Bulldog cross country teams open with decisive wins

It was a great start to the season for the CHS cross country program as both squads recorded strong team wins over Stoughton at Pequitside Farm last week. The girls swept the top five spots en route to a 15-50 victory while the boys prevailed 20-35. The common denominator in both wins were strong contributions from the younger runners.

The girls were led by senior captain Marie Messinger, who finished first overall with a time of 21:52. She was followed by junior Kiara Cerruti, who took second with a 23:53 time, and senior Amanda Duffin, who placed third at 24:22. Rounding out the top five were sophomore Johanna Bouwmeester (24:42) and junior Corinne Campbell (25:34).

Head coach David Hiltz said Cerruti and Campbell, both new to the sport, demonstrated their athleticism and potential to improve, while Messinger and Bouwmeester continued their success from last year. Hiltz said the race of the day came from Duffin, who demonstrated her experience and hard work after dealing with injuries in the preseason. “She raced well and if she can stay healthy and race like she did today, we should surprise a few teams this season,” said Hiltz.

On the boys’ side, junior captain Kyle Downing led the way with a winning time of 18:34, while senior captains Jack Hernon (19:08) and Elias Jabbour (19:41) took second and third, respectively. Other top finishers included sophomore Matt Hart (20:59) and freshman Luke Darling (21:44).

Hiltz said Downing and Hernon finished one-two as expected while Jabbour ran a smart race and posted one of his better times on the Pequitside course. “He fought hard to get into third place and it paid off,” he said of Jabbour. “If he can consistently race like he did today, we’ll be competitive in every meet.”

Hiltz added that Hart had a good time and Darling ran well in his first varsity race. “To come in as a freshman and perform like that in your first race shows the potential he has to develop into a strong runner,” Hiltz said.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Oct 16 2020. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.