NHS Cross Country Teams Eighth In State Race

Newtown High School’s girls’ and boys’ cross country teams both earned eighth place finishes at the October 29 Class LL state cross country championships at Wickham Park in Manchester. The boys had a runner-up finish with top competitor Jake Feinstein crossing the finish line of the 5K (3.1 mile) course in 16:10, behind winner Connor Rog of Fairfield Prep, who finished in 15:50.

Feinstein had a pace of 5:13 compared to Rog’s 5:07. Prep won the boys’ meet with 81 points and Newtown scored 188. There were 21 teams and 163 boys’ runners from the state’s largest schools on hand for the meet.

Newtown’s second fastest finisher was Dieter Gutbrod, who placed 31st in 17:05; Pat Sullivan was 49th in 17:24; Jordan Hensel came in 54th in 17:27; Mitchell Russo was 56th in 17:28; Paul Mangiafico finished in 84th in 17:46; and Palmer Lintz was 95th in 17:53.

In the girls’ race, Ridgefield won the battle of 23 teams comprising 159 runners, with a score of 83. Newtown compiled 191 points, led by Katie Burns who placed 20th in a time of 20:27. Teammate Brianne Moulder was 34th in 20:50; Hannah Schwartz was 43rd in 21:09; Erin Begg came in 45th in 21:13; Jenny vanVeen placed 53rd in 21:25; Reagan Cerney was 55th in 21:35; and Kristen Degirolamo came in 94th in 22:32.

The top five placements are added up to determine each team’s score. Some of the individual placements do not add up to team scores because time placements are factored in. For example, ties between athletes result in shared individual scores, but alter the following finisher’s overall placements. For a complete list of scores, visit www.casciac.org.

The State Open races, featuring the best runners from all class sizes, are scheduled to be held at Hammonasset State Park in Madison on November 8.