Avon girls remain undefeated, close races for boys

written by Gerry deSimas, Jr., Collinsville Press | September 20, 2011

ELLINGTON, Sept. 20 – The Avon High girls cross country made a statement Tuesday. Facing defending league champion Ellington and a strong Granby squad, the Falcons put five runners in the top seven finishers and eight in the top 15 to remain undefeated (5-0, 5-0) with a 21-38 win over Granby and an 18-39 win over Ellington.

Avon’s Rachael Rosow set a hard pace from the beginning and pulled away after about a mile. Sara Stokesbury caught Ellington’s lead runner Kayla Sgarlata at the finish to take second place.

On the boys side, Avon slipped past Granby, 28-29 thanks to Justin Alesso and Eric Spencer beating the Bears’ No. 5 runner. Jeff Demers led the Falcons with a fourth place overall finish in 17:01 with Sean Deneen taking sixth overall in 17:15. Ellington outlasted the Falcons, 27-30 with the Knights’ fifth runner, John Kuehn finishing strong and taking 10th overall in 17:27.

Both teams will be competing Wednesday at the Coginchaug Invitational in Durham.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Avon 21, Granby 38
Avon 18, Ellington 39
Ellington 27, Granby 32
At Ellington
Rachael Rosow (A) 19:06 for 2.9 miles, 2. Sara Stokesbury (A) 19:40, 3. Kayla Sgarlata (E) 19:40, 4. Ashley Piccirillo (G) 19:53, 5. Alexa Cipkas (G) 20:01, 6. Madi Zapatka (A) 20:31, 7. Molly Hamel (A) 20:40, 8. Katie McIntyre (A) 20:47, 9. Stephanie Dantos (G) 20:56, 10. Josie Gerber (E) 21:06, 11. Jen Husltein (E) 21:20, 12. Rachel Blinn (E) 22:00, 13. Sarah Lim (A) 22:29, 14. Kristin Goldie (A) 22:29, 15. Maeve Reiss (A) 22:40
Records: Avon 5-0

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Avon 28, Granby 29
Ellington 27, Avon 30
Ellington 26, Granby 29
At Ellington
1. Alex Smith (E) 16:02 for 2.9 miles at Ellington, 2. John Stingle (G) 16:28, 3. David Bergeron (E) 16:58, 4. Jeff Demers (A) 17:01, 5. Ethan Lang (G) 17:08, 6. Sean Deneen (A) 17:15, 7. Spencer Lebel (E) 17:20, 8. Michael Oberhausen (A) 17:20, 9. Dylan Chicoine (G) 17:24, 10. John Kuehn (E) 17:24, 11. Alex Tessier (G) 17:27, 12. Matt Mascoli (A) 17:31, 13. Tyler McCutcheon (A) 17:47, 14. Justin Alessio (A) 17:55, 15. Eric Spencer (A) 17:55

Records: Avon 3-2, Ellington 4-0