Haddam-Killingworth’s boys’ and girls’ cross country teams set some big-time goals for the 2017 season and then gave an unrelenting effort in their quest to fulfill those goals, while ultimately traveling a path toward perfection this fall.

Head Coach Matt Diglio saw both of his Cougars’ clubs post unblemished records for their respective regular seasons. The boys’ team finished 16-0 to go undefeated for the fourth year in a row, having compiled a dual-meet record of 62-0 since 2014. Then at the Shoreline Conference Championship, the Cougars took first place to claim their fourth straight conference crown, their seventh in the past eight years, and 11th overall. H-K then took first place in the Class SS State Championship to win its fourth consecutive state title, seventh since 2007, and 10th overall.

On the girls’ side, H-K went 15-0 for its third straight undefeated season, going 45-0 in that stretch. The girls then won their third Shoreline Conference title in a row and fourth overall. After that, Diglio’s squad took first place at the Class SS meet for its second state title in three years and third in program history. By virtue of their State Championship wins, both Cougars’ squads competed as a team at the State Open with each finishing fifth to qualify for the New England Championship.

Coach Diglio said the latest picture-perfect year for his program wouldn’t have been possible without a cast of self-motivated athletes who held themselves to the highest standards.

“It’s a long process we take. In the preseason meetings in June, we evaluate the year, and they set their goals. It starts there with the dedication and commitment of the kids. It was the foundation of the season,” said Diglio. “We knew the teams would be strong and have potential, but we just had to put it all together and they did that. The newcomers were integrated into the team and became a part of the culture here. The kids deserve all of the credit.”

The H-K girls’ team was led by senior captain Lexie Bouthillier, Kelsey D’Amico, and Maggie Fisher, while seniors Kurt Sodergren, Andrew Meredith, and Jonah Spector served as captains for the boys. Coach Digilo said he felt fortunate to get great leadership from all the athletes in his senior class.

“We were fortunate to have an outstanding senior group with 19 in total for both teams. All the seniors deserve the credit,” said Diglio. “Each of the three girls brought different stuff with leadership. The team had complete trust in Kelsey as captain. She was hard-working and dedicated. Lexie was someone with a great personality, upbeat and positive. Maggie was a great leader in her own right and was a tremendous role model.”

“Kurt was the heart and soul of the boys’ team. He stepped up and did a phenomenal job. He got the guys ready for practice every day,” Diglio continued. “Andrew was a quiet leader and led by example. Jonah was someone who was smart and hardworking. They did a great job of incorporating the freshmen into the team. All of our seniors were tremendous leaders and will be greatly missed.”

Of course, the plethora of postseason prizes stand out as highlights for H-K this year. However, Coach Diglio also expressed great pride about the cohesion and camaraderie that blossomed on his squads throughout the campaign.

“The accomplishments that would be easy to point to would be winning Shorelines and states. We also had our boys’ JV team take the top 16 spots at Shorelines, and then the girls reached New Englands as a team for the first time and the boys for the second,” said Diglio. “Another big thing was the kids and how they came together as a group. It was a special group with how they treated each other and were supportive of one another. As a coach, it was the proudest moment of the team this year.”

D’Amico, senior Julie Kelly, and senior Grace Lindell earned spots on the All-Shoreline First Team this year. Bouthillier, junior Emma Anziano, and freshman Meara Bodak made the Second Team for H-K. D’Amico also made the All-State Team and the New Haven Register All-Area squad. On the boys’ side, Meredith, Spector, senior Dan Schumann, senior Conor McCabe, and Sodergren made the All-Shoreline Conference First Team, while junior Seth Freeman and junior Kyle Criscuolo were Second Team honorees. Meredith made the All-Area Team, plus he and Schumann earned All-State Team spots. D’Amico took first place at the Shoreline Conference Championship by clocking in at 20 minutes and 53 seconds, while Meredith claimed first behind a course-record time of 17 minutes at Old Lyme High School.

For team awards, Meredith and D’Amico won the Top Runner award honors for H-K’s boys’ and girls’ teams, respectively. Matt Jennings and Bodak took the Top Freshman accolades. Lindell, sophomore Christian Uzwiak, and senior Alex Inkel were named H-K’s Most Improved Players. Kelly and Sodergren both won the Cougar Award.

The Cougars are losing a lot of seniors from their recent championship campaign, but Coach Diglio still feels that H-K will be in good shape for 2018 as long as his returning runners sharpen their skills during the offseason and put the same pedal to the metal that they did this year.

“I don’t like to use the rebuilding year term, but it will be an interesting year next season,” Diglio said. “The numbers will be there for both teams. We lose our top runners and leaders for the boys, but we’ll still be very strong. It’ll be a question of how willing the boys are to step up. It will be a learning experience for a lot of the kids, and we’ll see how we can bounce back.”

From the Sidelines

The 2017 roster for the Haddam-Killingworth boys’ cross country team featured seniors Craig Allen, Michael Callis, Tom Catenaro, Jake DiMauro, Alex Inkel, Conor McCabe, Andrew Meredith, Bradley Rakowski, Colin Regan, Dan Schumann, Kurt Sodergren, Jonah Spector, and Shane Williams; juniors James Bruder, Nate Carlson, Kyle Criscuolo, Jonah Freeman, Seth Freeman, Carter Murray, and Tuckerman Wink; sophomores Michael Coleman, Max Cozean, Owen Howes, Nate Petras, Griffin Robinson, Luke Sodergren, Alex Twachtman, and Christian Uzwiak; freshmen Ethan Chester, Fisher Harris, Etienne Huebner, Matt Jennings, Greg Lynskey, Michael Pascucci, Sean Rutledge, Max Singer, Henry Sodergren, Julian Spector, Dan Studzinski, and Eamon Sweeny.

For the girls’ team, their roster included seniors Lexie Bouthillier, Brooke Catalano, Kelsey D’Amico, Maggie Fisher, Julie Kelly, and Grace Lindell; junior Emma Anziano; sophomores Julia Callis, Charli Cancroft, Lauren D’Amico, Ava Lindell, Elizabeth Overchuck, Julia Sacchi, and Alex Zupan; and freshmen Meara Bodak, Gabby Flaherty, Katherine Melgar, Malin Nystrom, Kaleigh Rakowski, Riley Reed, Audrey Sodergren, and Kaylee Williams.