Avon runners earn victories in home finale; girls take 2nd at Nonnewaug Invite

The Avon High girls cross country team won three matches Monday to improve to 11-1.

AVON, Oct. 6 – On Senior Day, Avon’s Molly Hamel won her third dual meet of the fall as the Avon High girls cross country team won three matches on Monday at Fisher Meadow. The Falcons (11-1) had seven runners in the top 10 as they beat Ellington, 15-47, Somers, 16-47, and Windsor Locks, 15-50.

Hamel won with a time of 19:10 over the 3.1 mile course at Fisher Meadows beating teammate Christina Martin, who finished second in 20:15. Gabriella Colletti was third and Ryley Higgins took fourth for Avon.

The meet came just three days after Avon took a close second at the 56th annual Nonnewaug Invitational in Woodbury on Friday afternoon. At Nonnewaug, the Falcons were beaten for the first time at the event since 2010, dropping a 58-60 decision to Southington. 

Hamel again led the Falcons, taking second place in 19:25. Martin was seventh and Higgins took eighth. Rachel Martin finished 15th. But Southington placed five runners in the top 16 to claim the championship. There was too much of gap between Martin and Avon’s next runners for the Falcons to win for a fourth straight season.

In Tuesday’s dual meet, the Avon High boys cross country team beat Somers, 17-44, and Windsor Locks, 15-50 but dropped a 21-36 decision to undefeated and defending NCCC champion Ellington. The Purple Knights (11-0) had five runners among the top eight finishers in the race to take command.

Collin Pritchard ran well for Avon (10-2), taking fourth in 17:24 with Bryant St. Jean fifth in 17:26 and Andrew Suter taking sixth in 17:26. Ellington takes on undefeated Canton (11-0) on Wednesday in the regular season finale for both teams at Stratton Brook Park in Simsbury.

At the Nonnewaug Invitational, Avon finished sixth. The Falcons were led by top 20 finishes from Prichard, who was 12^th in 16:51 and Suter, who took 17th in 17:03.

The Avon boys and girls compete in their regular season finale Wednesday at Elizabeth Park in Hartford when they will take on Granby and Hartford Classical, the newest school to join the NCCC. The Falcons will be at the Wickham Invitational in Manchester on Saturday.

GIRLS
Avon 15, Ellington 47
Avon 16, Somers 47
Avon 15, Windsor Locks 50
Ellington 23, Somers 36
Ellington 15, Windsor Locks 50
Somers 15, Windsor Locks 50
At Avon
Individual results – 1. Molly Hamel (A) 19:10 for 3.1 miles at Fisher Meadows, 2. Christina Martin (A) 20:15, 3. Gabriella Colletti (A) 20:22, 4. Ryley Higgins (A) 20:24, 5. A. Roche (S) 20:36, 6. Rachel Martin (A) 20:38, 7. A. Chamberlain (E) 20:53, 8. Gillian Reyes (A) 21:10 9. J. Giaccone (E) 21:29, 10. Kristen Goldie (A) 21:30
Records: Avon 11-1, Ellington 7-4, Somers 8-3, Windsor Locks 2-9

56th Nonnewaug Invitational
At Woodbury
Team results – 1. Southington 58, 2. Avon 60, 3. East Hampton 139, 4. Oxford 143, 5. Nonnewaug 155, 6. Thomaston 159, 7. Weston 164, 8. Housatonic 174, 9. Parish Hill 209, 10. Torrington 246, 11. Shepaug 248, 12. Holy Cross 305
Individual results – 1. Sabrina Chesters, Parish Hill, 19:20.08 for 3.1 miles, 2. Molly Hamel, Avon, 19:25.27, 3. Sydney Georgiades, East Hampton 19:37, 4. Sammi Breier, Thomaston 19:43, 5. Jami Pliego, Southington 20:06, 6. Kathleen Murphy, Weston 20:19, 7. Christina Martin, Avon 20:21, 8. Ryley Higgins, Avon, 20:30, 9. Hanna Gregory, Nonnewaug 20:32, 10. Lauren Perkowski 20:36
Other Avon runners: 15. Rachel Martin 20:54, 28. Gabriella Colletti 21:38, 29. Kristen Goldie 21:54, 32. Erin McGuire 22:05

BOYS
Ellington 21, Avon 36
Ellington 15, Somers 47
Ellington 15, Windsor Locks 50
Avon 17, Somers 44
Avon 15, Windsor Locks 50
Somers 15, Windsor Locks 50
At Avon
Individual results – 1. Jordan Dixon (Ell) 16:41 for 3.1 miles at Fisher Meadows, 2. David Clavett (Ell) 16:45, 3. Thomas Arbeiter (Ell) 17:17, 4. Collin Pritchard (A) 17:24, 5. Brian St. Jean (A) 17:26, 6. Andrew Suter (A) 17:26, 7. Andrew Oliwa (Ell) 17:28, 8. Albert Tebbetts (Ell) 17:32, 9. Kurt Goldie (A) 17:33, 10. E. Berry (S) 17:53
Records: Ellington 11-0, Avon 10-2, Somers 7-4, Windsor Locks 1-10

56th Nonnewaug Invitational
At Woodbury
Team results: 1. New Milford 29, 2. Cheshire 52, 3. Shepaug 107, 4. Southington 108, 5. Weston 126, 6. Avon 133, 7. Thomaston 188, 8. Litchfield 230, 9. Nonnewaug 242, 10. East Hampton 256, 11. Oxford 328, 12. Holy Cross 349, 13. Wamogo 395, 14. Housatonic 413, 15. Torrington 427
Individual results – 1. Jon Davis, New Milford 16:07.30, 2. Brendan Murray, Cheshire 16:21.83, 3. Russell Adam, Cheshire, 16:31.12, 4. Greg Hansell, New Milford 16:31.51, 5. Mark Fusco, Cheshire 16:41, 6. Luke Simmonds, New Milford 16:42, 7. Richard Grudzwick, New Milford 16:46, 8. Cole Clark, Weston 16:47, 9. Ed Wolfe, Shepaug 16:47, 10. Sean Garrison, Southington 16:48
Avon runners: 12. Collin Pritchard 16:51, 17. Andrew Suter 17:03, 27. Brian St. Jean 17:27, 30. Kurt Goldie 17:30, 47. Greg Oberhausen 18:06, 55. James Grant 18:19, 62. Jack Stokesbury 18:26