Avon boys finish fifth at State Open, earn trip to New England championships

The Avon High boys cross country team finished fifth at Friday’s State Open championships led by Carver Morgan, left, Jack Martin, center and Thomas Armistead, right. (Photos courtesy Melissa Morgan)

The Avon High boys cross country team continues to break new ground.

On a muddy course, the Falcons had their first-ever top 10 finish at the State Open championships Friday at Wickham Park in Manchester and earned their first invitation as a team to the upcoming New England championships in Thetford, Vermont.

Senior Jack Martin had a season-best time of 16:02 over the 3.1-mile course to finish seventh overall to lead Avon to a fifth place finish. Carver Morgan finished 24th with a time of 16:27 while Thomas Armistead was 63rd  in 17:16. Jack O’Donnell (75, 17:24) and Nicholas Bailey (91, 17:36) rounded out the top for the Falcons.

The top five teams earn invitations to the New England championship meet. Avon has sent individuals to the New England championships in the past but never a complete team.

Armistead, O’Donnell and Bailey turned in their best times of the season on the Wickham Park course.

“I’m thrilled that the team has performed so well all season and ran their best at the State Open meet,” Avon High coach Cortney Fusco said. “Their team time was nearly two minutes faster on Friday than it was on Monday when they won the Class MM state title. You can’t ask for much better than that. It’s a testament to their hard work and dedication, and they’ve secured a well-deserved place in our program’s history.”

Avon finished fifth at the State Open to earn their first-ever trip to the New England championships as a team. (Photo courtesy Melissa Morgan)

Ridgefield won the State Open title with an 82-110 win over Xavier. Hall was third with 112 points followed by Staples (168) and the Falcons (169). Hand was a distant sixth with 213 points.

Freshman Will Lancaster (114, 17:59) and Jevonte Eaves (132, 18:17) also ran for the Falcons. Lancaster stepped in for Luke Hester, who strained a back muscle.

Martin’s top 10 finish was the first for an Avon boys runner since Jeff Cavanaugh took fourth at the State Open in 1992 with a time of 16:33.

Avon’s Mareen Ek competed at the State Open and finished 33rd with a time of 19:57, her fastest time of the season. Ek didn’t qualify for the New England meet. Only the top 25 individuals advance.

Canton’s Jack Dendinger was the lone competitor for the Warriors, finishing 55th with a time of 17:11. Lewis Mills’ Justin Cascio earned a trip to Saturday’s New England championships by finishing 13th with a time of 16:17.5.

2021 State Open cross country championships
At Manchester (Wickham Park)
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Team results — 1. Ridgefield 82, 2. Xavier 110, 3. Hall 112, 4. Staples 168, 5. Avon 169, 6. Daniel Hand 213, 7. Simsbury 235, 8. Conard 238, 9. Guilford 247, 10. Manchester 256, 11. East Lyme 283, 12. Joel Barlow 287, 13. Shelton 314, 14. Haddam-Killingworth 316, 15. Wilbur Cross 330, 16. New Milford 353, 17. Portland 404, 18. Weston 437, 19. Hale Ray 488, 20. East Hampton 547

Top 25 individuals: 1. Gavin Sherry, Conard 15:16; 2. Callum Sherry, Conard 15:22; 3. Aidan Puffer, Manchester 15:25; 4. Michael Bohlke, Newington 15:29; 5. Luke Anthony, East Lyme 15:49; 6. Eamon Burke, Xavier 15:55; 7. Jack Martin, Avon 16:02; 8. Nikita Omelchenko, Wilbur Cross 16:05; 9. Walker Beverly, Hall 16:13; 10. Steven Hergenrother, Ridgefield 16:13; 11. Luke Davis, Simsbury 16:16; 12. Mason Beaudette, Amity 16:16; 13. Justin Cascio, Lewis Mills 16:17; 14. Nathan Cramer, Fairfield Ludlowe 16:21; 15. Matthew McDonough, Ridgefield 16:21; 16. Evan Boland, E.O. Smith 16:22; 17. Griffin Mandirola, Suffield 16:23; 18. Luke Stoffler, Tolland 16:23; 19. Sean Barkasy, Manchester 16:23; 20. Jack Dovaras, Ridgefield 16:23; 21. Zachary Taubman, Staples 16:25; 22. John O’Keefe, Daniel Hand 16:25; 23. Liam Calhoun, RHAM 16:26; 24. Carver Morgan, Avon 16:27; 25. Ryan Gagne, Wethersfield 16:30
Complete results

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Team results — 1. New Milford 94, 2. Glastonbury 124, 3. Hall 171, 4. Ridgefield 178, 5. E.O. Smith 184, 6. Guilford 216, 7. New Canaan 232, 8. Greenwich 236, 9. Trumbull 243, 10. Somers 247, 11. Fairfield Ludlowe 248, 12. Darien 280, 13. Southington 345, 14. Cheshire 352, 15. Woodstock Academy 379, 16. Bolton 380, 17. Tolland 387, 18. Haddam-Killingworth 388, 19. Sacred Heart Academy 394, 20. East Hampton 461

Top 25 individuals: 1. Rachel St. Germain, Somers 18:02; 2. Brooke Strauss, Glastonbury 18:48; 3. Sydney Kelleher, New Milford 18:49; 4. Katherine Rector, Ridgefield 18:53; 5. Alexa Ciccone, Cheshire 18:55; 6. Kali Holden, Trumbull 19:03; 7. Madelaine Sweeney, New Milford 19:11; 8. Anna Keeley, Fairfield Ludlowe 19:14; 9. Megan Minicucci, Bolton 19:15; 10. Julia Antony, Guilford 19:17; 11. Chloe Poulos, Woodland 19:21; 12. Katherine Sanderson, Hall 19:23; 13. Radea Raleva, New Canaan 19:23; 14. Nora Holmes, Hall 19:30; 15. Peyton Bornstein, Tolland 19:31; 16. Esme Daplyn, Greenwich 19:32; 17. Anna Omelchenko, Wilbur Cross 19:32; 18. Katherine Bohlke, Newington 19:33; 19. Julianne Teitler, Darien 19:34; 20. Emily Mrakovcic, Wilton 19:34; 21. Claire Daniels, New Milford 19:35; 22. Jacqueline Izzo, Southington 19:35; 23. Stephanie Burzynski, Somers 19:36; 24. Stephanie Queiroz, Danbury 19:39; 25. Yee-Ying Ng, Bethel 19:40
Complete results