess said. “It took a little bit to get used to the longer (races) instead of those shorter distances, but I really liked that.”

The twins had solid track seasons, as well, with Liv setting personal outdoor bests of 2:11.71 in the 800m, 4:49.80 in the mile and 10:54.11 in the 3,200m and Tess running 2:11.94 in the 800m and 4:49.25 in the mile and setting a personal-best of 10:45.18 in the 3,200m.

The sisters also continued to talk to college coaches. Sometimes, they asked advice from their brothers, who had been heavily recruited a couple of years earlier.

“It was really helpful to have them because they had been through the process,” Liv said. “They're always extremely supportive of us.”

After hearing from numerous schools, the girls narrowed their choices to Georgetown and the University of Pennsylvania. 

“We definitely wanted to go somewhere with challenging academics," Tess said. "That was definitely part of our decision. Georgetown’s an awesome school for academics and athletics. That was definitely a big factor for us.”

They visited both campuses this spring and committed to the Hoyas in June. They will join an ascendant program that finished 18th at last year’s NCAA cross country meet under the tutelage of head coach Mitchell Baker and assistant coach Devin Clark.

“The team and the coaches really stood out to us when we visited,” Liv said. “We really felt like we fit in with the team.”

The Sherrys were familiar with Georgetown because Chloe Scrimgeour, a family friend and Conard graduate, is on the team. Scrimgeour finished eighth at last year’s NCAA cross country meet and fifth in the 10,000m at the NCAA outdoor meet in June. 

Another Connecticut native, Hannah Andrejczyk of Shelton High School, is enrolling at Georgetown this fall, too.

Besides the connection with teammates and coaches, the twins also were drawn to Georgetown’s status as a top academic school.

“We definitely wanted to go somewhere with challenging academics,” Tess said. “That was definitely part of our decision. Georgetown’s an awesome school for academics and athletics. That was definitely a big factor for us.”

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