Canton boys take 2nd in Class SS for 6th time; Canton girls finish third

The Canton High boys cross county beat Coginchaug by three points to finish second at Saturday’s Class SS championship meet at Wickham Park in Manchester.

In the Class SS boys cross country championship race, it was a race for second place. Defending champion Haddam-Killingworth easily won their sixth title since 2003 Saturday at Wickham Park in Manchester with four runners in the top 10 and five runners among the top 14 finishers.

In the battle for the runnerup trophy, Canton outlasted Coginchaug by three points, 147 to 150, to finish second for the sixth time since 2004.

In the Class SS girls cross country championships, Canton ran well and finished third behind two of the top teams in the state. Haddam-Killingworth, ranked No. 11 in the latest state coaches poll, prevailed in a battle with Shoreline Conference foe Coginchaug to win the championship, 65-68.

The Warriors fell just five seconds away from qualifying for next week’s State Open championships. The top two teams in each of the six classes qualify along with the next eight teams, ranked by total time. Canton was ranked ninth among the teams that didn’t finish in the top two of their respective classes.

Canton coach Tim O’Donnell knew that the Cougars were the overwhelming favorite in the boys race. And the Cougars didn’t disappoint. Cameron Garrelts won the race and his teammates finished third, fifth, eighth and 14th as HK scored 31 points – the second lowest in Class SS history. Only Griswold’s 24 points in 2002 was lower.

Canton senior Cameron Neely finished strong, beating two runners to the finish line. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

Canton beat Coginchaug by three points and Old Lyme by nine. “Our kids had some good solid races,” O’Donnell said. Jake Whittingslow earned All-State honors by finishing sixth in 17:18 while Cameron Neely, the No. 4 runner on the team coming in, surged to finish 19th with a time of 18:11. Ethan Porter (25th place), Zachary Oliver (32) and Matthew Sullivan (65) rounded out the top five for the Warriors.

Oliver and Sullivan finished strong, passing numerous runners in the final mile. Neely and Oliver each beat two runners at the finish line by a second for crucial points.

Canton, who finished second to H-K a year ago, will compete in the State Open on Friday at 2:45 p.m. at Wickham Park in Manchester.

The Canton High girls cross country team ran well Saturday and finished third in Class SS.

After an outstanding 11-1 dual meet season and a second place finish in the North Central Connecticut Conference championship meet, the Canton girls were hoping to bring home a championship trophy of some kind for the first time since 1996 when the Warriors finished second.

But Haddam-Killingworth and Coginchaug staged an outstanding duel for the Class SS championship. Coginchaug’s Samantha Drop won the race and teammate Alexandra Alsup finished third but the Cougars had three runners finish in top 12 to claim its first state title since 1986.

Canton was a distant third with 93 points followed by East Catholic with 157 points.

Emily Briggs earned All-State honors by placing 11th with a time of 20:25.  Belle Magna (14), Abby Briggs (21), Helena Winkler (23) and Cameron McCauley (24) all finished in the top 25. Canton’s team time (top 5 finishers) of 1:45.46 was five seconds off the mark to earn a wild card berth at the State Open.

“They ran well and were good,” O’Donnell said. “I really thought we would be racing again on Friday.”

In the last six years, Canton’s team time would have earned them a berth in the State Open each year except 2011.

In term of individuals earning berths at the State Open, it is the top 12 finishers in each of the six races (Class LL, L, MM, M, SS, S) and the next fastest 30 times.

NOTES: The Canton boys won the Class SS state title in 2010. They’ve finished second six times (2015, 2014, 2011, 2009, 2008, 2004). Since 2008, Canton has finished among the top three each year in Class SS. … The Canton girls finished fourth in 2013.

Class SS championships BOYS
At Manchester
Top 10 team results – 1. Haddam Killingworth 31, 2. Canton 147, 3. Coginchaug 150, 4. Old Lyme 158, 5. Terryville 189, 6. Woodland 211, 7. Somers 223, 8. East Hampton 244, 9. Cromwell 258, 10. Nonnewaug 267.
Top 5 individuals – 1. Cameron Garrelts, HK, 16:25 over 3.1 miles at Wickham Park, 2. Connor Levins, Terryville, 16:50, 3. Andrew Meredith, HK 16:56, 4. Georgios Sfaskios, Windham 17:04, 5. Daniel Schumann, HK 17:10
Canton runners: 6. Jake Whittingslow 17:18, 19. Cameron Neeley 18:11, 25. Ethan Porter 18:27, 32. Zachary Oliver 18:42, 65. Matthew Sullivan 19:38, 76. Peter Royer 19:51, 86. Nicholas Lagonigro 20:07

Class SS championships GIRLS
At Manchester
Top 10 team results – 1. Haddam Killingworth 65, 2. Coginchaug 68, 3. Canton 93, 4. East Hampton 157, East Hampton 166, 6. Old Saybrook 178, 7. Granby 193, 8. NW Catholic 235, 9. Oxford 246, 10. Griswold 265.
Top 5 individuals – 1. Samantha Drop, Coginchaug 18:58 for 3.1 miles at Wickham Park, 2. Sydney Georglades, East Hampton, 19:37, 3. Alexandra Alsup, Coginchaug, 19:38, 4. Maura Oel, East Catholic 19:43, 5. Madeline Brandon, HK 19:46
Canton runners: 11. Emily Briggs 20:25, 14. Belle Magna 20:56, 21. Abby Briggs 21:26, 23. Helena Winkler 21:29, 24. Cameron McCauley 21:30, 42. Jocelyn Rossitto 22:46, 81. Lindsay Laclair 24:48