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10/29/2017 12:00 AMWhat more could be said about the postseason dominance of the Haddam-Killingworth cross country program in 2017? Just one week after its boys’ and girls’ teams claimed their respective Shoreline Conference titles, both Cougars’ clubs grabbed some state championship glory last week.
Head Coach Matt Diglio’s squads competed in the Class SS State Championship at Wickham Park in Manchester on Oct. 28. The boys’ team, the three-time defending champions, notched a four-peat by scoring the low total of 39 points to easily outdistance runner-up Immaculate with 104 points. Meanwhile, the H-K girls earned 72 points to win out over second-place Old Saybrook with 108. The girls have now won three state titles overall and two in the last three seasons. The boys have finished tops in the state seven times since 2007 and owsn 10 total state crowns.
“It’s always great to win a state championship, but this one was definitely one to remember,” said Andrew Meredith, a senior on the boys’ team. “We’ve been thinking about this race all year and to finally get there and put it together was awesome. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to go out in State Championships.”
The Cougars’ boys were represented by seniors Meredith, Daniel Schumann, Jonah Spector, Conor McCabe, Alex Inkel, and Kurt Sodergren, plus freshman Matt Jennings. Meredith was runner-up with a time of 16:40 to Canton’s Maximillian Sparks (16:26). Schumann raced to fifth (17:00), Spector was ninth (17:12), Jennings finished 11th (17:24), McCabe came in 12th (17:27), Inkel finished 18th (17:54), and Sodergren was 21st (18:07) for H-K, which posted a collective time of 1 hour, 25 minutes, and 43 seconds.
In the girls’ race, H-K’s runners were seniors Kelsey D’Amico, Julianne Kelly, Grace Lindell, Lexie Bouthillier, and Margaret Fisher; junior Emma Anziano, and freshman Meara Bodak. D’Amico finished sixth in a time of 20:33. Following her were Julianne Kelly, who was 10th in 20:58, along with Lindell (14th, 21:06), Bodak (20th, 21:32), Bouthillier (22nd, 21:37), Fisher (34th, 22:33), and Anziano (39th, 22:50). The Cougars recorded a team time of 1 hour, 45 minutes, and 46 seconds.
“This was another great win. This has been a goal of ours all season. The win at Shorelines boosted our confidence, but we knew that there were some good teams in our class at states, and everyone would have to do their job,” said D’Amico. “This year, we’ve worked on mental strength and confidence going into races, and I think that showed here. Every girl fought for it, and it felt good that all of the hard work we’ve put in throughout the season paid off. This is only the third time we’ve been able to win a state title in the history of the girls' program, and I think we all feel like we are a part of something special. This program that Coach Diglio built, along with [assistant coach Sean Gallagher], is truly special, and I feel lucky to be a part of it. I think our success is a product of their dedication and the team mentality we’ve had.”
The top eight runners in each race earned All-State status. Meredith and Schumann made All-State for the boys, and D’Amico was All-State for the girls.
Coach Diglio credited the Cougars’ postseason success to the fact that H-K has outstanding kids who are dedicated to doing their best, as well as a group of parents and school officials that support the program every step of the way.
“The biggest factor in our success is the kids themselves. They’ve bought into the program and its philosophy. They work hard and sacrifice for each other,” said Diglio. “All the credit goes to the kids and the group before them that paved the way. The parents have also been very supportive. At states, we had about 50 or 60 parents with the team. The program is a family atmosphere. We also have a great athletic director [Lynne Flint] that supports us.”
Coach Diglio said that H-K didn’t spend too much time basking in the afterglow of Shorelines, as the Cougars got right back at it by training hard for an even bigger prize. Diglio added that a deep talent pool in the conference, along with his teams’ packed schedule of invitational meets, helped the Cougars handle the postseason pressure of October.
“It was a short turnaround. The next morning after Shorelines, we were up at Wickham Park to focus on states. We knew we were expecting tough challenges coming in, but we just focused on running our race,” Diglio said. “The Shoreline Conference is always competitive with great individual runners and phenomenal coaches. We also go out of the state and race in invitational meets against top teams from other states. We look to those meets to give us the experience of running versus quality programs on a big stage, so we are ready for that when we get to states.”
The Cougars will return to Wickham Park for the State Open Championship on Friday, Nov. 3, with the girls’ race starting at 2 p.m. and the boys beginning at 2:45. All of H-K’s runners from states will race in the Open, because the top two teams from each class qualify as a unit. The top 25 finishers in that race will also earn All-State recognition.
From the Sidelines
Rounding out the top five teams in the Class SS boys’ race were third-place Old Saybrook (153 points), Canton in fourth (154), and Terryville in fifth (162). For the girls, Canton was third (128), East Hampton came in fourth (156), and Somers finished fifth (169).
The H-K boys’ squad has now been either a Class SS champion or runner-up eight times since 2007.
The girls’ team was the Class SS runner-up to Immaculate a year ago, beat out Coginchaug for the title in 2015, and was runner-up to those same Blue Devils in 2014. The Cougars also claimed a Class SS championship in 1986.
The H-K boys’ team finished with a 16-0 record this fall to go undefeated for the fourth year in a row, having compiled a dual-meet record of 62-0 since 2014. The girls’ team went 15 0 for its third straight undefeated season, going 45-0 in that stretch.