By Chris Piccirillo, Courier Senior
Sports Writer:
The Indians’ boys’
and girls’ cross-country squads each recently completed seasons in which both
maintained their second-place standings in the Southern Connecticut
Conference’s Oronoque Division and saw several underclassmen make significant
strides.
The boys went 5-4
overall and 4-1 in the Oronoque, followed by a 12th-place finish at the SCC
Championship and then a 15th-place showing at the Class L Championship, the
latter a finish about which Carl Jackson was extremely pleased as every runner
posted a personal-best time.
Three athletes
earned All-Oronoque honors based on their performances at the SCC meet as
junior captain Patrick Hubbell placed 17th with a time of 17:09 to make it for
the third straight season with Matt Kortsep placing 62nd (18:35) and fellow
junior Casey Mackay taking 67th (18:42).
Furthermore, Hubbell
was named the boys’ Most Valuable Player, freshman David Salvo was named Most
Improved, and senior Brian Dagliere—who captained the team with Jeremy
Croll—received the Sportsmanship Award.
“This was a
rebuilding season for the boys, but it was a good season where we were able to
fill some of the voids of those who graduated,” said Jackson, who finished his
10th season as head coach and was assisted by Jerry Munck. “Patrick had an
outstanding year that saw him become the first boy from our team in 10 years to
make the State Open. David also had a very good first season with the team in
which he made massive improvements. Brian is a hard worker who contributed quite
a lot to our success through the years.”
Also graduating from
this year’s team is senior Reggie Li. Additionally returning next fall are
soon-to-be-senior Matt Scarano; Nick Burns, who will be a junior, and Billy
Sieff, who just completed his freshman season.
On the girls’ side,
North Haven went 3-5 overall and 3-1 in the Oronoque, followed by a 10th-place
finish at SCCs, which Jackson
noted as the highlight of his squad’s season.
The girls also had
three earn All-Oronoque honors with senior captain Minyoung Song making it for
the fourth time by finishing 51st with a time of 22:50 at the SCC meet. Making
it for the first time were sophomore Brittany Bendel (38th, 22:19) and
sophomore Elizabeth Hubbell (57th, 23:13).
Song was named MVP
with Bendel receiving the Most Improved and junior Kristin Russo winning the
Sportsmanship Award.
“The girls’ season
was hampered by a lot of injuries, but just like with the boys’ team, they
received contributions from some new runners who showed steady improvement,” Jackson said. “Minyoung
was on the team for four years and was our top runner during that time. Brittany contributed a
lot to our success and had some excellent accomplishments for someone who had
never run cross-country before. Kristin was a steady performer who never missed
a practice.”
Also graduating is
senior Kayleigh Brooks, while Rachel Yen, who will be a senior;
soon-to-be-juniors Maryrose Sola, Kelsey Hegarty, and Thalia Moran; plus
Jiyoung Song, who just finished her freshman year, will return in 2009.
Pictured: Minyoung
Song earned her fourth straight All-SCC Oronoque selection for the North Haven girls’ cross-country team this fall.
Photo by
Nancy Dionne