This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
10/17/2016 12:00 AMThe Guilford boys’ cross country squad features some new faces this fall after racing to the state’s summit last year, but the Indians are still on the winning track toward repeating their postseason feats and have already accomplished one of their goals.
Head Coach Jon Rivera and the Indians took home their eighth state crown in program history and their first since 2012 by handily outdistancing runner-up E.O. Smith at last season’s Class MM State Championship. The Indians had previously won their 10th SCC Hammonasset Division crown before coming in third at the SCC Championship.
Although the Indians parted ways with some key runners from that championship squad, they navigated the regular season quote well to the tune of a 5-2 record entering a home meet against Hand and Foran at the East River Preserve on Oct. 13. The Hammonasset title was on the line and Guilford swept the meet by defeating both Hand (15-49) and Foran (23-35) to capture its second-straight division title and its eighth since 2008.
“I was happy with how we battled back in the race. Foran went out hard, but we battled back and worked through some adversity. I am proud of the guys. They came through today,” said Coach Rivera, whose team went 7-2 overall and 4-0 in the division. “Up next is SCCs, which is a tough task with a lot of top teams. This is championship season every race and performance is magnified. They are a resilient group and they’ve learned a lot. They struggled with staying close together in the pack earlier on this season. Those gaps have shrunk and we’ve been a more competitive team. For those guys that have been hurt, they’ve also been busting their butts to get back.”
Senior captain Finn Davidson took first place for Guilford by finishing the race in 15:44, bettering his personal-best time by 45 seconds. Fellow senior captain Joshua Stern finished third by clocking in at 16:16, which was 30 seconds faster than his best time earlier in the season. Sophomore Rafael Siciliano ran a time of 16:43, Nathan Van Zandt crossed the finish line in 16:44, fellow sophomore Elijah Dillon posted a mark of 16:54, and junior Will Smith finished in 16:55. Freshman Luke Shields ran a great race to win the JV competition in a time of 17:38.
Davidson and Stern were All-SCC First Team and Second Team honorees, respectively, last year and, as the Indians’ only two seniors for this season, they were the ideal choices for the team’s captains. Coach Rivera said the duo has used their championship pedigree to lead his youthful group.
“They’ve both done a great job on a young team and leadership has been more important on the team this year,” said Rivera. “They’ve now been through the process of what it takes to be a state champion, so that certainly helps. They’ve done an excellent job all the way back to the summer,and they also do great jobs as students in the classroom.”
Also returning from 2015 is Smith, who’s established himself as a bigger presence on the varsity roster. Siciliano has been hampered by injuries, but was back in action on Oct. 1 to help the Indians win the Harry Geraghty Invitational in Vernon.
“Will was at the tail end of varsity last year. This year, he’s defined himself as a consistent runner. Behind him is a group of sophomore runners that have done well,” said Coach Rivera. “Rafael has been battling injuries, but he’s the sleeper on our team. He ran his first race at the Harry Geraghty Invitational and he led us to victory.”
The Indians are now hoping to ride into the postseason with a clean bill of health. In terms of the SCC and state meets, Coach Rivera feels that Guilford has a strong shot to defend its Class MM title, while garnering some regional representation.
“One of our goals with a younger team is to try and get everyone healthy for the bigger meets. Our first goal is to win the division and then feel out where we are as a team,” Rivera said. “We also have to figure out our pace for this season. For states, individually, we want to try and get some of our guys to New Englands. As a team, if we get healthy, we will still have a chance to contend for the state title.”
• This is Jon Rivera’s second season as Indians’ head coach.
• Jeff Hedberg is serving as assistant coach for Guilford this fall.
• The SCC Championship will take place on Thursday, Oct. 20 at East Shore Park at 3 p.m. The Class MM State Championship is on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Wickham Park in East Hartford at 1 p.m.