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Open Championship Week
CIAC XC Open
Champions Ready for New England Meet...
(Nov 9, 2004) The 2004 CIAC Cross Country State Open
champions and top finishers are making final preparations for the 70th
New England Interscholastic Cross Country Championships which will be
hosted by Connecticut at
Wickham Park in East Hartford on
Saturday, November 13, 2004. The
Boys race starts at 11:30 AM, and will be followed by the Girls race at
12:30 PM. Both races will be contested on the 5km course.
Click to View NE Boys
Entry List...
Click to View NE Girls Entry
List...
View all the 2004 CIAC Cross Country State Open Champions in a special photo gallery.
Photos include the top twenty-five
finishers, the winning teams and runner-up teams at the awards ceremony.
View
Girls State Open Champions Gallery...
View Boys
State Open
Champions Gallery...
Salute to Top CT
Boys and Girls XC Teams...
(Nov 4, 2004) As all the top boys and
girls teams make their final preparations for the CIAC State Open
Championships on Friday, you can join us in honoring all the Division
champions from last Saturday's races in a special Division Champions
Photo Gallery presented by Fleet Feet of West Hartford.
Click to
View Girls Division Champions Gallery...
Click to
View Boys Division Champions Gallery...
The CIAC State Open Championship at
Wickham Park in East Hartford on Friday November 5, begins with the
Girls Open race at 1:30pm and concludes with the Boys Open race at
2:15pm. The defending State Open Champions New Milford Boys team and the
Ridgefield Girls team as well as Girls Open Champion Amie Schumacher of
Holy Cross all return to race for the top places.
CIAC Announce
State Open Finalists...
(Nov 1, 2004) The CIAC SportsCenter has
posted the Boys and Girls team and individual qualifiers for the 2004
State Open Cross Country Championships to be held on Friday, November 5
at Wickham Park in East Hartford. The Girls Championship race starts at
1:30pm and the Boys race begins at 2:15pm.
Click to View Boys State Open Qualifiers...
Click to
View Girls State Open Qualifiers...
Divisional Championship Week
CIAC Divisional
Titles Awarded...
(Oct 30, 2004) On a day more fit for
rugby than for runners, several hundred harriers attacked the wet and
slippery course at Wickham Park in East Hartford in a chase for the CIAC
Divisional team plaques and individual medals. Those runners fastest
enough to finish in the top ten individuals in their race or under 17
minutes and 24 seconds advanced to next week's State Open race. The
teams that placed in the top two spots in each race automatically
qualified. Teams that also were in the top eight fastest team times from
the entire day or ran a team time of 1:28.00 or better also made the
State Open meet.
Girls Division Races
The Girls races were the showcase of the day as eight runners from all
the races ran 16:00 or faster for the 4km course. The top time of the
day was in the last race of the day for the girls as
Kelly Sorrell of Lyman Memorial
led her team to victory in 15:28 in the
SS Division Race. She had some help as her teammates finished in the
2,3,7 and 12 positions for a day low total of 25 points to runner-up
East Hampton with 100 points.
Defending M Champion
Amie Schumacher of Holy Cross had
little trouble as she won in 15:59 while
Griswold won the team title with
63 points to runner-up
Darien with 100pts. A new Division
MM champion was crowned as
Katherine Bossardat of Ledyard ran
16:05 while
Guilford claimed the team title
with 77 points over second place
Wilton with 93 pts. Defending
Division L and State Open champion
Ridgefield returned to the victory
stand in winning with 66 points to
Simsbury with 96 points. First
place finisher
Caitlin Cunningham of Simsbury
(15:32) and
Emma Perron of Conard West Hartford
(15:57) were the next two runners under the 16 minute mark. The LL
Division saw three runners under 16 minutes with freshman
Kristen Mitchell of Glastonbury
winning in 15:32, followed by
Sonia Haerizadeh of Amity (15:49)
and
Kelly LeBuffe of Hall West Hartford
(15:56). Mitchell led
Glastonbury to their first ever
team title with 40 points as they placed five runners in the top
fourteen places for the win over runner-up
East Hartford with 93 pts.
Christina Wells of Shepaug Valley
defended her Division S title with a solid 15:57 effort in a race that
saw St Bernard take the team title with a 3,5,6,9,18 placing to score 40
points over runner up
Old Lyme with 68 points.
Boys Division Races
In the Boys races, the only sub-16 minute finish for the 5km course came
from
Matt Warren of East Lyme as he ran
15:58 to out pace
Jay Koloseus of Guildford in the
Division L race. Guilford defended
their team title with 49 points over second place East Lyme
with 85 pts. In the first race of the day for boys, Tradelle Ward
and Chris Croff led Griswold
to the Division M team title as they finished 1-2 in 16:14. Griswold
placed 1,2,6,9 and 12 to score 30 points over runner-up Bacon
Academy of Colchester with 77 pts.
Ledyard made it five years in a row as
they captured the Division M title placing five in the top fifteen spots
to score 42 points over runner-up Woodstock
Academy. Kevin Graham of
Woodstock Academy finished in 16:12 to
lead all runners in the M race. In the fastest team race of the day,
New Milford placed its five
runners in the top seventeen spots with a day low team time of 1:24.07
and 49 points to win the Division LL race again over Norwich Free
Academy with 59 points. Senior
Phil Mitchell of Glastonbury joined his
sister as a Division LL champion as he finished in 16:10. Andrew
Rissler of St. Bernards returned to the
victors podium as he ran 16:36 to grab top honors in Division S, where
he had last won in 2002. Shepaug Valley
won their third straight team title scoring 75 points to defeat
runner-up Canton with 88 points.
In the last race of the day, Ellington
claimed the Division SS team title with 91 points as they were led by
the first place finish of senior Hunter Norte
in 16:22. Lyman Memorial earned
the runner-up place with 30 points.
Click to View All
Division Team and Individual Race Results...
CIAC Divisional
Courses Reward Hard Work...
(Oct 28, 2004) There is nothing easy
about either the Boys 5k or the Girls 4k cross country courses at
Wickham Park in East Hartford. As you stand in the grass field where the
start line is painted, you can see the first subtle uphill that
continues for two to three hundred meters. To your left is the fabled
Green Monster that challenges you half-way through the race. To your
right you can also see the finish line at the top of a final grass
uphill that will sap the remaining energy from your legs during your
sprint to the tape. But the keys to the courses are simple; those
runners who relax, remain confident and work hard throughout the race
are rewarded with special performances. In last year's Class L race,
Ahmed Haji of Conard-West Hartford set the all-time course record in
running to victory in 15:20. The Girls course record was established by
Ruth Filep of Ludlowe in 1985 when she finished in 13:28. On Saturday,
October 30, several hundred state athletes will try their best for those
special performances as they vie for individual and team honors at the
CIAC Divisional Championships.
In the Girls Championships, the only individual champions returning from
last season are junior Amie Schumacher of Holy Cross in the first race
of the day in the Girls Class M (she won the Class MM and Open titles
last year) and sophomore Christina Wells of Shepaug Valley in the Class
S race. Divisional teams who will have to work hard to defend their
titles include Fairfield-Warde in LL, Ridgefield in L, runner-up
Guilford in MM (East Lyme, last year's MM champion moves to L), Joel
Barlow in the M race, Lyman Memorial in SS and Portland in the S race.
In the Boys Championships, only Jacob Edwards of Wheeler returns to
defend his Class S title, the other five races are wide open and
competitive. The team races last year were exciting with these teams
returning to defend their titles: New Milford in LL, Guilford in
L, Ledyard in MM, Tolland in M, runner-up Haddam-Killingworth in SS
(Griswold moves up to the M meet), and Shepaug Valley in Class S.
Click to View and
Print Your CIAC
Divisional Championship Guide and Course Maps...
CIAC Divisional Championships on the Horizon...
(Oct 26, 2004) With their conference
championships behind them, athletes and teams are now focused on the
CIAC Cross Country Divisional Championships scheduled for Saturday,
October 30 at Wickham Park in East Hartford. While the entry lists for
each team have been submitted and posted, the final preparation for each
team continues this week. In the high school cross country season, there
is really not much more physically that can be accomplished this week.
Rather, the concentration is upon mental preparation while keeping the
legs quick and responsive. It's also a week for those athletes who have
been nursing injuries to recover from their ailments knowing that they
are not losing any training benefits. Look for a Divisional Preview of
each race on Thursday.
Click to View
Starting Times and Entry Lists for the CIAC Divisional Championships...
Conference Championship Week
Connecticut Conference Champions...
(Oct 24, 2004) A special
Connecticut Conference Champions page presented by Fleet Feet of West
Hartford is available that recognizes all the individual and team
conference champions from across the state.
Click to View
Connecticut Conference Champions...
All the Conference Championships Results - North to South and East to
West...
(Oct 24, 2004) Once again,
Conference Championship week in Connecticut has been concluded with
twelve meets contested in the past five days. All the meet results are
available from across the state, starting from the COC Championship on
Tuesday to the final meet Saturday at the Shoreline Championships.
Later today, a special Connecticut Conference Champions page will be
posted that recognizes all the individual and team conference champions
from across the state.
View All Conference Meet
Results...
CCC East and West Championships...
(Oct 22, 2004) On Thursday
afternoon at Mansfield Hollow State Park, the autumn scenery was awash
with a sea of extra colors as teams from the CCC West and East ran their
Championships on a newly designed 5km course. For the first time, the
CCC ran a combined race for the CCC East and West divisions and then
scored divisions separately. In the CCC West Championships, the Conard
Boys team captured the team title with 16 points by placing 5 of their
runners in the top 10 places in the overall East/West race. In the Boys
East Championships, host school EO Smith took the team title with 28
points. The CCC West Girls Championship title was won by Hall High
School while South Windsor won the CCC East Girls Championship. Conard
High School also captured the individual race titles as Jeremy
Goldenberg won the Boy's Race in 16:54 and Emma Perron won the Girl's
Race in 19:02 for the 5k course.
A note of thanks to all the race organizers from EO Smith who designed a
great course and hosted a well-run first-time meet.
View Conference Meet
Results...
More Conference Championships - ECC and SCC Results...
(Oct 22, 2004) In the ECC
Championships on Thursday at Norwich Golf Course, Tradelle Ward of
Griswold captured the individual Boy's Race in 15:50 while Norwich Free
Academy took the team title. Beth Kosta of Fitch won the Girl's Race in
which St. Bernards took the Girls Team title.
In the Boys SCC Championships held on Wednesday, Guilford won both the
Boys and Girls team titles; Jay Koloseus of Guildford took top
individual honors while Sonia Haerizadeh of Amity won the Girls race.
View Conference Meet
Results...
NCCC Championship Preview and Regular Season Records...
(Oct 21, 2004) The North
Central Connecticut Conference will be hosting its annual Cross Country
Championship on Friday, October 22 at Windsor Locks High School. The
events start at 2:00 with the Girls’ Varsity race followed by the Boys’
Varsity race at 2:30. The meet concludes with the Girls’ JV race at
3:00 and Boys’ JV at 3:30.
Click to Read Full
Story...
A Letter
to My Readers...
(Oct 21, 2004) When I had
thought of the idea to start a weekly team cross country ranking before
the 2004 Cross Country season started it seemed to be a good one. All I
needed to do was to take results of weekly conference meets that were
submitted, mix in the usual weekend invitational, calculate the rankings
based upon a weighted system and then publish the results. I even
enlisted the support of a local business, Fleet Feet of West Hartford,
to help the weekly effort with a free running shirt promotion. How hard
could it be?
Well, it's now the next to the last
week of the 2004 Cross Country season and the effort to produce a Weekly
Team Ranking has continued to be hampered by my oversights in the
compilation process. First, I want to thank all those who have sent in
weekly results, many more than I could have imagined and that have been
received in the past. I won't thank those who have emailed obnoxious
complaints.
While the large number of results is a good thing, the lack of
completeness in the results from all areas of the state was a problem in
trying to compile fair and accurate team rankings. Secondly, the
inconsistencies in reporting of complete results, both for conference
meets and invites, also posed a problem for calculating an accurate team
ranking. This trend was noticed over the past week when I was reviewing
the calculated rankings and noticed that I did not have complete team
won-loss records and/or invitational results. Third, the time that I had
to devote to this extra effort was not enough when coupled with extra
personal demands on my time in recent weeks. Finally, add in the complexity of tracking
164 Boys teams and 159 Girls teams.
It adds up to a valid but failed
attempt to provide additional coverage to the Connecticut high school cross
country scene. I will review the process next summer to determine how to
provide accurate rankings for all teams. Fortunately, Dave Smith of Rockville High School and
Harry Geraghty of
South Windsor have given of their time to manage the Weekly
Coaches poll of Boys and Girls XC Teams that is available each week in
your daily newspaper. Their polling of state coaches and publication of
the results to local newspapers has helped increased awareness of the
athletes and teams in the state.
Click to View Boy's Coaches
Poll....Girls
Coaches Poll
In conclusion, I would ask your help to
continue promoting Connecticut high school cross country:
+ Continue to send in the results so that they can be posted -
especially the FULL results of the Conference meets held this week,
+ Conference Committee Coaches: send in the complete team standings
(won-loss records) of all your conference teams and I will post them
along with your conference meet results,
+ Coaches: continue to update your local newspapers with your
achievements this year,
+ Fans: continue to support your favorite runners and teams by attending
the conference meets and upcoming class and open meets,
+ Support Fleet Feet of West Hartford and
click here to see how you
can still get your free running shirt.
Sincerely,
Ron Knapp, Owner-Editor-Photographer-Webmaster - MySportsResults.com
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