VTHSXC.COM Vermont HS Cross Country Poll Results - Nov. 4, 2019
Boys Overall Top 10
Comments:
U32 finished the year in the #1 spot by winning both D2 and outpointing the rest of the state in the combined results from States. The Raiders used their depth to place 5 boys on the top 25 All-State team and edge CVU in the unofficial (because the teams do not race directly head to head on the day) “Overall” race. Still it was a rare win, first time in at least a decade at the State race, for a school from one of Vermont smaller divisions to unseat the the perennial D1 powers. After the top spot, the status quo re-established its supremacy as the next six spots in the rankings went to the big boys from D1.#2CVU, #3 BHS, #4 Essex, #5 SB or #6 StJay may yet have the last word as all of these teams will represent Vermont at the New England Championships in Manchester CT on November 9th.
The Big States may have been forced to grudgingly accept the fact that the CVU Girls are a regional and national calibre program but they afford no such respect to the Vermont boys. Vermont boys teams rarely break the top 10 at the regional meet and only one 802 school in the last decade has finished in the top 5. The superb 2016 CVU boys finished 4th at New England’s but a repeat of that amazing run might be a stretch for this years crop of VT harriers? Or will it…..
The final third of the rankings saw D2 and D3 well represented in #8 Woodstock and #10 (tie) Thetford and Peoples Academy. The two D3 teams threw down in the team race of the day at Thetford with PA finally emerging on top by a single point. Its has been a long time since the boys from “MoVegas” lifted the top trophy but it was a good sign for the sport to see a new team win States.
Individually, Henry Farrington dropped an untouchable 16:19. The Essex star had only lost to a Vermont runner once all year (at Woods Trail to Brogan Giffin) and brought out the hammer early at States to make sure there were no surprises this time. In fact, all three boys individual races were solo affairs with Giffin and Waylon Kurts also running unchallenged in their races.These three will benefit in the much deeper and more competitive regional championship on November 11th. Look for Burlington’s Wondu Summa to bounce back and be a factor as well. He is sure to be joined up front by Martisus, Thorton-Sherman and super freshman Servin.
Division 1 Boys Top 5
Comments:
In one of the closest races in recent years the CVU boys prevailed as D1 champions. With several teams being in the conversation at the start of the race CVUs depth and now front runner Matt Servin were too much for the rest of the D1 teams. CVU finished with 5 runners in the top 14 places and all 5 in before any other team had 3 in. The future looks bright for the Red Hawk boys graduating no one from the top 5 and having a number of underclassmen in the challenge race.
Essex finished in 2nd having gone 1-2 in the race. Farrington and Martisus both delivered but plagued with some injuries kept the hornets from the three-peat. Returning several varsity runners and the top non-senior look for the hornets to stay in the conversation next season. BHS finished only 4 points from Essex with Summa finishing in 5th place overall. The good news for the Seahorses is they had a 20s gap from 2-5 and all are returning. SB and St. Jay rounded out the top 5.
Henry Farrington took the race out hard and raced the legs off all challengers in the first 1k of the race. He finished with the fastest time of the day in 16:19. The hard early pace took its toll on some of the other top runners. Brady Martisus finished a strong 2nd position followed closely by Evan Thornton-Sherman. Matt Servin saved his best race of the year for when it mattered most. Wondu Summa rounded out the top 5.
The 2020 season will be returning 7 of the top 10 finishers in D1 shaping up for an exciting season.
Division 2 Boys Top 5
1. U32
2. Woodstock
3. MIdd
4. Harwood
5. Spaulding
Comments:
In perhaps the dominant performance of the day, U32 cruised to their fourth consecutive state title with a 72point victory in D2. Led by Waylon Kurts, the Raiders had six runners in the top 10 and were so deep that their JV team would have also won the D2 State Championship. With the elder Kurts, (younger brother Jed was 4th in the race) the only Senior in their top 14, the future could continue to be bright for U32.
The team race for second was exceedingly close with Woodstock, led by second place individual finisher Riley Shepherd, outpointing Middlebury 95-106. The rest of the division was not far behind with only 33 points separating 2nd place from 6th place. The D2 ranks are young and with all the top teams being reliant on underclassmen, 2020 promises to be another exciting year.
The individual race was all Waylon Kurts, as he returned from a several week absence, to run alone for a commanding 40 second victory. It remains to be seen if Kurts can break into the top ten at New England’s where he earned All-Region honors last year.
Division 3 Boys Top 5
Comments:
There was a lot of movement in the D3 boys top 5 after the state meet. Peoples Academy ran a great team race to take the team title and move to #1. They were led by Eli Smith 6th, Ben Craig 8th but the most important runner was their 4th Joseph Dewan finishing in 18th place to close out their team scoring and help them to pull out the 1 point victory over Thetford Academy. Thetford drops to #2 after the narrow defeat. They were led by Tad Darrah in 3rd and Eamon Deffner in 5th place. Bellows Falls was the big mover going from #5 last week to #3 in the final rankings. They were led by Timothy Salter-Roy in 9th place. Craftsbury held the #4 spot and were led by two excellent performances by 9th graders Cormac Leahy 2nd and Charlie Krebs in 4th. Rounding out the top 5 is Stowe who drops to the #5 spot. Stowe was led by John Lackey in 10th place.
VTHSXC.COM Vermont HS Cross Country Poll Results - Nov. 4, 2019
Girls Overall Top 10
Comments:
The final overall girls top 10 looks very similar through the top 7 spots and then the movement came. CVU holds the top spot for the entire season. With the results combined CVU held a 44-88 advantage over Harwood on the strength of their entire top 5 in the top 17 places. Alicia Veronneau 2nd, Alice Larson 6th, Jasmine Nails 8th, Sadie Holmes 16th and Finnegan Mittelstadt in 17th led CVU to another state championship. Harwood is a young team that continued to improve as the season went on and solidified their hold on the #2 spot. Ava Thurston was the overall champion from the D2 race with Britta Zeterstrom 15th and Charlie Flint 25th helping to power Harwood. Essex stays at #3. Natalie Preston once again was their top runner in 11th followed closely by teammates Lizzie Martell 18th and Scarlet Stimson in 23rd place. Burlington ends up at #4 after their close battle all season with Essex. Isabel Vivanco closes out a great career in 4th place to lead the Seahorses. U-32 was solid all season ends up in the #5 spot. They were led by the junior trio of May Lamb 13th, Shams Ferver 19th and Lana Page 20th who separated by only 18 seconds. In a strange turn St Johnsbury takes the 6th spot by 1 point over BFA St Albans. After the results were merged the Hilltoppers jumped over BFA. This was a heartbreaker for BFA because it was for the 6th and final New England Championship spot. Merrick Hemond’s 21st place was probably the big deciding factor in the switch of positions. BFA had all 5 of their scorers in before St Johnsbury’s 3rd but the high placing by Merrick was a big factor. Bellows Falls moves back into the top 10 to the 8th spot. The Terriers were led by the sophomore duo of Abby Broadley in 3rd and Stephanie Ager in 24th. Middlebury drops one spot to #9. They were led by Isabel Olson in 31st place and followed closely by Mary Ann Eastman in 36th. Rice moves into the final spot after a strong showing in the D3 race. They were led by Emily Bloom in 12th place.
Another great season is complete and only the end of season races left to go. Good luck to all VT athletes at the New England Championships and hopefully many will be competing in either NXR or Footlocker.
Division 1 Girls Top 5
Comments:
CVU maintains its hold on the D1 top spot after winning its 11th team title in a row and 16 of the last 17. They were propelled to their victory by running 5 in the top 7 and 6 in the top 14 of the race. Their 6th runner was in before any other teams 4th runner crossed the line. Essex and Burlington continued their season long battle with Essex pulling out the 60-62 edge for the #2 spot. Essex put 3 runners in the top 10 Natalie Preston 5th, Lizzie Martell 8th and Scarlet Stimson 10th. Burlington stays at #3 being led by an amazing performance by Isabel Vivanco in 2nd place. Burlington had an impressive 27 second spread between their 2-5 runners but it couldn’t offset the strength of the top 3 of Essex. BFA St Albans stays at #4. They were powered by the duo of Caitlyn Dasaro in 18th and Calla Bourdeau in 19th place. They were only separated by .4 of a second. St Johnsbury rounds out the top 5. The Hilltoppers were led by Merrick Hemond in 9th place and Peggy Fischer in 13th.
Division 2 Girls Top 5
Comments: Harwood defeated a scrappy U32 team for another State Championship. Kerrigan’s Army, one of Vermont’s all-time, all sports, dynasties continued to roll at Thetford. Led by D2 and Overall State Champion Ava Thurston(19:19), the Highlanders beat their U32 counterparts at six of the seven varsity positions. Both teams finished in the top six overall in Vermont and thus earned berths to New England’s in Manchester CT on November 9th. With three freshmen and three sophomores in their Varsity, the Highlanders could be poised for more great things over the coming years. Replacing uber consistent, three time team State Champ and tough as nails (she battled painful injuries all season) Senior Julianne Young will not be easy but Harwood has the young runners to keep rolling in the future. U32 also only graduates one Varsity runner so look for them to keep pushing the Highlanders into the 2020’s.
Middlebury narrowly (111-114) defeated Burr and Burton for third place with Lamoille led by second and third place finishes by Meganne Gilmore and Maggie McGee rounded out the top 5.
Division 3 Girls Top 5
Comments:
The division 3 girls had been pretty predictable at the top but at the state meet Rice gave Bellows Falls a race ending in a very close 31-37 Bellows Falls victory. That allows Bellows Falls to maintain their season long hold on the #1 spot. They were propelled all season by the duo of Abby Broadley 1st and Stephanie Auger in 5th. Rice ran a great race at the state meet and comes up just short. They will end the year at #2 and they were led by Emily Bloom in 4th and Anna Senesac in 10th. Thetford stays in the #3 spot after finishing 3rd at the state meet. Thetford was led by 9th grader Abby Egner in 13th place. Spots #4 and #5 are filled by 2 unranked teams coming into the state meet. Randolph goes from unranked to #4 because of a strong packing of their 1-4 runners in positions 25-34 in the race. That grouping allowed them to move into the final team rankings. Mill River moves into the final spot in the 5 after finishing 5th as a team. They were helped into the 5th position by a great performance by Annika Heintz in 3rd place.