Harwood Girls XC eyes upset at New England’s today
Nov. 13, 2021
Senior Ava Thurston leads the pack at the state Division II championship meet. Her first-place finish led the team to take top honors. Photo by Ann Zetterstrom
Harwood Girls XC runners have a chance to make Vermont and school history today when they take to the trails at Thetford Academy in the New England Cross Country Championships.
On Saturday, October 30, Harwood Girls XC won the Vermont Division 2 state championship and qualified for today’s regional elite competition.
The New England Cross Country Championships brings the top six teams and 25 individual runners from five of the six New England states (Massachusetts does not attend) together for a 5K race. The site rotates among the competing states and it returns to Vermont this year after being cancelled due to COVID-19 in 2020.
Over 300 runners and thousands of spectators will line the trails and fields of the challenging John Morton-designed 5 K course at Thetford Academy.
Coach John Kerrigan has had dozens of teams and individuals qualify for this elite race but he said he believes that this 2021 girls team may be the best ever.
“I have never seen a team as talented as these girls,” said the two-time All-American coach. “We have all the parts in place. Ava Thurston is an awesome lead runner (fifth at the 2019 New England’s as a sophomore). “I know she will fight hard for every place to help her teammates gain a solid team finish.”
Britta Zetterstrom, Hazel Lillis and Ava Thurston check the results screen after their race at the state meet. Photo by Ann Zetterstrom
Following Ava is Britta Zetterstrom who just finished fifth at the elite Vermont Meet of Champions. Julia Thurston, Charlie Flint and Elisa Clerici give Harwood depth for a possible podium finish at New England’s. Freshman Celia Wing and Senior Caelyn McDonough provide added security in the six and seven positions. Clerici has been a great addition to our team. “Not only does she close the gap on our fourth runner, but she is also such a fun person to be with,”said Ava Thurston who is hosting the Italian exchange student. “She filled the time gap but also provides a competitive spirit only seen in the fiercest competitors. She immediately bonded with all of us and has given us the shot in the arm we needed during this past covid-plagued year.”
The highest finish by a Harwood girls team was 10th in 1989. Harwood boys finished seventh in back-to-back performances in 1999 and 2000.
“This girls team has the potential to be Harwood’s best ever. In 40+ years of coaching across three varsity sports (boys and girls Nordic, track & field, and cross country), they are the best team I have ever coached,” Kerrigan said. “They have the potential to reach the podium at New England’s. A coach gets a team like this once in a lifetime. They are truly inspirational.”
If the Harwood girls are to gain a place in the top three, they will have to run down some tough competition.
Britta Zetterstrom, Heidi Haraldsen, Hazel Lillis and Celia Wing take a break following their race at the state meet. Photo by Ann Zetterstrom
New Milford and Glastonbury are No. 1 and 2 in Connecticut. Both teams are familiar with the Vermont course having placed first and second at the 2021 Woods Trail Run. Harwood girls have not raced either team. However Harwood girls beat the Rhode Island State Champions (North Kingston) at the Burlington Invitational. They lost to the Maine State Champions (Bonny Eagle) by one point at the Maine Festival of Champions in Belfast in early October. They have not faced the New Hampshire states champions (Dover) but Dover was beaten by Burlington High School whom Harwood beat at the Burlington Invitational back in September.
Harwood faced Oyster River (the No. 2 New Hampshire team) and beat them at the Manchester Invitational.
“If you only go to one event this decade involving Harwood athletes, this would be the one. We have a chance to make history for our team, our school and our community,” said Kerrigan.
It will be David vs. Goliath. No Division two Vermont girls XC team has ever gained the podium at the New England’s. “We usually don’t have the school population or the depth of a CVU (2019 winners) or a Glastonbury Connecticut (2021 favorites) or a Bonny Eagle to be competitive at New England’s every year. But we do this year!” Kerrigan said. “Our girls have done the groundwork to set the stage for an upset on Saturday.”
The New England Cross Country Championships take place on the spectator–friendly 5K course at Thetford Academy. The boys race is at 11:30 a.m. The girls race at 12:15 p.m.