Defending state champion Avon still loaded in girls cross country

Avon’s Maddi McHugh leads teammate Sara Stokesbury up a hill last October.

AVON — In cross country, much of the work needed to win a state championship is accomplished away from the eyes of coaches and parents. It’s done on the hot, dusty roads during the summer. 

The high school season is relatively short. In eight weeks, runners can improve significantly but most of the top teams are in good shape in mid-September and fine tune their running, aiming to peak in late October for the state championship meets. 

The Avon High girls cross country team is ready to go and are ranked No. 2 in the preseason top 10 state coaches poll behind Glastonbury. Avon easily won its opening dual meet on Wednesday with easy wins over Bolton, 18-45, Coventry, 16-47 and East Granby, 15-50. Avon had eight of the top 10 finishers in the race at Fisher Meadows. 

The Falcons return eight of their top nine runners from last year’s team that won a Class MM state championship, finished second at the State Open and earned a berth to race at the New England championships for the first time. 

Avon (13-0) is led by senior Rachael Rosow, who won a Class MM title as a sophomore and was second a year ago. Rosow is 14-1 in dual meets in her career and has won five invitational championship crowns including three a year ago – Windham Invitational, Going to the Sun Invitational and the Nonnewaug Invitational. She is a relentless runner who pushes the pace from the beginning, daring her opponents to keep up wit her. 

She is joined by senior Sara Stokesbury, juniors Molly Hamel, Maddi McHugh and sophomore Ryley Higgins among the team’s top five runners. Stokesbury and Rosow earned All-State honors while Rosow, Stokebury, Hamel, McHugh and Higgins were named to the All-NCCC squad. Another five runners will compete for the final two varsity spots. In fact, there is significant competition to make the seven-person junior varsity squad as well. 

Avon head coach Al Dadario added some additional competition to the schedule for his team this fall. The Falcons will run at the Stratton Brook Invitational in Simsbury on Sept. 21 and will race at the Ocean State Invitational on Sept. 28 in Warwick, R.I., against teams from throughout New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

“I told them that with winning comes responsibility,” Dadario said. “They should be honored they’re in the position that they are in. They’re going to be targeted in every meet. They’ll have to pick it up and go for it every day out there.” 

It won’t be easy in the conference, either. “We’re not going to take anyone by surprise. In our conference, Ellington and Suffield will be stronger than last year and they will be out to get us. We have 38 girls on the team this year – the most ever. We have the talent to do what we did last year.” 

In Wednesday’s meet, McHugh easily won the race in 19:46 with Hamel close behind in second place in 19:53. Rosow was out school on Wednesday with an illness. Stokesbury (fourth place) and sophomore Alex Benedict (fifth) rounded out the top five positions in the race.

Avon High runners take off at the start of Wednesday’s season-opening meet at Fisher Meadows.

With eight straight winning seasons, the Avon High boys cross country team is a strong program but they have been overshadowed by the success of the girls team the past few years. The Falcons (11-2) finished second in the league a year ago behind Ellington. It was their best finish in the NCCC since 1986. 

However, Avon graduated five seniors who were among the top seven runners. The Falcons also have a new coach, C.J. Fusco, who is replaces Gene Macy, who stepped away after 14 seasons and nine straight top 10 finishes in the CIAC tournament. 

Senior Jack Wendler and junior Colin Pritchard return and will be joined by veteran runners David Buyse, Eric Kirk, Matt Reagan, James Grant and Andrew Suter. “We’ll win meets with our depth and our pack mentality,” Fusco said. “We’ll try to pace off one another.” 

In Wednesday’s season-opening meet at Fisher Meadows, Coventry slipped past Avon, 27-30 while Avon got past Bolton, 24-31. The Falcons picked up a forfeit win over East Granby, who declined to participate due to the heat and humidity. 

Pritchard finished third in the 3.1 mile race with a time of 18:43. Suter was sixth in 19:00 with Reagan, Kirk and Bryant St. Jean finishing ninth, tenth and eleventh, respectively. 

Avon had a pack of runners from 15th place to 22nd place but Coventry was able to slip another runner ahead of this group to allow the Patriots to secure the win. 

Defending champion Ellington and Canton look to be among the top teams in the league.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Coach: Al Dadario, 18th season
Last year: 13-0, 13-0 NCCC; NCCC champions, Class MM champions, 2nd State Open, 14th New England championships
Key losses: One senior Katie McIntyre
Top runners: Seniors Rachel Rosow, Sara Stokesbury, Hannah Fusaro, Julia deSimas, Madison Zapatka; Juniors Molly Hamel, Madi McHugh, Kristen Goldie, Sophomore Ryley Higgins, Alex Benedict; Freshman Christina Martin
Outlook: Eight of the team’s top nine runners return from last year’s undefeated state championship team that finished second in the State Open and ran in the New England championships for the first time. Rosow, who won the NCCC title last fall, Stokesbury, Hamel, McHugh and Higgins each earned All-NCCC honors. Avon is the clear favorite in the NCCC and a contender for the state title again. The Falcons will be challenged by Ellington and Suffield in the league. Staying healthy is always a key.
Of note: Avon has been undefeated for the past two seasons and has won 28 straight dual meets dating back to 2010. … Rosow is 14-1 in dual meets in her three seasons. Her only loss came to Coventry’s Elle Jean last year. … Avon is looking to win back-to-back state titles for the first time since 1984-87 when the Falcons won four in a row. 

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Coach: C.J. Fusco, 1st year
Last year: 11-2, 11-2 NCCC, 2nd NCCC championships, 7th Class MM
Key losses: Five seniors among the top 7 including three All-NCCC runners (Connor Wise, Michael Oberhausen, Justin Alessio)
Top runners: Seniors Jack Wendler, David Buyse, Eric Kirk, Matt Reagan; Juniors James Grant, Collin Pritchard, Sophomore Andrew Suter
Outlook: Fusco takes over for Gene Macy and has a good-sized squad. Avon doesn’t have a top-level runner who can contend for a league championship but Fusco is trying to develop a pack mentality to enable the Falcons to run fast enough together to win meets and be a contender.
Of note: Fusco is just the fifth coach in the program’s 51-year history.

BOYS

Coventry 27, Avon 30
Coventry 26, Bolton 30
Coventry 15, East Granby 50, forfeit
Avon 24, Bolton 31
Avon 15, East Granby 50, forfeit
Bolton 15, East Granby 50, forfeit
At Avon
Winner: Alex Nordstrom (Co) 17:32 for 3.1 miles at Fisher Meadows in Avon, 2. James Fritsche (B) 18:08, 3. Colin Pritchard (A) 18:43, 4. Hunter Bryram(Co) 18:48, 5. Evan Jaworski (B) 18:49, 6. Andrew Suter (A) 19:00, 7. Adam Grace (Co) 19:06; 8. Chris Grupe (Co) 19:11, 9. Matt Reagan (A) 19:19, 10. Eric Kirk (A) 19:24, 11. Bryan St. Jean (A) 19:28
Records: Coventry 3-0, Avon 2-1, Bolton 1-2, East Granby 0-3 

GIRLS

Avon 18, Bolton 45
Avon 16, Coventry 47
Avon 15, East Granby 50, forfeit
Bolton 18, Coventry 45
Bolton 15, East Granby 50, forfeit
Coventry 15, East Granby 50, forfeit
At Avon
Winner: Maddie McHugh (A) 19:46 for 3.1 miles at Fisher Meadows in Avon, 2. Molly Hamel (A) 19:53, 3. Sam Nyser (B), 4. Sara Stokesbury (A) 21:34, 5. Alex Benedict (A) 21:45, 6. Heather Strauss (Co), 7. Hannah Fusaro (A) 21:53, 8. Kristen Goldie (A) 22:17, 9. Christina Martin (A) 22:19, 10. Risa Lewis (A) 22:34
Records: Avon 3-0, Bolton 2-1, Coventry 1-2, East Granby 0-3