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11/07/2021 12:00 AMAfter winning its fifth-straight SCC title, the Guilford girls’ cross country team rode that momentum into the Class MM State Championship and delivered another banner performance last week. Guilford finished in first place at the Class MM meet, giving the Grizzlies their 11th state title in program history and the team’s first since 2011.
Guilford scored 65 points to place ahead of runner-up Woodstock Academy (90) for top honors at the Class MM State Championship at Wickham Park in Manchester on Nov. 1. Senior captain Julia Antony claimed first place for the race by running a time of 19 minutes and 45 seconds, which was 44 seconds faster than second-place finisher Natalia Kmita of Berlin (20:29).
Antony, who captains the team with fellow senior Olivia Skapczynski and junior Olivia Kaisin, said the Grizzlies were determined to claim the crown this year after no state meets were held last season.
“Going into MMs, we were extremely determined. Winning this meet was something we had been talking about since last year, when we were unable to have state meets due to COVID,” Antony said. “My freshman year with Olivia Skapczynski, we were four points off the title in the Class L Division. So, for us, this has really been a goal for even longer.”
Guilford saw three runners finish in the top 10 at states. Behind Antony in first place, Skapczynski earned an eighth-place finish by running a time of 21:02. Junior Alexa Suchy finished in ninth place with a time of 21:10.
Junior Olivia Kaisin took 25th place by posting a time of 22:23 for the Grizzlies. Senior Lorelei King finished in 26th place at 22:27 to round out the scoring for Head Coach Jim Ford’s squad.
Junior Clara Laughlin finished in 45th place (23:24) in the Class MM meet. Sophomore Michaela Hogan came in 51st place (23:43).
“The race itself couldn’t have gone much better for our team. We were all extremely excited while warming up on the starting line. We created a positive atmosphere that really hasn’t been matched before any other race this season,” said Antony. “In the end, we beat out runner-up Woodstock Academy by a major margin. Personally, I couldn’t be prouder of this team for the race we were able to execute.”
Skapczynski was equally impressed with her team’s performance at the State Championship. The senior captain credits the CIAC for postponing the meet to Nov. 1 due to inclement weather after it had been initially scheduled for Oct. 30.
“It was much safer to run the meet on [Nov. 1], because there was a lesser chance of someone obtaining an injury from slipping and falling in the downpour,” Skapczynski said. “The race itself started out much faster than our SCC meet, but we prepared for the quick start in advance by practicing short sprints in the days before the race. That preparation definitely helped us secure the win.”
Four days after the Class MM meet, the Grizzlies competed in the State Open Championship at Wickham Park on Nov. 5. Guilford posted a score of 216 points to finish sixth at the Open and qualify for the New England Championship.
Antony took 10th place for Guilford by clocking in with a mark of 19:17 at the Open, qualifying for New Englands in the process. Skapczynski finished in 54th place with a time of 20:29. Suchy came in 61st place (20:36), Kaisin finished in 96th (21:25), and King finished in 101st (21:30) for the Grizzlies.
Laughlin finished in 107th place (21:34) at the State Open. Junior Ursula Adams came in 146th place (22:31).
Kaisin said that running at Wickham Park for two big meets last week was daunting for many of Guilford’s athletes, since most of them had no previous experience on the course, but was pleased to see the Grizzlies persevere.
“The course was intimidating to all of us, especially since only three of us have raced it before. But we know that if we are the very best team, we want to have a hard course in order to narrow down our competition,” said Kaisin. “The day was beautiful and the perfect temperature for racing. Because of the rain from last weekend, there were a few muddy spots on the terrain, but all in all, it was a great race.”
It’s been a storybook season for the Grizzlies in 2021. Antony is looking forward to going the extra miles when the team competes at New Englands this weekend.
“We have been able to meet every one of our major goals this season. We won SCCs, MMs, and did enough to qualify for New England,” Antony said. “Two years ago, we were unable to even qualify for the State Open. Now, we are on our way to Vermont to race the best in the region. We could not ask for a better way to end 2021.”