Smith rallies to win Class MM
championship
MANCHESTER, Oct. 31 – Avon’s Claire Smith didn’t lose a single NCCC cross country meet in two years, capturing the NCCC championship as a junior and a senior.
Smith, who played soccer as a freshman and sophomore, has found success in track and field, winning a state championship in the 3,200 meters as a sophomore. In cross country, she knew she was good but she wasn’t quite sure how good she was.
There is no doubt any longer. Smith took the lead with about a half mile remaining in the 3.1 mile race to win the Class MM championship Saturday at Wickham Park in 20:04. She beat Waterford’s Sarah Huang by six seconds and third place Megan Powell of Guilford by 30 seconds.
Smith became the first Avon girl to win a cross country state title in 34 years since Mary McNutt won a Class S championship in 1975.
Smith was third for most of the race but she surged with about a half mile remaining to take the lead for good. The course was muddy and slow. After the first mile, Smith knew she had a chance to win the race. How? “I wasn’t tired,” she said with a grin.
Avon, which shared the NCCC championship this fall with Suffield and Granby and was undefeated (12-0) in the dual meet season, finished sixth in Class MM. Titi Vanriel was second for the Falcons in 24th place while Kalli Veldman was third in 40th place. Emily Kelly (55) and Kristen Volinski (62) rounded out the top five.
The last Avon runner to win a cross country title was Brian Lenihan in 1984 with a Class M title. Smith will compete in next week’s State Open championship. McNutt won two titles, also taking the Class M championship in 1974, the first year that the CIAC hosted a girls cross country championship meet.
State champions
Avon's previous state
cross country champions
GIRLS
Mary McNutt, Class S, 1974
Mary McNutt, Class M, 1975
BOYS
Brian Lenihan, Class M, 1984
Jeff Hyman, Class M and State Open, 1981
Buddy Harris, Class M, 1971
Robert Patrick, Class S, 1963
By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Collinsville Press.com
MANCHESTER, Oct. 31 – The expectations for the Canton High boys cross country team going into Saturday’s Class SS championship meet at Wickham Park were high, especially among the athletes on the team. Not satisfied with going undefeated for the first time in school history (24-0) or with winning its first-ever league championship, the Warriors had their eye on a state championship.
They knew defending champion Weston would be the team to beat. Canton had finished second to Weston a year ago. This was the race that Canton had in mind on those hot, summer days when individual runners prepared for the season and during the fall when they suffered and grew together through coach Tim O’Donnell’s hard workouts.
Canton’s Mike LeDuc became the first runner in school history to win a state championship in cross country with a Class SS record time of 16:29 and the Warriors had five runners in the top 21. But Weston had four runners in the top 13 to nip Canton by five points, 63-58.
“They were not happy,” O’Donnell said. “Mike won the state championship but there was no joy in his face. He was more disappointed that the team didn’t win than his winning.”
LeDuc beat Weston’s Steven Piscatelli by seven seconds, taking the lead near the mid-point of the race and never letting it go. Brian Magna finished fifth, about 13 seconds behind Weston’s James Bloom in fourth place.
Weston’s Stephen Vento took seventh in 17:31 but Canton’s Jon Cahill (17, 18:00), Kevin Kurnat (19, 18:04) and Ned Furtney (21, 18:06) were a bit too far behind. “We got off to a slow start and didn’t attack the course in the middle,” O’Donnell said. “We moved up but we weren’t were we needed to be.”
While Canton was disappointed with its performance, their overall team time (top five runners) was the fourth fastest time of the day. Canton would have easily won the Class S, M and MM titles. The Warriors qualified for the State Open for the second straight year on Friday, Nov. 6.
“We have another chance to win a state championship next week,” O’Donnell said. “If we have a good day, we can beat any team in the state.”
It remains to be seen if they can beat every team in the state but the Warriors will be striving to make a statement and finish in the top six to earn a spot at the New England championships.
LeDuc was able to resist the temptation to race out with Northwest Catholic’s Nick Greco in the early stages of the race, who led a quick pace on a cold, windy day. LeDuc took the lead around the 3,000 meter mark and began to pull away from Piscatelli and Greco.
NOTES: Canton’s Jon Melite and Nick Chekas were the 6th and 7th runners on the squad and did not score. Only the top five runners score. But they helped by beating Weston’s fifth runner Chris Piscatelli, pushing him down another two spots. ... Canton finished second for the third time in school history.
Weston
2. Stephen Piscatelli, 16:36
4. James Bloom, 16:55
7. Stephen Vento, 17:31
13. Ryan Gilmore, 17:43
32. Chris Piscatelli, 18:27
(67. Jack Curran, 19:22)
(69. Noah Krassin, 19:24)
