I never thought I’d own nine pairs of shoes, but I wear through a pair every few months. I feel bad buying new shoes so often, but those sneakers see more miles than most shoes ever will. At the height of this last season, every member of the E.O. cross country teams ran more than thirty miles in a single week. Those miles added up. The boys team had a successful season, ending 8-5 and sending its top runner, Evan Boland, to the New England Championships in Thetford, Vermont. The girls team finished undefeated in dual meets and came in fifth at the State Open Championships at Wickham Park in Manchester. The impressive performance meant that the entire varsity team qualified for New Englands by default, and the squad then placed 17th there. 

Coach Tutolo said that his boys team was successful because they improved their mental fitness as well as their physical abilities. “Everyone on the team had a good mindset of looking ahead to the next meet, and training well to be prepared,’’ he said. “That [led] to our success.” He also mentioned how exciting it was that Boland finished as the 13th fastest Connecticut runner at New Englands. Boland, who will be graduating in the spring, ran a 16:22 5-kilometer at the State Opens. That translates to a daunting 5:27 mile pace, for more than three miles, over hilly and muddy terrain. 

Gallery • 2 Photos

(Contributor Photo)

The girls cross country team finished fifth in the State Open Championships at Wickham Park.

The girls team’s fifth place finish among Connecticut teams was “a true team effort,” said their assistant coach, Laurel Manville. Despite not having many high finishing runners, the consistency shown by the entire team meant that they overtook other teams that contained a faster individual or two. This team mindset, as opposed to the idea of cross country as an individual sport, is a powerful source of motivation that helped both girls and boys teams achieve great things this fall. 

Friendly rivalries are also a part of all sports, and cross country is no different. The boys team beat RHAM on its home course by a single point, but were overtaken at the conference meet by an equally slim margin. The E.O. boys then prevailed again at the Class MM state meet. The girls, who are oddly in a different division, simply beat every school they ran against in dual meets.   

Many races well run, to be sure, but there is no end in sight. The indoor track season started in early December, and many of our high school athletes will run a thousand miles before they run their last. That’s the real beauty of running: You can just keep going. The road goes ever ever on…

All Races Listed Below at Wickham Park, Manchester

Girls State Open

1. New Milford            

            3    7   17   31   36  (72) (94) =    94

         Sydney Kelleher, Madelaine Sweeney, Claire Daniels, Mya Morabito,

         Isabel Greene, Katherine Taborsak, Elizabeth Rainey

2. Glastonbury            

            2   21   25   34   42  (47) (48) =   124

         Brooke Strauss, Jacqueline Caron, Ava Gattinella, Jacqueline Dudus,

         Haley Evans, Lucy Bergin, Olivia Dickson

3. Hall                   

           11   13   33   56   58  (62) (78) =   171

         Katherine Sanderson, Nora Holmes, Julia Zydanowicz, Rylan Priest,

         Katelyn Osoba, Nitzan Ben Ari, Madeline Peterson

4. Ridgefield             

            4   23   35   40   76  (81)      =   178

         Katherine Rector, Deirdre Flanagan, Georgia Keller, Regan McGrath,

         Vivienne Namiot, Leila Devoe

5. E.O. Smith             

           22   24   32   49   57  (82) (87) =   184

         Gabriella Hernandez, Alexis Buskey, Elizabeth Bigelow, Jayden Stygar,

         Navia Casa, Briana Ashton, Abigail Rose

6. Guilford               

           10   38   39   63   66  (70)(104) =   216

         Julia Antony, Olivia Skapczynski, Alexa Suchy, Olivia Kaisin, Lorelei

         King, Clara Laughlin, Ursula Adams

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Girls Class L State Championships 

1. New Milford            

            1    3   10   14   27  (28)      =    55

         Sydney Kelleher, Madelaine Sweeney, Mya Morabito, Isabel Greene,

         Elizabeth Rainey, Katherine Taborsak

2. New Canaan             

            5   12   16   17   18  (23) (55) =    68

         Radea Raleva, Charlotte Moor, Riley Shipman, Elizabeth McLaughlin,

         Sofia Madrazo, Abigail Cheney, Lauren Doherty

3. E.O. Smith             

            8    9   21   25   34  (47) (73) =    97

         Gabriella Hernandez, Alexis Buskey, Jayden Stygar, Elizabeth Bigelow,

         Briana Ashton, Abigail Rose, Riley Deforest

4. Darien                 

            4   22   30   31   58  (68) (81) =   145

         Julianne Teitler, Mairead Clas, Avery Johnson, Cam Meyer, Ali Meyer,

         Hope Johnson, Lauren Blake

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Boys Class MM State Championships

1. Avon                   

            2    3   10   11   12  (14) (28) =    38

         Jack Martin, Carver Morgan, Thomas Armistead, Jack Odonnell, Nicholas

         Bailey, Jevonte Eaves, Lucas Hester

2. Daniel Hand            

            4    7    8   16   35  (44) (48) =    70

         John O’Keefe, Nicholas Montana, Harrison Grenier, Daniel Hilmer,

         Robert Constable, Jacob Merenda, Ty Boucino

3. East Lyme              

            1    9   17   25   27  (49) (50) =    79

         Luke Anthony, Brendan Fant, Sean McCauley, Noah Krishnaswami, Kai Ritz,

         Nathan Bergman, Teddy Bergman

4. E.O. Smith             

            6   29   31   36   37  (47) (56) =   139

         Evan Boland, Matthew Enright, Gabriel Montoya, Arrington Scigliano,

         William Connolly, Jacob Robinson-Smey, Alexander Semenza

5. RHAM                   

            5   18   42   43   55  (61) (62) =   163

         Liam Calhoun, Troy Miller, Sam Fortin, Timothy Smith, Ryan Russo, Ryan

         Heneghan, Benjamin Risley

Source: CIAC