
The Avon High girls cross country team won the Large Division title at the Winding Trails Invitational for the first time on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Bill Stokesbury)
FARMINGTON, Sept. 23 – Avon High senior Sara Leavens beat Middletown sophomore Ariana Monarca by 13 seconds to win the girls Large School race at the seventh annual Winding Trails Invitational Saturday in Farmington and lead the Falcons to the championship for the first time.
Avon, which had four girls in the top 15, had finished second here twice at the Winding Trails Invitational in 2015 and 2016. A year ago, Avon was second behind Newtown, 38-43.
Leavens won the Large Division race with a time of 19:59 with sophomore Rhiannon Richmond taking fourth in 20:34 and senior Rachel Martin taking tenth in 20:58. Senior Emily Foley was 15th in 21:24. Avon easily beat Cheshire, 39-69 with Hand and East Lyme finishing tied for third with 91 points.
The Avon boys finished fourth in the Large Division, beating Cheshire by a point for fourth place. Brian Lancaster beat Cheshire’s Patrick Cassidy by a second that gave Avon the edge over the Rams. Anish Rajamanickam (15) and Jack Stokesbury (19) finished in the top 20 for the Falcons.
Avon’s Sarah Lancaster won the girls junior varsity race while John Hagan was sixth in the boys junior varsity race.
Large Division
Girls Varsity
At Farmington
Team results – 1. Avon 39, 2. Cheshire 69, 3. Hand and East Lyme 91, 5. Windsor 130
Winner – Sara Leavens, Avon, 19:59, 2. Ariana Monarca, Middletown, 20:12, 3. Emily Tresser, Newtown, 20:17, 4. Rhiannon Richmond, Avon, 20:34, 5. Olivia Gregory, Windsor, 20:40, 6. Katrina Wiegmann, Farmington 20:54, 7. Rasa Kirvelevicius, East Lyme, 20:55, 8. Amanda Adesso, Cheshire, 20:56, 9. Kaitlyn Kijak, Windsor, 20:57, 10. Rachel Martin, Avon, 20:58
Other Avon runners: 15. Emily Foley, 21:24, 17. Rachael Nori, 21:41, 20. Ashley Martin, 21:46, 24. Carolyn Luby 22:00
Boys Varsity
At Farmington
Team results – 1. New Canaan 29, 2. Middletown 47, 3. Jonathan Law 122, 4. Avon 134, 5. Cheshire 135
Winner – Ben Carlson, Middletown 16:54 for 3.1 miles at Winding Trails, 2. Matthew Lecky, Middletown, 16:57, 3. Max Koschnitzke, New Canaan, 17:17; 4. Kevin Preneta, Foran, 17:26, 5. Alexander Urbahn, New Canaan 17:31
Other Avon runners: 15. Anish Rajamanickam 18:24, 19. Jack Stokesbury, 18:33, 29. Daniel Carvalho, 19:12, 35. Max Mock, 19:30, 36. Andrew Thomas, 19:31, 38. Mark Nunziata, 19:37, 55. Brian Lancaster 20:32
Girls Junior Varsity
At Farmington
Team results – 1. Avon 16, 2. Cheshire 52
Winner – Sarah Lancaster, Avon, 22:53 for 3.1 miles at Winding Trails, 2. Madison Sjostrom, East Lyme, 23:05, 3. Emma Buth, Avon, 23:28, 4. Jacenda O’Dwyer, Avon, 23:36, 5. Carly Carpino, Avon, 23:48
Other Avon runners in top 10: 7. Anna Ryan, 23:53, 10. Quinn Bailey, 24:28
Boys Junior Varsity
At Farmington
Avon runners in top 10: 6. John Hagan, 18:58, 8. Lance Morgan, 19:16
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