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Congratulations to all who competed at the New England Cross Country Championships down at Wickham Park in Connecticut! Once again, this proved to be a unique event full of pure competition! Kudos to the Connecticut running community for once again pulling off a first class event. Historically Wickham is one of the more challenging courses on the New England Championship circuit and is pure cross country where some of the all-time greats have performed. Because of this and features like the “Green Monster” (throwback term!), runners have to have a plan. Work too hard the first mile and the competition as well as the course has a way of paying you back over the final mile.
Boys Race
Boys Results Courtesy of NES Timing
The boys led off the meet and once again the Granite State was well represented with 2 teams finishing in the top 6! Keene’s Sullivan Sturtz was once gain NH’s top finisher as he placed 4th overall for the 2nd consecutive year, this time crossing in 15:32. He hung back off the very front pack for most of the hilly and challenging course remaining strong throughout the 5k to find himself shoulder to shoulder with BG’s Matthew Giardina over the last 800. Giardina truly put himself in the mix from the gun and was pressing with the front pack for most of the race. The race was won by CT State Champ Newtown’s Soheib Dissa in 15:13. Giardina finished 6th crossing just 7 seconds behind Sturtz in 15:39. Yep, NH had 2 in the top 6. Concord’s Josiah Conley made it 3 in the top 15 with his 15th place finish in 15:53 while Con-Val’s D2 Champ Will Simard placed 23rd in 16:07. A fine showing for NH individuals.
The NH teams improved off of last year’s collective finishes as Pinkerton was NH’s top team placing 4th with 219 points. They were led by Trainor Mailloux (38th-16:22), Sean Hayes (38th -16:22) and Oscar D’Amelio (52nd-16:33) but it was their 42 second pack time which did the trick!! Kudos to Austin Cipriano and Joseph Gustavson as they crossed in 16:56 and 17:04 respectively.
Bishop Guertin of course was right there as well as they placed 6th overall with 230 points, just 11 points behind Pinkerton. Supporting Giardina’s low stick was of course the Fischer brothers as Carson and Ethan basically crossed together in 41st and 42nd respectively. Sam Prescott had eyes on the brothers as he crossed in 62nd. For good measure, Salem, led by Brody Chisholm nabbed 10th with 298 points.
Girls Race
Girls Results Courtesy of NES Timing
The girls followed the boys this year and did NH make their presence felt in somewhat dominating fashion placing 6 individuals in the top 13 as well as 2 teams in the top 4! As they have done all season Bedford’s Mikita Barry and Hopkinton’s Maddy Lane found themselves battling New England’s best at the front of the field while Oyster River’s Haley Kavanagh, Hanover’s Megan Faris, North’s Lauren White and Dover’s Anique Poulin settled in what could be described as the chase pack. Barry in her first New Englands once again ran fearlessly and placed an incredible 3rd in 18:16 while Lane improved upon last year’s 17th place finish to nail down this year’s 5th place crossing in 18:22. She also was the top sophomore on the day. Both these athletes are back next year! Let’s Go!
Always racing intelligently, Kavanagh placed 7th overall in 18:24 with Faris on her heels crossing next in 18:25 for 8th! Poulin was only seconds behind finishing 11th overall in 18:32, two ticks in front of North’s White! Meanwhile, continuing her late season comeback, OR’s Mackenzie Cook still garnered All-New England honors placing 21st in 18:51.
5th last year, Hanover placed an amazing 3rd this year with 154 points. Along with Faris, Hanover saw Aria Deeb place 69th (19:51), Lea Perreard 71st (19:53), Alice Bell (77th (20:08), and Millie Larrick 83rd (20:11). Yep their 2nd through 4th scorers were separated by only 20 seconds! Once again led by Kavanagh and Cook, Oyster River placed a strong 4th tallying 183 points beating CT State Champ Glastonbury by 8 points. The younger Kavanagh and Cook, Olivia (19:09) and Madelyn (19:20) placed 32nd and 40th respectively to help pace the Bobcats as well. For good measure, Pinkerton placed 11th and were led by Kalisan Marzolf and Gabrielle Bedard.
Congrats to All!!!
