Teamwork from Avon High runners lifts them to win over Canton

From left, Avon’s Jack Wendler, Dan Innes, Colin Ponzani and Colin Pritchard run together in Friday’s meet at Fisher Meadows.

AVON, Sept. 21 – It was awkward for varsity runners on the Avon High boys cross country team Thursday at the Going to the Sun Invitational in Durham. It was a beautiful day for a run and they were dressed in their street clothes. The only running they would do would be running after a Frisbee or jogging around the course to cheer on their teammates.

The AHS varsity left the race to their teammates on the Falcon junior varsity team, who finished ninth in the field of 14 teams.Why? The Falcons wanted a crack at Canton on the next day in a three-team meet at Fisher Meadows.

“We have a shot to beat them,” Avon coach Gene Macy admitted. Avon had not beaten the Warriors since 2008, when they managed a one-point victory. In that time, Canton had won two NCCC championships, a Class SS title and finished second in Class SS twice.

Two solid packs of Avon runners helped the Falcons remain undefeated with a 26-31 win over Canton on bright and sunny Friday afternoon. James Yost came from behind to win the 3.1 mile race in 17:22 but Avon’s Mike Oberhausen, Connor Wise and Justin Alessio finished third, fourth and fifth respectively. Alessio passed a Canton runner in the final 500 meters.

And a group of four Avon runners – Jack Wendler, Colin Ponzani, Dan Innes and Jeff Demers – each finished ahead of Canton’s No. 5 runner, adding two more points to Canton’s score.

Avon’s Justin Alessio sprints to beat Somers’ Robert Baumann to the line in Friday’s meet in Avon.

“I knew it would be close,” Macy said. “We don’t beat Canton very often. This is a good win not only for the conference but to build confidence as a team.” Avon has just six wins over Canton in the last 18 years.

“They ran a great race,” Macy said. “They showed a lot of heart over the last 800 meters and that is where you need it.” Avon also beat Somers, 19-42 while Canton gained a split with a 22-37 win over the Spartans.

Avon remains undefeated at 4-0 in the league while Canton slips to 3-2. The Warriors lost to Bolton a week ago, 27-30 as Bolton got a pack of runners in front of Canton’s No. 4 and No. 5 runners. The top five runners score in cross country, although the No. 6 and No. 7 runners can displace their opponents.

“We’re learning the sport,” Canton coach Tim O’Donnell said. “We closed the gap but we didn’t close it enough.” The Warriors lost six of its top seven runners from last year’s squad. Only David Benedetti returns. But an inexperienced team is learning to compete at the varsity level.

Canton sophomore James Yost won the race in 17:22 while Matt DeMarco, a former football player running for the first time was second for the Warriors in sixth place. Sophomore Dean Yost took eighth while track and field veteran Julian Franklin was ninth. Avon’s Demers, who ran for the first time this fall after recovering from an injury, outsprinted Benedetti and Zack Oliver to finish 13th.

 Still, it looks to be a wide-open race for the NCCC championship in October. Teams earn one point for every league win in the dual meet portion of the schedule and another point for every team they beat the league championship meet at Windsor Locks.

 Macy and O’Donnell expects Canton, Avon, Bolton (6-0), Coventry (3-3), Suffield (5-1) and Ellington (5-0) to each be in the hunt for a league title.

 On the girls side, Avon (4-0) easily rolled to a 15-48 win over Canton and a 15-50 win over Somers. The Warriors had nine of the first 10 runners in the race and the top six. Junior Rachael Rosow remained undefeated in her high school career in dual meets with a 36-second win in 18:57 over teammate Molly Hamel. Eliza Chekas was the first Canton girl in seventh place.

OF NOTE: The Avon girls was ranked fifth in the state in the latest girls country coaches poll as sponsored by MySportsResults.com. …

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Avon 26, Canton 31
Avon 19, Somers 42
Canton 22, Somers 37
At Avon
Winner: James Yost (C) 17:22 for 3.1 miles at Fisher Meadows, 2. Mike Oberhausen (A) 17:29, 3. Connor Wise (A) 17:32, 4. Justin Alessio (A) 17:33, 5. Robert Baumann (S) 17:38, 6. Matt DeMarco (C) 17:50, 7. Ryan Lynch (S) 17:51, 8. Dean Yost (C) 17:54, 9. Julian Franklin (C) 17:59, 10. Jack Wendler (A) 18:11, 11. Colin Ponzani (A) 18:15, 12. Dan Innes (A) 18:18, 13. Jeff Demers (A) 18:31, 14. Dave Benedetti (C) 18:32, 15. Zack Oliver (C) 18:33.
Records: Avon 4-0, Canton 3-2, Somers 2-3

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Avon 15, Canton 48
Avon 15, Somers 50
Canton 19, Somers 39
At Avon
Winner: Rachael Rosow (A) 18:57 for 3.1 miles at Fisher Meadows; 2. Molly Hamel (A) 19:33, 3. Katie McIntyre (A) 21:15, 4. Sarah Stokesbury (A) 21:52, 5. Ryley Higgins (A) 22:22, 6. Julia deSimas (A) 22:30, 7. Eliza Chekas (C) 22:32, 8. Madison Zapatka (A) 22:37, 9. Heather Howes (A) 23:04, 10. Sophie Greenbaum (A) 23:28
Records: Avon 4-0, Canton 2-3, Somers 1-4