Avon girls finish 14th at New England championships

Avon junior Rachael Rosow was two seconds away from All-New England honors at the New England championships Saturday in Maine. (Photo courtesy of Tom McIntyre)

CUMBERLAND, Maine, Nov. 10 – The New England cross country championship meet is different than the state championship and State Open races at Wickham Park in Manchester. Frequently, the race is held on tight, wooded courses with little room to pass other runners.

Saturday’s New England championship meet in Cumberland, Maine was on a tight 3.1 mile course at the Twin Brook Recreation Center and it was muddy.

Unfortunately for the Avon High girls cross country team, they got off to a slow start and struggled to make up ground. In their first-ever appearance in the New England championship meet, the Falcons finished 14th overall in the field of 30 teams. Avon, which was second at the State Open earlier this week, was fifth out of six Connecticut teams in the field.

Junior Rachael Rosow led the way for the Falcons by finishing 27th in 20:01.10, two seconds shy of earning All-New England honors (top 25 finishers). She was the sixth Connecticut runner to cross the line. Sophomore Molly Hamel finished in 92nd place in 21:01 followed by junior Sara Stokebury (133, 21:27).

“It was an extremely muddy course,” Avon coach Al Dadario said. “The start was congested. They got boxed in early.” The challenge is with over 230 runners on a tight course, there are few opportunities to pass.

Still, Dadario was pleased how his runners fought their way through the field. “They had a great experience,” he said. “If we are fortunate enough to get back here again, we’ll be more prepared. They gave it their all on a tough course. It was good for them to experience competition at this level.”

Sophomore Madi McHugh (155), freshman Ryley Higgins (199), senior Katie McIntyre (203) and junior Hannah Fusaro (224) rounded out the remainder of the Falcon team.

The girls race was won by Barrington, R.I. won the girls championship while senior Elle Purrier of Richford, Vt., won her second straight girls individual championship in 18:42.44.

Girls team results
1. Barrington RI 75, 2. Coe Brown NH 132, 3. Champlain Valley VT 176
Connecticut teams: 5. Ridgefield 218, 6. Glastonbury 278, 12. Wilton 386, 13. Darien 399, 14. Avon 403, 19. Cheshire 507.
30 teams in the race

Winner: Elle Purrier, Richford VT 18:42.44, 2. Taylor Spillane, Champlain VT 19:03.11, 3. Emma McMillian, Barrington RI 19:07.13, 4. Elizabeth Conway, Manchester CT 19:09.01, .5. Alexa Pelletier, Winnacunnet NH 19:11.53
Avon: 27. Rachael Rosow 20:01.10, 92. Molly Hamel 21:01.03, 133. Sara Stokesbury 21:27.19, 155. Madi McHugh 21:42.81, 199. Ryley Higgins 22:23.98, 203. Katie McIntyre 22:32.39, 224. Hannah Fusaro 22:56.94.
262 runners in the race

Girls results

Girls race video

Boys results

New England championship coverage from MaineTrackXC