
The Avon High boys cross country team had four runners in the top 10 to win the CCC Region B championship meet on Tuesday in New Britain. (Photo courtesy Avon High cross country team)
The Avon High boys cross country team placed five runners in the top nine to win the Central Connecticut Conference’s Region B championship meet on Tuesday at Stanley Quarter Park in New Britain while Canton finished third at the NCCC West championship meet on Wednesday at Winding Trails in Farmington.
Canton’s Julia Caputo won the NCCC West girls cross country championship meet by more than 90 seconds to lead the Warriors to a second place finish while Avon finished third at the CCC Region B girls cross country meet in New Britain.
The Avon boys went undefeated in CCC Region B during the dual meet portion of the schedule (7-0) and continued their dominance at the championship meet. Led by Jack Martin’s second place finish, the Falcons beat Southington, 36-53 to win the meet with Bristol Central finishing third with 100 points.
Bristol Central’s Nate DeAngelo won the race with a time of 15:42 over 3.1 miles at Stanley Quarter Park. Martin was second with a time of 16:06. Lewis Mills’ Justin Cascio was third in 16:11. Avon’s Carver Morgan was fifth (16:45) with Mason Bussiere (17:16) and Rodrigo Portal (17:20) finishing eighth and ninth, respectively.
In the CCC Region B girls race, Southington was dominant with four runners in the top 10 as they rolled to a 21-73 win over Farmington. Avon was third with 98 points. Mareen Ek led the Falcons with a seventh-place finish with a time of 20:57 followed by Gabrielle Richmond (22:01) in 18th place.
The Falcons also scored their dual meet with Southington that had been postponed in October. The Blue Knights earned a 16-46 to finish the dual meet portion of the schedule 7-0 while Avon finished the dual meet portion of the season at 6-1.

Canton’s Julia Caputo won the NCCC West championship meet title Wednesday at Winding Trails in Farmington. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)
Caputo easily won the NCCC West championship at Winding Trails to help the Warriors finish second behind Suffield, 26-48. The Wildcats had four runners in the top 10 to win the meet. Grace First took sixth for the Warriors with a time of 23:41. Caputo won nine of 10 races she ran this fall.
The Canton boys finished third behind Suffield (28) and Granby (36) with 57 points, led by Jack Dendinger (17:43), who finished fourth, and teammate Tom Purcell, who was fifth with a time of 18:38.
This was the final competition for the pandemic-shortened season. But the Avon High runners will continue to compete. The Falcons will compete under the flag of NOVA XC/Track Club at the Northeast Championships in New York on Nov. 28 and the invitation-only East Coast Championships on December 5 in New Jersey.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
CCC Region B championships
At New Britain
Team results – 1. Avon 36, 2. Southington 53, 3. Bristol Central 100, 4. Bristol Eastern 111, 5. Plainville 119, 6. Lewis Mills 137, 7. Farmington 157, 8. New Britain 204
Individual results – 1. Nate DeAngelo (BC) 15:42 for 3.1 miles at Stanley Quarter Park, 2. Jack Martin (A) 16:06, 3. Justin Cascio (LM) 16:11. 4. Francis Porrini III (BC) 16:28, 5. Carver Morgan (A) 16:45, 6. Jake Nafis (S) 16:46, 7. Drew Nafis (A) 17:06, 8. Mason Bussiere (A) 17:16, 9. Rodrigo Portal (A) 17:20, 10. Brendan Kelly (F) 17:20
Other Avon runners: 12. Jevonte Eaves (A) 17:31, 19. David Parry (A) 17:58
2020 NCCC West championship meet
At Farmington
Team scores – 1. Suffield 28, 2. Granby 36, 3. Canton 57, 4. Windsor Locks 118, 5. East Granby 128, 6. HMTCA no team score
Individual results – 1. Nate Davidson (S) 16:49 for 3.1 miles at Winding Trails, 2. Blake Dufresne (S) 17:23, 3. Griffin Mandirola (S) 17:28, 4. Jack Dendinger (Ca) 17:43, 5. Tom Purcell (Ca) 18:38, 6. Charles Attianese (G) 18:43, 7. Nicholas Boyd (G) 18:43, 8. Nate Bannish (S) 18:47, 9. Daniel Owen (G) 18:52, 10. L. Crow (WL)
Other Canton runners: 13. John Holowesko 19:31, 17. Seth Miscikoski 19:54, 21. Liam O’Donnell 20:29, 22. Chase Lashgari 20:32, 24. Nick Benedetti 20:56
Other Granby runners: 12. Ben Gottsche 19:29, 16. Thomas Kennedy 19:49, 19. Anthony Canellas 20:20
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
CCC Region B championships
At New Britain
Team results – 1. Southington 21, 2. Farmington 73, 3. Avon 98, 4. Bristol Eastern 105, 5. Lewis Mills 110, 6. Bristol Central 112
Individual results – 1. Grace Michaud (S) 18:35 for 3.1 miles at Stanley Quarter Park in New Britain, 2. Jacqueline Izzo (S) 19:21, 3. Natalia Popielarz (BC) 18:30, 4. Jessica Lombardo (S) 19:41, 5. Frenchie Riccio (S) 20:12, 6. Fiona Gallagher (BE) 20:52, 7. Marenn Ek (A) 20:57, 8. Ella Szczepanski (F) 21:15, 9. Ava Egan (S) 21:22, 10. Gabriella Zeller (LM) 21:32
Other Avon runners: 18. Gabrielle Richmond (A) 22:01, 24. Autumn Wolf (A) 23:03, 25. Hayley Luby (A) 23:21, 29. Sarah Lancaster (A) 24:23, 40. Caroline McKeown (A) 26:23
2020 NCCC West championship meet
At Farmington
Team scores – 1. Suffield 26, 2. Canton 48, 3. Granby 56, 4. East Granby, Windsor Locks and HMTCA no score
Individual results – 1. Julia Caputo (Ca) 20:00 for 3.1 miles at Winding Trails, 2. Hayley Young (S) 21:34, 3. A. Taylor (WL) 22:53, 4. Emma Conway (S) 23:22, 5. Abby Schulz (S) 23:41, 6. Grace First (Ca) 23:41, 7. A. Cappiello (EG) 23:56, 8. Molly Laird (G) 24:29, 9. Isabel Gravlin (G) 24:35, 10. Caroline Bishop (S) 24:57
Other Canton runners: 14. Heather Sevigny 26:14, 18. Neve Marnagh 27:04, 21. Sarah Caputo 27:31
Other Granby runners: 15. Evelyn Brooke 26:26, 19. Avery Flint 27:06, 20. Katherine Benoit 27:21, 24. Breanna Wallace 30:24
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.


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2025 NCCC Winter Tournaments

High School
2025 CCC Winter Tournaments
