Avon harriers pick up two victories; Ek takes second at Going to the Sun meet

AVON, Sept. 21, 2021 – The top-ranked runner in the nation was at Fisher Meadows on Tuesday to race against the Avon High boys cross country team. Conard’s Gavin Sherry, who is ranked No. 1 in the country by DyeStat, won the race in 15:07 followed closely by his twin brother Callum in 15:18.

But a team effort from the Falcons helped Avon beat Conard and visiting Glastonbury to open the dual meet portion of the schedule with a pair of victories.

Avon (2-0) beat Conard, 28-31 and Glastonbury, 28-30. Avon’s Carver Morgan was third with a personal-best time of 15:39 on the course, the sixth fastest time in school history on the 3.1-mile course.

Teammate Jack O’Donnell finished fifth with Lucas Hester taking ninth. The key to victory was four Avon runners – Nicholas Bailey (11, 17:37), Jevonte Eaves (12, 17:48), Thomas Armistead (13, 17:48) and William Lancaster (14, 17:55)  – finishing 11^th through 14^th in a span of 22 seconds.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Avon 28, Conard 31
Avon 28, Glastonbury 30
Conard 24, Glastonbury 31
At Avon
Individuals – Gavin Sherry (Conard) 15:08 for 3.1 miles at Fisher Meadows, 2. Callum Sherry (Conard) 15:18, 3. Morgan Caver (A) 15:39, 4. Joseph Accurso (G) 15:58, 5. Jack O’Donnell (A) 16:58, 6. Noah Burgio (Conard) 17:02, 7. William Krause (G) 17:15, 8. Kevin Graziosi (G) 17:16, 9. Lucas Hester (A) 17:23, 10. Cody Stone (G) 17:24
Records: Avon 2-0

GIRLS CROSS COUNTY
Glastonbury 15, Avon 50
Glastonbury 15, Conard 50
Conard 15, Avon 50
At Avon
Individuals – 1. Brooke Strauss (G) 18:42 for 3.1 miles at Fisher Meadows, 2. Jacqueline Caron (G) 19:25, 3. Ava Gattinella (G) 19:51, 4. Jacqueline Dudus (G) 19:59, 5. Lucy Bergin (G) 20:04, 6. Haley Evans (G) 20:17, 7. Olivia Dickson (G) 20:25, 8. Kelley MacElhiney (G) 20:40, 9. Sarah Ongley (G) 20:50, 10. Annika Hurley (G) 20:55
Records: Avon 0-2

Meet results

Ek finishes second at Going to the Sun Invitational
DURHAM, Sept. 22, 2021 – Avon’s Mareen Ek finished second at the 33rd annual Going to the Sun Invitational at Coginchaug in Durham on Wednesday. Ek finished with a time of 20:37 over the hilly course, just 18 seconds in back of race champion Kaylee Gravel of East Hampton.

Ek helped the Falcons finish third in the race behind East Hampton (53) and Old Saybrook (99). Avon finished with 108 points.

33^rd Going to the Sun Invitational
At Durham (Coginchaug Regional)
GIRLS VARSITY
Team results – 1. East Hampton 53, 2. Old Saybrook 99, 3. Avon 108, 4. Coginchaug 110, 5. East Catholic 118. Nine teams finished
Top 10 runners – Kaylee Gravel, East Hampton 20:19.5 for 3.1 miles at Coginchaug, 2. Mareen Ek, Avon 20:37.8, 3. Samantha Park, Maloney 21:21, 4. Catherine Minegar, Old Saybrook 21:56, 5. Isabella Jensen, East Catholic 22:19, 6. Lindsay O’Neill, East Catholic, 22:26, 7. Grace Hacaruso, Valley Regional, 22:30, 8. Katie Ireland, East Hampton 22:47, 9. Catherine Cruess, Holy Cross 22:51, 10. Vikki Carrica, Old Saybrook, 22:52
Other Avon runners: 17. Hope Chokski 23:36, 20. Autumn Wolf 23:54, 32. Gianna Godbout 26:12, 37. Samatha Tacinelli 26:43, 39. Yasmin Rensch 26:58, 50. Julia Freeman 28:59

Meet results