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10/21/2017 12:00 AMThe Guilford girls’ cross country team put together a dominant regular season, and so it was only fitting that the Indians’ first meet of the postseason yielded equally superb results in the form of a Southern Connecticut Conference title.
Head Coach Jim Ford and Guilford posted a perfect record of 13-0 during the dual-meet season, while claiming the SCC Hammonasset Division crown. At last week’s SCC Championship meet, the Indians tallied a low total of 40 points to easily outdistance runner-up Cheshire (76 points) and capture the program’s 14th conference title and first since 2012. Guilford featured a pack of four finishers in the top nine, highlighted by race winner Meredith Bloss at the SCC meet, which took place on Oct. 19 at East Shore Park in New Haven.
“It was exciting to win as a team again after we hadn’t won in a few years. Going in, we knew we had a chance to win, because we had beaten all the teams we faced in the dual-meet season,” said Bloss, a junior captain. “It was great having four people in the top 10. For us this year, we had a lot of ability, and the biggest challenge was forming into a team, but we treated every meet with the same importance, so that when we got to the SCCs, we would be more comfortable.”
Bloss won the race in a time of 19 minutes and 17 seconds over second-place finisher Elisabeth Brown of Sheehan (20:13). Senior captain Jacqui Guerra finished third (20:22) for Guilford, freshman Gianna Siciliano came in fourth place by clocking in at 20:24, and sophomore Clara Wiesler placed ninth (20:48). Additionally competing for the Indians were sophomore Emma Bonz (23rd, 21:25), senior Alexis Sattler (39th, 22:21), and junior Alyssa Lent (56th, 23:09).
The Indians totaled a team time of 1 hour, 42 minutes, and 16 seconds. By virtue of finishing in the top 12 of the race, Bloss, Guerra, Siciliano, and Wiesler earned All-SCC First Team honors. Bonz made the Second Team as a result of placing in the top 24.
“We were thinking that we would possibly be able to win SCCs as the season went on. I didn’t think we could really do it until I saw our third runner, Gianna Siciliano, come across the line after me,” said Guerra. “I had been hoping to be the runner-up, but even while it wasn’t my best race, our efforts as a team were what got us the win. We knew we needed to pull off a lot of strong finishes, and it seemed to come together.”
Bloss said that she even though she didn’t finish with her top time in her victory, the fact that the Indians achieved their goal of taking the SCC title was at the forefront of her mind.
“For me, the race wasn’t a personal record, but my goal was to place. The course record would have been nice, but I’m hoping to go for that next year,” Bloss said. “My main focus was to maintain a constant and comfortable pace, go from there, and try to lead from the beginning.”
Next up for the Indians is the Class L State Championship at Wickham Park in New Britain. The race is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28. Guilford will be vying for its first state crown since 2011, when it won the Class MM title.
“Coach Ford has been really attentive to making sure we peak at the right time, and we’re hoping to be in good shape heading to the race,” said Guerra. “We want to continue to improve next week and have made it our ultimate goal to qualify as a team for New Englands.”