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10/30/2023 02:31 PMAt the Shoreline Conference Championship on Oct. 19 at Hammonasset State Park, the Valley Regional boys’ cross country team finished in ninth place among 10 squads with 234 points. The Warriors were led at the front by senior Zachary Scott, who paced himself to 23rd for the overall race with a time of 17 minutes and 46 seconds.
Also taking part and placing for the boys were sophomore Oliver Proctor in 49th (19:47), freshman Jonathon Howley at 53rd (20:00), senior Aiden Babek right behind at 54th place in 20:10, in 55th was classmate Avi Siegel (20:11), and junior Lyle Pitman (57th, 20:14).
H-K also took the boys’ crown with 35 points to win out over second place Hale-Ray (79 points) and Old Saybrook in third with 80. Rounding out the field for squad scores on the boys’ slate were fourth-place Portland with 105 tallies, Cromwell at fifth (112), East Hampton in the sixth position (124), Old Lyme at seventh (194), Coginchaug was eighth (197 points), the Warriors claimed ninth (234), and Morgan was 10th (279).
“The boys’ team ran great at Shorelines, led by Zachary Scott who finished 23rd overall in the tough Shoreline Conference,” said Head Coach Brian Drinkard. “All of the runners have been training well all season and finished with personal best times at Shorelines. They all had individual goals and race strategies that were carried out nicely on Thursday.”
For the girls’ squad, it finished seventh with a collective score of 150 points for its efforts. Junior Holly Board was the first finisher for the Warriors by coming in 16th, clocking in at 20 minutes and 58 seconds, to earn Second Team All-Shoreline honors by placing in the top 20. Sophomore Sadie Iselin followed in 31st for a time of 22:33. Rounding out the day for Valley were junior Campbell Massey (35th, 22:56), sophomore Rowan Herlihy in 38th (23:35), sophomore Sonya Xaypanya (46th, 24:13), and senior captain Morgan Toth (57th, 27:02).
The final team standings for the girls’ competition beyond champion Haddam-Killingworth with its 34 points and runner-up Coginchaug (84 points) were Hale-Ray in third with 98 points, Portland found fourth with a score of 116, East Hampton came in fifth (120), Old Saybrook saw sixth (137), Valley finished seventh (150), North Branford tallied 205 to place eighth, and Cromwell was ninth with 215 points.
“The girls’ team was helped this year by the addition of Holly Board and Sadie Iselin,” said girls’ Head Coach Chris Allegretti, who coaches alongside Drinkard with both squads. “Overall, they are a young group, with all returning next year except Morgan Toth, and look to improve individually, as well as a team.”
At the Class SS State Championship on Oct. 28 at Wickham Park, the girls’ team placed 14th for the competition with a score of 330. New Fairfield took the top spot with a tally of 55 points for its collective efforts.
Board raced to 24th place with a time of 22 minutes and 52 seconds, Iselin was next to run through the final tape at 35th in 23:37, Massey then followed in 77th place at 26:14, Xaypanya was 85th with a time of 26:54, and Toth rounded out the day for the Warriors in 109th by clocking in at 29:47.
On the boys’ slate for the same Class SS competition, it placed 16th overall with a team total of 461 points. Meanwhile, the boys’ crown went to Rocky Hill with its 50 points.
Senior Zackary Scott headed off the day for Valley by finishing 48th place in 19:44, Proctor was then 85th in 21:07, freshman Jonathon Howley found 95th for a run of 21:38, senior Aidan Babek finished 115th at 22:20, Pitman raced to 118th (22:21), and Stack was 126th in 22:45.
Regardless of how the campaign panned out in the postseason, the Warriors can look back upon this campaign and review it through a prism of pride, as they shined a strong light on the program and proved that the future is quite bright for Valley.
“It has been a great season as a team. The group has really pushed each other in practice and at meets, and the cohesive group is very supportive of each other, led by captains Avi Siegel and Elliott Stack,” said Drinkard. “It was our goal to get the team working together, and this season more than any other previous season, they achieved this goal.”
The boys’ squad’s roster is comprised of seniors Scott, Babek, Siegel, Stack; juniors Pitman, Andrew Thomas; sophomores of Jacob Merola, Proctor; and freshmen with Noah Rivera, and Howley.
The girls’ team’s roster includes seniors of Toth; juniors Board, Massey; plus sophomores Xaypanya, Iselin, and Herlihy.