Greenwich High School’s freshman boys’ cross-country team outran the competition all fall, capping its regular season with a commanding victory in the Hatters Freshman Championship at scenic Tarrywile Park in Danbury on October 24th.
That win completed a season sweep of top finishes. The GHS freshman boys team also won the Wilton Invite, Brewster Invite and the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference (FCIAC) Championship.
“The future of GHS boys’ cross-country is bright,” says Coach Sean Astle, who was named FCIAC Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year in November.
In cross country, the team with the lowest score wins. Greenwich freshman crushed the competition at the Hatters meet with a score of 18. The next closest team was Staples High School with 37. Third went to Trumbull with 77 points and New Canaan in fourth with 99 points.
At Hatters, Greenwich had six runners in the top 10 out of 48 runners doing the 3200 meter race: Soren Edwards #3 (12:30), James Hayes #4 (12:46), #5 Mateo Grandjacques (12:54), #7 Aiden Towle (12:57) and #9 Iri Pullepu (13:05).
Astle credits the athletes and assistant coach Annette Fiore for the strong freshman performance. “The athletes are as dedicated and determined as they are talented. The freshmen are trained by Annette Fiore, who I believe to be the best assistant coach in the state. When you mix these types of kids with an elite coach, special results can happen,” Astle says.
The story was the same at the FCIAC Championship on October 16th at Wickham Park in Wilton. The GHS freshman boys XC team dominated with five runners in the top ten out of 83 competitors. That gave them an overall score of 20, besting Staples which had 44 points and Trumbull with 93. Top scorers for Greenwich in the 3000 meter race were #2 Soren Edwards (10:21) and #3 Rithik Prabhu (10:36).
It’s been a strong season for GHS boys’ cross country overall. The Junior Varsity team nailed first place in the FCIAC cross country championship on Oct. 16th and Varsity Boys placed third, their highest finish in decades. Top scorers for Greenwich JV runners in the 5k: #4 Murphy Bennett (17:51), #5 Will Monaco (17:54), #6 Leif King (17:55), Michael Yardis (18:07), #13 Shafi Reilly (18:17), #14 Vihaan Kamath (18:18) and #15 Owen Costello (18:29).
Top scorers for Greenwich Varsity at FCIAC were Benjamin Webster (16:14), Dylan Jelliffe (16:21), Ryan Newcomb (16:27), Chase Nizielski (16:42), Quentin Koch (16:46), Ben Hayes (16:48) and Lucas Grandjacques (17:20). The Varsity boys team placed 6th in the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) Championship on Oct. 26th and 9th in the CIAC State Open Boys Championship on Oct. 31st.
As the fall cross country season comes to an end, it’s also the end of the high school cross country career for GHS seniors.
“Our seniors have worked their entire high school careers to build an impressive culture for our program that the freshman runners are inheriting. I trust this special group will grab the torch, run with it, and make it something special of their own,” says Astle. “The entire team is a joy to coach, and one of the great privileges of my life.”
Next up and the last race for the fall cross country season is the Nike NXR Northeast Regional Championship meet on November 23rd at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, NY. Greenwich will face runners from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Go Big Red!
