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Greenwich Academy’s Lily Lyons wins FAA cross country championship; GA places 2ndin team standings; Sacred Heart’s Charley Bacigalupo finishes 5th; GCDS Gisele Putka 7th at FAA championship meet

November 12, 2024

Greenwich Academy’s Lily Lyons wins FAA cross country championship; GA places 2ndin team standings; Sacred Heart’s Charley Bacigalupo finishes 5th; GCDS Gisele Putka 7th at FAA championship meet

By Greenwich Sentinel
Featured Articles, Sports

By David Fierro

**Contributed photo**: Members of the Greenwich Academy cross country team gather with their coaches and around the trophy after finishing in second place in the team standings at the FAA Cross Country Championships, held at Waveny Park in New Canaan on October 28, 2024. Holding the trophy are team captains Casey Duval and Olivia Martucci.

Lily Lyons ran away with the FAA cross country title for Greenwich Academy.

A junior, Lyons was the individual champion at the 2024 FAA Girls Cross Country Championships, winning the race with a highly impressive time of 17:59 at Waveny Park in New Canaan on October 28.

Lyons winning time was a personal record. She earned First Team All-FAA honors for finishing first. The top-10 finishers received All-FAA First Team honors. The athletes placing 11-20, received Second Team All-FAA accolades.

Lyons’ championship performance highlighted Greenwich Academy’s strong showing at the meet, as it placed an extremely close second in the team standings behind Hopkins School. Hopkins with a team score of 47 points, while GA had a total team score of 49 points at the championship meet.

**Contributed photo**: Greenwich Academy cross country captains Casey Duval and Olivia Martucci accept the runner-up team trophy at the FAA Girls Cross Country Championships, held at Waveny Park in New Canaan on Oct. 28, 2024.

Rye Country Day School placed third in the team standings (89 points), while Masters School was fourth (90) and Sacred Heart Greenwich finished fifth (90). Lux Burgin of Greenwich Academy posted a standout time of 19:51 on her way to finishing second at the FAA Championships. Burgin also earned First Team All-FAA honors.

Sacred Heart Greenwich was paced by senior Charley Bacigalupo. Bacigalupo finished third in the competitive league championship race at Waveny Park, registering a time of 20:00. Scout Fishkind of Masters (20:04) and Anoa Dawson representing Rye Country Day School (20:15) rounded out the top-five finishers.

Greenwich Country Day School was led by Gisele Putka. A freshman, Putka had a seventh-place time of 20:22 in the championship race. Junior Isabel Pombo was 13th for GA in a personal-record time of 21:18, earning Second Team All-FAA recognition.

**Contributed photo:** The First Team All-FAA runners, including Greenwich Academy, Sacred Heart Greenwich and Greenwich Country Day School athletes, gather following the FAA Girls Cross Country Championships.

Maggie Finn, a Sacred Heart Greenwich senior, finished 15th in 21:48 (Second Team All-FAA), while GA senior captain Casey Duval was 18th (22:20, Second Team All-FAA, personal-record time).

Aya Ragab from Greenwich Academy, a sophomore, finished 21st in a PR time of 23:08, while GA teammate Natalie Simpson, a senior, was 27th (23:33). Chloe Coviello of Sacred Heart, a junior, placed 28th (23:49).

Greenwich Academy’s Annie McGraw, a junior was 29th (23:54) and teammate Simrin Khera, a junior, finished 38th (25:06).

**Contributed photo:** The Second Team All-FAA cross country runners gather following the FAA Girls Cross Country Championships, held at Waveny Park in New Canaan on Oct. 28, 2024.

For Sacred Heart, sophomore Emilia Oliva was 31st (24:10) and teammate Elisabeth Callagy, a junior, was 35th (25:02. For Greenwich Country Day School, Sarah Goldstein, a junior, was 40th (25:23).

Greenwich Academy coach Jane Finch also credited Priya Marsh (24:17 PR), Maddie Maliakal (26:17) and captain Olivia Martucci (26:22) for turning in strong performances at the FAA Junior Varsity Championship race.