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11/06/2023 02:22 PMThe North Branford boys’ and girls’ cross country teams housed only a collective roster of 10 athletes across both clubs with several youngsters, though the Thunderbirds made the most of it all and made sure it was certainly quality that reigned over quantity for the purple and white this fall when they put their feet on the courses.
Led by Head Coach Mike Rabuffo, North Branford boasted a bevy of underclassmen within their dual meets and postseason races throughout the campaign. Yet despite the numbers and experience of the runners, he was quite pleased with the progress made on the path to future prominence.
“The North Branford High School cross country teams had a good rebuilding year, with a young team of sophomores and freshmen,” said Rabuffo. “I had one returning athlete in Emma Preiss, but the rest were freshman or sophomores who ran track, but had not done XC yet.”
At the Shoreline Conference Championship on Oct. 19 at Hammonasset State Park in Madison, sophomore Preiss finished 23rd with a time of 21:56.10, a personal record for her. All of the other athletes in sophomores Sophia Sorrell, Taylor Bliven, freshmen Skye Pancak, Marina Dowson, along with sophomores Star Colon, and Cassidy Navarrete also finished with personal records, headlining a strong end to the season.
The girls’ team finished eighth overall out of nine squads with 205 points, finishing ahead of Cromwell, which tallied a score of 215. Dowson was 40th in a time of 23:47, Sorrel clocked a time of 23 minutes and 49 seconds at 41st, Colon came in with a span of 27:46 in 60th place, Pancak finished 63rd in 30:16, and Navarrete crossed 64th across the finish line in 30 minutes and 31 seconds.
Haddam-Killingworth won the team crown for the girls with a score of 34 points, and then Coginchaug was the runner-up with 84 tallies. Rounding out the field were Hale-Ray (98), Portland (116), East Hampton (120), Old Saybrook (137), and Valley Regional (150).
The boys’ squad was represented on that same day by sophomore Taylor Bliven, who finished 64th overall at a pace of 21 minutes and 33 seconds.
For the Class S State Championship at Wickham Park on Oct. 28, the girls placed 18th as a group with 404 points for their collective score. Preiss finished 27th in 23 minutes and 43 seconds, Dowson was 63rd in 26:21, Sorrell placed 95th at 28:56, Colon saw 109th (32:23), Pancak followed at 110th (at 33:51), and Navarrete rounded out things at 111th by clocking in at 34:53.
Bliven also raced in states for the T-birds and placed 177th for the boys by crossing the tape in 24 minutes and 59 seconds.
“Overall, the performances at Shorelines were the best of the season for many of my athletes,” said Rabuffo. “At states, which is a much more difficult course than Hammonasset, our athletes did well but no one got a PR [personal-record time]. Emma Preiss improved upon her time at this course from last year.”
While each athlete shaved seconds off their performances when compared to the kickoff of the campaign trail, Rabuffo stressed that he was even more proud of the fact that the kids are grasping the bigger picture when it comes to distance running, and taking the time and effort to see eventual maximum results down the road.
“Overall, I couldn’t be prouder of the teams,” said Rabuffo. “Cross country is a difficult sport and every athlete improved significantly throughout the season. To me, I don’t care if the athletes win every meet and come back with medals, I just want to make sure they understand that improvement takes time and can be achieved with hard work. It may not be immediate results, but improving slowly is better than no progress. My preseason goals were to get everyone to improve their times, which we achieved.”
Rabuffo finished his second year as head coach for both clubs and did not have any assistant coaches this fall.
The girls’ squad roster for the 2023 campaign was comprised of sophomores Colon, Navarrete, Preiss, Sorrel; plus freshmen of Dowson, Kate Macauley, and Pancak.
The boys’ roster this season was made up of Bliven, senior Samuel Gott, and freshman William Ianniello.