Harwood X-C celebrates a Thurston top finish as teams take 2nd, 3rd
November 7 , 2020 | By Waterbury Roundabout Thurston Wins VT D 2 XC Race Third Year In a Row
Harwood Cross-Country runner Ava Thurston made it three years in a row being first to the finish line at the Vermont State Division II XC Championships last weekend - a victory her team savored while they took second place in the team competition.
It was the second year in a row that the junior’s time was the best across all three divisions in the competition. She was more than 20 seconds faster than the top finisher in D-I.
Despite her achievement, Thurston said she felt “a little sluggish” for the race. “I was underdressed for the cold temperatures. I think it affected our other girls as well,” the 2019 Gatorade XC All-American athlete mused after the race.
Harwood’s teams didn’t claim state titles this year but they still were at the front of the pack: the girls placed second behind U-32 and the boys were neck-and-neck with Spaulding finishing third..
“It was a rough year for us. We were not able to train as a team until September 8. We were also limited to practices four days a week,” said coach John Kerrigan, noting that this was only the second time in a dozen years that the girls team did not bring home a state championship. “We had only four meets going into the state meet; we usually have about a dozen. Schools have had different rules. Our school put the safety of our athletes first. Which was the right thing to do. Some of our opponents have been training much more and had more opportunities to race,” he said.
Thurston’s first-place finish got a boost from younger sister, freshman Julia Thurston (4th). Other teammates in the 70-runner field were: junior Britta Zetterstrom (10th), freshman McKenna Paxman (11th), junior Caelyn McDonough (16th) and sophomore Charlie Flint (17th); sophomore Maisie Frank (36th).
Harwood’s team score was 1:46:35.4, behind U-32’s 1:46:09 but well ahead of Burr and Burton’s third-place 1:56:51.
Kerrigan said the young roster has strong potential for next year. “With the entire top seven returning, our girls should be a force to reckon with at both the state, regional and national levels in 2021.”
The Harwood Girls line up third overall today at the Meet of Champions St. Albans. Only D-II champion U-32 and 2019 New England XC Champion Champlain Valley Union have higher seeds.
Boys miss runners-up by mere seconds for a solid third
After a disappointing fifth-place finish at the 2019 state championship, the Harwood boys were at the front of the pack last weekend, finishing third in the D-II State Championship meet.
With a team time of 1:35:43.2, Harwood was on the heels of second-place Spaulding by 17 seconds. U-32 with a team score of 1:26:50.7 won the title and swept the top seven places in the individual rankings.
Senior Carlton Cummiskey led the Harwood runners with a 10th-place finish. He was followed by junior Ebbe Lillis (14th), senior Vinnie Spina (19th), sophomore Rye MacCurtain (29th), senior Luke Groom (35th), senior and first-year runner Tyler Silveria (39th) and senior Mason Berry (70th).
“It was a close battle with Spaulding. They had a little more depth. It was their best finish ever as a team,” Coach Kerrigan said. Kerrigan pointed out the team’s overall across-division finish of 10th and he praised Lillis and Spina’s finishes in the meet. “Both of these guys have been coming on strong. They really helped in our team effort,” he said.
The Harwood boys also qualified for today’s Meet of Champions featuring the top 15 teams and 60 individuals competing at the Hard’ack Recreation area trails in one final race of the season.
“Our kids are looking forward to leaving the hills behind and running on a fast course in the Champlain Valley,” Coach Kerrigan said.