Avon earns splits at muddy meet with Hall, NW Catholic; Mills girls win a pair

Avon’s Jack Martin (1622) and Carver Morgan (1626) led the No. 5 Falcons Tuesday to a win over Northwest Catholic. Martin won the race with Morgan coming in a close third. (Photos courtesy Melissa Morgan)

WEST HARTFORD, Oct. 5, 2021 – It was a true cross country meet on Tuesday with plenty of soft ground and mud for the runners to race through in misty and cloudy conditions at Northwest Catholic.

Despite the slippery conditions, the No. 5 Avon High boys cross country team had three runners in the top six in a competitive meet with No. 2 Hall High and a 15-50 shutout victory over Northwest Catholic. The Falcons fell to Hall, 26-33, with the Warriors putting seven runners in the top 10.

Several Avon runners turned in their best times of the season and it was a fierce battle at the front of the pack as well.

Hall’s Walker Beverly and Avon’s Carver Morgan and Jack Martin ran in a tight pack ahead of the rest of the field. Similar to what occurs in track and field, the race came down to the final 300 meters and the final sprint to the finish line.

Martin earned his first win of the season, covering the 3.1 mile course in 16:02 with Walker a close second in 16:06 and Carver finishing third in 16:12. It was Martin’s first dual meet of the season after an early-season injury kept him on the sideline for a few events.

Avon’s Luke Hester finished sixth with a personal-best time of 16:56, easily his strongest race of the season. Will Lancaster was 14th with a personal-best time of 17:38 with Thomas Armistead rounding out the top five with a personal-best time of 17:47. Jack O’Donnell (16, 17:49) and Jevonte Eaves (21, 17:58) rounded out the varsity squad.

With the split, Avon improved to 3-1 on the season.

Avon’s Julia Freeman (1507) runs through a soggy portion of the cross country course Tuesday in West Hartford. (Photo courtesy Melissa Carver)

In the girls race, Avon earned a split with a 21-34 win over Northwest Catholic and a 15-50 loss to No. 4 Hall. Mareen Ek finished in the top 10 for the Falcons, taking fifth in 20:11.

Gianna Godbout (13) had a personal-best time of 25:03 while Yasmin Rensch (14, 26:05) finished in the top 20. Rounding out the varsity squad was Samantha Tacinelli (21, 26:12), Julia Freeman (22, 26:13), Sierra Secor (31, 27:48), and Ying Ying Cheng (37, 29:23).

The win over the Lions was the first of the season for the Avon High girls squad, now 1-3.

Avon and Hall are both ranked in the state coaches top 10 poll as conducted by MySportsResults.com.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Hall 26, Avon 33
Avon 15, Northwest Catholic 50
Hall 15, Northwest Catholic 50
At West Hartford (Hall)
Top 10 individuals – Jack Martin (A) 16:03 for 3.1 miles at Hall; 2. Walker Beverly (H) 16:07, 3. Carver Morgan (A) 16:13, 4. Issac Mahler (H) 16:44, 5. Avery Allen (H) 16:54, 6. Lucas Hester (A) 16:56, 7. Colin Goldschmidt (H) 16:56, 8. Nathaniel Aronson (H) 16:57, 9. Liam Scully (H) 16:58, 10. Joshua Burr (H) 17:02
Records: Avon 3-1

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Hall 16, Avon 47
Hall 15, Northwest Catholic 50
Avon 21, Northwest Catholic 34
At West Hartford (Hall)
Top 10 individuals: Katherine Sanderson (H) 19:33, 2. Nora Holmes (H) 19:44, 3. Julia Zydanowicz (H) 19:50, 4. Rylan Priest (H) 20:06, 5. Mareen Ek (A) 20:11, 6. Katelyn Osoba (H) 20:58, 7. Madeline Peterson (H) 23:02, 8. Alexa Orsey (H) 23:03, 9. Gabrielle Guirgis (NW) 23:09, 10. Miranda Scully (H) 23:56
Records: Avon 1-3

Full results: Avon, Hall at Northwest Catholic 

Mills girls sweeps a pair
MERIDEN, Oct. 5, 2021 – Ginny Mullen finished second and the Lewis Mills girls cross country team put five runners in the top 10 to earn a pair of CCC South victories on Tuesday. Mills beat Maloney, 24-33 and outlasted Bristol Central, 22-36.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Lewis Mills 24, Maloney 33
Lewis Mills 22, Bristol Central 36
Maloney 25, Bristol Central 30
At Meriden
Top 10 individuals – Samantha Park, Maloney, 20:41 for 3.1 miles at Hubbard Park, 2. Ginny Mullen, Lewis Mills, 21:47, 3. Savannah Vasquez, Maloney, 21:54, 4. Gabriella Zeller, Lewis Mills 22:43, 5. Sophia Stark, Bristol Central, 23:59, 6. Maura Waters, Bristol Central, 24:09, 7. Yana Telnov, Lewis Mills, 24:19, 8. Trinity Moulton, Lewis Mills, 24:23, 9. Katie Tran, Bristol Central 24:38, 10. Marcella Slason, Lewis Mills 24:40