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09/23/2017 12:00 AMThe Guilford boys’ cross country team claimed the silver medal at last year’s Class MM State Championship. Behind several veteran leaders and a few underclass upstarts, the Indians have stormed out to a speedy start in the 2017 season and are determined to make another run for the gold.
Head Coach Jon Rivera and the Indians finished with regular season record of 7-2 in 2016, capturing their second straight SCC Hammonasset Division title, which makred their eighth since 2008. Guilford then finished in sixth place at the SCC Championship and came in second place behind Barlow in the Class MM State Championship. The Indians graduated two All-State runners from that team—Finn Davidson and Joshua Stern—although they haven’t skipped a beat during the early goings of the current campaign. Last week, Guilford hosted Cheshire, Sheehan, and Hillhouse for a quad-meet on Sept. 19 and swept the meet to improve to 6-0 with a record of 2-0 in the Hammonasset Division.
“Coming into this year, we lost our top two guys from last year, so we had to scale back our goals a little bit and take it one step at a time,” Coach Rivera said. “Our record is solid, and we still hope to be a competitor in the Class MM meet. We had a good early season test with Cheshire. The SCC is loaded, and we won’t catch teams like Xavier, Fairfield Prep, and Amity, but we want to make a run in Class MM, hopefully.”
Seniors Will Smith and Brendan O’Callahan are the Indians’ captains this fall. Coach Rivera said both athletes set a great example for their teammates with their desire to leave it all out on the course every day.
“Will isn’t our No. 1 runner, but he works hard and will give an all-out effort each day. It’s his sport, and he sells it to the other guys. He makes it fun and leads by example,” said Rivera. “Brendan had success his freshman year, but then he had injuries his sophomore and junior years. He’s very organized, intelligent, and productive. He brings a lot to the team with his core work and conditioning.”
Guilford’s top runner, junior Elijah Dillon, returns to the lineup this season, while senior Brennan Kaisen and sophomore Ben Crair are in their first years with the team. The Indians are also showing glimpses into a bright future with the freshman tandem of Reese Puchalski and Evan Ghoreyeb.
“Elijah has made a huge progression from his sophomore year to this season. Brennan has had a tremendous year,” said Rivera. “Ben is our No. 3 or 4 runner, and he’s only going to get better. Reese and Evan have done great. It could’ve been seen as a rebuilding year for us, but these guys have been strong.”
In last week’s action, Guilford broke a 28-28 deadlock with Cheshire by winning the tiebreaker, because the Indians’ sixth-place runner, Puchalski, bested the Rams’ sixth-place finisher by recording a time of 17 minutes and 20 seconds. The Indians also defeated Hillhouse (18-45) and Sheehan (21-40) at the meet. Dillon finished fourth overall for the 2.9-mile course by running a 16:42, Kaisen finished fifth in 16:42.4, while O’Callahan (17:00), Crair (17:05), Smith (17:08), and Puchalski rounded out the results for the Indians.
Staying away from the injury bug will prove a pivotal factor in terms of how far Guilford can go this fall. Coach Rivera said the Indians’ athletes will look to earn their wings and mature as a unit as the season progresses in the mission to make their mark in the postseason.
“Our goals are to simply stay healthy and get guys experiences in races, and then we will get better,” Rivera said. “We can surprise ourselves and build up our confidence by showing they can compete with some other schools. We want to build up that experience and try to improve. We want to try and be a top five or six team at SCCs and maybe try for fourth.”
From the Sidelines
This is Jon Rivera’s third season as head coach of the Guilford boys’ cross country team.
Jeff Hedberg is the Indians’ assistant coach this year.
The SCC Championship takes place at East Shore Park on Thursday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. The Class MM State Championship meet will be held on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 a.m. at Wickham Park.
This season, the Indians are aiming for their fourth Class MM state crown since 2010. Guilford has claimed Class L state titles in 1986, 2003, and 2004, as well as Class L state titles in 2005, 2010, 2012, and 2015.