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Grizzlies Run Their Way to Fifth-Straight SCC Title

The Guilford girls’ cross country team added another chapter to its dynasty when the Grizzlies claimed their fifth-consecutive conference title with a first-place performance at the SCC Championship last week. Guilford scored 56 points as a squad to finish 21 points ahead of runner-up Cheshire when 14 SCC teams competed in SCCs at East Shore Park in New Haven on Oct. 20.

Senior captain Julia Antony paced the way for the Grizzlies by finishing in third place with a time of 19:35 at the SCC meet. Senior captain Olivia Skapczynski was next in line taking seventh place (20:37), while junior Alexa Suchy finished in eighth place (20:45).

Senior Lorelei King came in 18th place (21:35), and junior Clara Laughlin finished in 20th place (21:40) for Guilford. Junior Olivia Kaisin finished in 22nd place (21:50), and junior Ursula Adams rounded out the pack with 24th-place finish (22:04) for Head Coach Jim Ford’s squad.

Kaisin said that the Grizzlies had their work cut out for themselves on a hot day on the trails. However, in the end, Guilford pulled together as a pack and delivered another championship performance.

“[It] was a nice, sunny day, however, it got quite hot around when our team started racing at 1:40. A lot of us didn’t feel like our best selves,” Kaisin said. “At the starting line, we reminded ourselves how much we’ve trained to win this race. We knew that this heat could not compete with the summer training we’ve gone through. This summer was like no other due to the construction for the new track at Guilford High School. We haven’t had our town track since last June.”

Skapczynski was just as thrilled as Kaisin about how the Grizzlies persevered to claim their fifth-straight SCC crown. The senior captain also felt proud about how well Guilford’s JV and freshmen runners performed at the SCC meet. Sophomore Michaela Hogan finished first in the JV race with a time of 22:31, while senior Eliza McCoole took second place by running a time of 22:51. Freshman Inca Muhs claimed first in the freshman race with a mark of 23:51.

“I’m so proud of this team, because these wins truly reflect the work we’ve been putting in to better ourselves over the summer and fall season,” said Skapczynski. “Whether it was doing extra strength training after practice or tacking on another mile during our long runs, every single member of the team made sure to put the work in.”

Guilford has had to do most of its hard workouts on roads and grass fields throughout the season. While Kaisin knows that isn’t an ideal situation, she feels that her team became more disciplined as a result. Kaisin also appreciates how she and her fellow Grizzlies overcame some other setbacks in order to attain the SCC five-peat.

“I got sick with mononucleosis and was out for two weeks during the season, and we’ve had a few major injuries. Luckily, we are all healthy now,” Kaisin said. “All these tough times made us a tough team against others, and that’s how we won our fifth SCC title in a row. We have a drive to work for what we want, and our win reflected that. After all we’ve been through, we have a strong drive to go far in the postseason.”

Guilford’s next meet is the Class MM State Championship at Wickham Park in Manchester on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 10:50 a.m. Skapczynski said that the Grizzlies are looking forward to participating in the meet after no state competitions were held last season.

“We’ve been able to give this season our best effort. It’s amazing how well we’ve done considering the fact that we didn’t have many opportunities to race during COVID last year,” said Skapczynski. “I’m looking forward to seeing how we do at states next weekend.”