The 2012 Avon High girls cross country team won the 2012 Class MM state championship.
MANCHESTER, Oct. 27, 2012 – The Avon High girls cross country team had certainly proven themselves over the course of the 2012 campaign. The Falcons went undefeated in the NCCC for the second straight year (13-0) and captured the league championship for the third time in four years.
They won four events (Haddad Invitational in Windham, the Going to the Sun Invitational at Coginchaug, Bellringer Invitational at East Hampton, Nonnewaug Invitational in Woodbury) and finished second to a team from Rhode Island at the Wickham Invitational in Manchester.
The only step remaining was to win a state championship.
Mission accomplished.
Incredible depth fueled Avon’s success all season and it was no different at the Class MM championship meet. Junior Rachael Rosow couldn’t defend her Class MM title when New Fairfield’s Gabrielle Richichi surprised her and beat her in the last 100 yards.
Junior Sara Stokesbury, who struggled up a hill with about a mile to go, finished strong to take fourth and earn All-State honors with Rosow. Sophomore Molly Hamel finished 11th.
Sophomore Maddi McHugh, senior Katie McIntyre and freshman Ryley Higgins finished within four seconds of each other in 23rd, 24th and 25th place. The top five runners comprise the team score but the sixth and seventh runners can displace other varsity runners and inflate scores of their opponents.
Guilford’s No. 4 and No. 5 runners were 29 and 38th while New Fairfield’s No. 4 and No. 5 runners were way back at 68 and 72th place. Avon’s seventh runner, Hannah Fusaro, was in 43rd place.
The Falcons celebrate after hearing they won the Class MM state championship.
It was Avon’s fifth state championship in girls cross country and its first since 1994. It earned them a trip to last weekend’s State Open championship meet.
“You can’t ask for more,” Avon coach Al Dadario said. “We’ve been on a mission all year. They wanted to win this today and they went out and did it.
The Avon High boys finished seventh in Class MM, led by Jeff Demers in 22nd place and Connor Wise in 26th place. It’s the best finish for the Falcons since finishing tied for seventh in 2007 in Class M.
The Canton High boys finished third in Class S, sparked by first-year runner Matt Demarco, who earned a berth in the State Open by taking sixth in 17:25. Teammate James Yost was 17th in 17:51 while Julian Franklin was 24th in 18:15. Dean Yost (29) and William Briggs (52) rounded out the top five.
Haddam-Killingworth (59) and Nonnewaug (79) were the top two teams but Canton (128) beat the remainder of the field.
“This is the first time we’ve been faster here than we were at (the NCCC championship meet),” Canton coach Tim O’Donnell said. “They’re starting to bridge and make the jump. They made a real focused move and didn’t fall back. They’ve learned.”
Canton finished second in Class SS in three of the last four seasons, winning it all in 2010.
The Canton High girls finished sixth in Class S, led by Emma Frawley who took 22nd place in 22:28.Leigh Ann Rossito took 34th place. It was Canton’s best finish since taking third in 2008.
The Granby High girls finished fourth in Class SS, led by a Ashley Piccirillo, who finished ninth and teammate Alexa Cipkas, who was two spots back in 11th place. Ray Mooney led the Granby boys, who finished 17th in Class SS.
