Thomas Nealon ’17
The Staples boys’ cross country team won the state class LL championship, on Sat. Oct. 29, at Wickham Park in Manchester, Connecticut, while the girls’ team took third. This was the Wreckers’ first title since 1999.
Staples, one of the preseason favorite to win it all for boys’ according to the Connecticut Boys Cross Country Coaches Poll, won the competition by an impressive 37 point margin, with Danbury taking second place.
The girls on the other hand, were complete underdogs and weren’t even expected to place inside the top five. Both results were satisfying for the upperclassmen on the team.
“As an upperclassman on the team, I can tell you that to us seniors, this win meant the world to us,” captain Brian MacCordy ’17 said, “It’s been 17 years since we last won, so knowing that we brought back the title was just such a great feeling.”
Captain Zak Ahmad ’17, who previously won the FCIAC title last week, came away with the individual title once again for the boys’ team, and Susie Martin ’17 placed fourth for the girls.
“It felt amazing running across the finish line,” Ahmad said. “I’ve been working at this since I joined the team as a freshman, and to finally win it was extremely satisfying.”
Although the boys’ team is led by senior veterans, it was the junior class that helped propel the team to victory. Sunil Green ’18, Ben Seiple ’18 and Will Landowne ’18 all placed inside the top 10, and Christian Meyers ’18 came in 23rd.
Similarly for the girls’ team, underclassmen Alyson Murray ’19, Tori Greenberg ’20 and Zarah Ahmad’ 19 all placed within the top 40 to help secure third place.
“I was really proud of their performance,” senior captain Sam Little ’17 said. “We knew it was going to be tough to replace [Alumni Hannah DeBalsi ’16], but they showed that the future of the girls’ cross country team at Staples is in good hands.”
Although both teams are proud of the results, both have shifted their attention towards the State Opens, set to take place on Nov. 4. The boys team will be looking to defend their State Open title, and the girls will be looking to ride the success through New England’s and even Nationals.
“Staples cross country in general has such a successful legacy,” Connor Teran ’17 said, “and I’m just glad that both teams are able to dominate and carry on the tradition.”
Photo used under the Creative Commons license
