Cross country: Wilton girls win state title

Written by Tim Murphy
Saturday, 31 October 2009 16:57

After his team finished second to Fairfield Warde at the conference championships, Wilton High girls cross country coach Jeff Gee got down to some tough love.

“I challenged them to be a better team and pick each other up,” he said. “They were a place or two away from an undefeated season and a second straight FCIAC title. I asked if that was good enough for them or if they wanted to do more.”

Last Saturday afternoon, Gee got his answer.

With all five of its scoring runners placing in the top 20 overall, Wilton was able to edge Warde by three points, 86-89, and win the Class L state championship at Wickham Park in Manchester.

The state title was the seventh in school history and the first since 2002. Wilton had finished second to Guilford in Class M for the last five seasons.

“We have a deep team, and that’s what helped us on Saturday,” said Gee. “We were able to run in a pack and negate Warde’s top runners.”

Warde had two runners in the top-four overall and three in the top 16. But the Warriors got a 12th-place finish from Zoe Gaston and then had their four other scoring runners finish in an unbroken pack from 17th to 20th.

Gaston, a junior, had a time of 20:53 to lead the Warriors for the first time ever and finish 12th, earning All-State honors.

“She ran a great race,” said Gee about Gaston. “She wasn’t even on the varsity last year, so that shows how far she has come.

“Zoe was more methodical at the start,” added Gee. “She worked her way through the field.”

Freshman Alosha Southern was 17th for Wilton (21:14), followed in order by Celeste Hoelzl (18th, 21:19), Rebecca Craig (19th, 21:26) and Julia Broach (20th, 21:40). Broach ran despite a severe case of laryngitis.

“She [Broach] could barely speak, but she still had a good race and helped us win,” said Gee.

Both Craig and Broach, Wilton’s fourth and fifth runners, placed ahead of Warde’s fourth runner, Caroline Edison, who was 23rd overall.

The humid conditions affected both Warde and Wilton. Warde’s Meg Ryan, the FCIAC champion, was in first place before collapsing near the finish line and placing second behind Bunnell’s Lauren Sara. Sara won the race in 19:04, 11 seconds faster than Ryan.

Wilton’s Sarah Guth also collapsed several times and was unable to finish. Guth was taken to a nearby hospital, treated for dehydration, and released.

The Warriors were also minus Cailey Fiesel, who missed the meet because of a back injury.

“With Sarah unable to finish and Cailey unable to run, we were effectively without two of our top-seven runners,” said Gee. “It says a lot that we were still able to win the meet.”

Notes: Grace House also ran for Wilton and finished 38th overall in 22:46.

The Warriors will now compete in the State Open on Friday at Wickham Park. The top-six teams at the Open qualify for the New England regionals.

The top 12 finishers in each class meet earned All-State honors.

Eighteen teams competed at the Class L meet.