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10/24/2016 12:00 AMFor the second-straight season, Haddam-Killingworth’s boys’ and girls’ cross country teams have each strung together a run of wire-to-wire dominance on the season-long course that is the Shoreline Conference.
Head Coach Matt Diglio’s squads recently completed 15-0 dual-meet seasons and, as expected, they were heavy favorites heading into the Shoreline Conference Championship meet at Totoket Park in North Branford on Oct. 20. For the second year in a row, both Cougars’ clubs secured first place in their respective competitions to once again reign atop the league—marking the boys’ third-straight conference crown, their sixth title in the last seven years, and their 10th overall. For the girls, it was the fourth time that HK prevailed at the conference championship.
“Winning Shorelines two years in a row is an experience we will never forget. As a senior tri-captain, it was a great way to end my Shoreline Conference career,” said Lizzie Early, a senior on the girls’ team. “I am proud of all the girls both on and off the course. We all put in the hard work, kept each other positive, and we’re glad it paid off. Winning Shorelines was one of our goals this season. We wanted to win two years in a row, just like the [girls’ team] in 1986 and 1987 did. When we realized we had officially won, we were so excited that we cried tears of joy.”
The HK boys tallied a low total of 34 points to outpace runner-up Old Saybrook (65 points) and had a total team time of 1 hour, 27 minutes, and nine seconds. Meanwhile, the girls notched a score of 38 to push past second-place Coginchaug (69) and clocked in with a collective time of 1:42:22.
“It feels pretty good. Seeing my team succeed is my main drive throughout the season. After injuries, knowing that your hard work paid off naturally feels amazing,” said senior boys’ captain Doug Brown. “The juniors on our team are really talented and I hope to see them succeed next year as leaders.”
For the boys, junior Dan Schumann won the race in a time of 16 minutes and 34.6 seconds, narrowly besting runner-up Peter Schulten of Coginchaug (16:38.50). Following him for the Cougars were junior Andrew Meredith in third (16:41.40), junior Jonah Spector at fifth (17:24.50), senior Noah Miller in 11th (18:07.90), Brown at 14th (18:21.10), junior Conor McCabe in 16th (18:31.40), and sophomore Kyle Criscuolo in 19th place at 18:42.20.
“I thought the race went well. The goal of the boys’ team was to, above all else, win as a team. We also wanted to defend the individual title,” said Schumann. “Andrew Meredith, Jonah Spector, and I all knew we would be up there in the lead pack. We just wanted the individual title to fall on an HK runner. I t just worked out well for me and I came out with the win. Any of those guys could’ve come away with it. Coming in first was icing on the cake for me, but the team win was the most important. It was a good day for HK cross country across the board.”
On the girls’ side, HK’s top finisher in junior Kelsey D’Amico (20:12.60), who finished second to Hale-Ray’s Emily Sienna (18:58.10). Elsewhere, fellow junior Lexie Bouthillier was third (20:19.80), Early (20:49.10) was eighth, sophomore Emma Anziano raced to 13th (20:59.60), junior Julie Kelly followed in 14th (21:00.90), junior Grace Lindell paced herself to 26th (22:24.80), and junior Maggie Fisher came in 29th (22:33.10).
“It means a lot to win Shorelines again. The kids and I set goals at the beginning of June, both performance-based and team-based. Going 15-0 and winning Shorelines were both goals. It says a lot of about the work ethic and the mentality of the teams,” said Coach Diglio. “One of the things the boys are known for is finishing in a pack and we really tried to focus on that this year. We didn’t do great with it today, but Dan and Andrew did a fantastic job. We did what we had to do, but hopefully, we learned from the performance today. The girls, though, did a fantastic job finishing in a pack. Our first and fifth finishers were separated by less than a minute. They worked hard all year and they had an outstanding race for all seven runners.”
Joining second-year captain Brown in the captains’ chair for the HK boys this year are fellow senior classmates Ryan MacLeod and Miller. Their female counterparts for the 2016 campaign are Early, D’Amico, and senior JV runner Sarah Winner.
“Doug has been a leader since day one since he was a freshman. He’s a very hard worker who has the other boys respect. He’s an extension of me as a coach. Ryan has matured a lot over the past year. He’s stepped into a leadership role and has been the top guy on JV. Noah has made unbelievable improvements as a runner from freshman year to now and he’s getting more and more confidence,” said Coach Diglio. “Lizzie was our [sixth or seventh] runner last year, but she’s been a solid rock that the younger girls can go to. Kelsey has stepped up into our No. 1 slot and always pushes the pace in practice. Sarah has taken the lead on JV and she makes sure the girls are warmed up.”
Both sets of Cougars next set their sights on repeating as Class SS champions at the state meet on Saturday, Oct. 29. Still, Coach Diglio doesn’t necessarily think of it as a title defense because he knows that each season and every team is unique to the one that preceded it.
“For the boys, they should be one of the favorites, but every team is a totally new group and experience. We see Coginchaug again and Canton should be good, as well, but if we run our race, then we should be in good shape,” said Diglio. “For the girls, they have a tougher road. Immaculate, who is ranked fifth in the state, moved up to SS and are the favorites. We could make it interesting, along with Coginchaug, Old Saybrook, and Canton.”
From the Sidelines
Rounding out the top five teams in the boys’ field at the Shoreline Conference championship, Hale-Ray was third with 119 points, Coginchaug placed fourth (121), and in fifth was Old Lyme (132). For the girls, Old Saybrook was third (71), Old Lyme finished fourth (100), and finishing fifth was Hale-Ray (152).
Earning All-Shoreline Conference honors for the Cougars’ boys were Dan Schumann and Jonah Spector (First Team), along with Noah Miller, Doug Brown, Conor McCabe, and Kyle Criscuolo (all on the Second Team). For the girls, those distinctions went to Kelsey D’Amico, Lexie Bouthillier, and Lizzie Early (First Team), plus Emma Anziano, and Julie Kelly (Second Team).
This is Matt Diglio’s 11th year as head coach of HK cross country and he’s assisted by Sean Gallagher.
The Class SS State Championship takes place on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Wickham Park with the boys’ race at 10:20 a.m. and the girls getting things going at 10:50 a.m.