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Byars Places 15th to Lead Valley Cross Country at Shorelines

It was a perfect day for long-distance running at the Indian River Sports Complex in Clinton on Oct. 22 when the Valley Regional cross country program competed at the Shoreline Conference Championships. The Warriors’ boys and girls stretched under their tent before the races, knowing they had a tall order on their hands with powerhouse teams like Haddam-Killingworth, Old Saybrook, and Coginchaug once again dominating the difficult conference this fall. The Warriors didn’t let that affect their performance as they came out of the gates running hard and didn’t stop until crossing the finish line. The boys ended the day in eighth place out of 11 teams with a score of 207, while the girls claimed 10th with 247 points in the 11-team field. Each Warriors’ squad had a runner place inside the top 30. Sophomore Addie Byars landed in 15th place to lead the girls and senior Ben Toles finished 27th for the top showing among the Valley boys.

Toles ran a time of 18:56.1 for his 27th-place performance. Additionally for the Warriors, sophomore Richard Pittsinger came in 37th (19:22.6), freshman James Diluca (19:44.4) and Jason Montecalro (19:47.4) placed 45th and 47th respectively, while Fred Stino in (55th, 20:18.6) and Daniel Ryan (68th, 21:18.1) were Valley’s other competitors who climbed the final hill to finish the race.

“It was a great season. They all worked hard and we saw a lot of improvement as the year went on,” said boys’ Head Coach Brent Ali. “Eighth place overall is a good finish for us and we had a couple of freshman run sub-20-minute times, which is huge for us. I’m very pleased with how dedicated the kids were all year.”

For the Valley Regional girls’ team, Byars recorded a mark of 21:26.5 en route to her 15th-place finish and Second Team All-Shoreline Conference accolades. The rest of the girls also ran well as junior Corinna Stroeter finished 50th (24:55.8), Annie Brown took 59th (26:06), Lindsey Lent placed 64th (27:08.3), and Monique Johnson (27:51) and Maggie Klin (28:09.3) finished in 67th and 68th place, respectively, for Valley.

“I thought we ran really well. It was a good performance from the girls today,” Valley girls’ coach Chris Allegretti said. “The girls were amped up for shorelines and they ran very hard. I’m pleased with their results. It’s sad to see the seniors go, but we have some young talent coming up, so we’re all excited.”

The day couldn’t have been better for everyone involved, including the spectators, who lined the weaving trails, while cheering on their schools. On many occasions, fans rooted for members of other teams, which summed up the high level of respect everyone had for the competitors as they ran and pushed themselves to the limit in an effort to conquer the course. Valley’s teams represented their school well and have bright futures ahead of them with a lot of young runners who own plenty of potential and room to grow.

“It was a great day. The event went smoothly and the course was great,” Coach Ali said. “I was happy for the seniors and I also think we have a really good freshman class. We have some young talent to groom and we will see what happens, but I think the future looks good for us.”

From the Sidelines

The boys’ final team standings were: 1. Haddam Killingworth (21 points); 2. Old Saybrook (68); 3. Coginchaug (108); 4. Lyme-Old Lyme (117); 5. Hale-Ray (122); 6. East Hampton (170); 7. Portland (200); 8. Valley Regional (207); 9. Cromwell (227); 10. North Branford (244); and 11. Morgan (258).

The girls’ final team standings were: 1. Haddam Killingworth (41 points); 2. Coginchaug (58); 3. Old Saybrook (105); 4. Hale-Ray (125); 5. East Hampton (144); 6. Lyme-Old Lyme (149); 7. Portland (175); 8. Morgan (195); 9. Cromwell (242); 10. Valley Regional (247); and 11. North Branford (287).