Harwood Union cross country participated in the Northern Vermont Athletic Conference Championships (Mountain Division) hosted by St. Johnsbury High School on Saturday, October 22.
This meet brought together runners from over 15 schools from the northeastern part of Vermont.
“When we arrived and previewed the course we were very disappointed. When racing in the Northeast Kingdom one would expect pristine wooded rolling trails. Much like the Kingdom Trails of East Burke. This was not the case. The race was held on the perimeter of athletic fields. The race course also ran through parking lots and paved access roads that weaved through the St. Johnsbury campus. I don’t think our runners’ feet have touched pavement all season” said Harwood coach. John Kerrigan.
Despite running on a surface much different than what they are familiar with, Harwood runners did quite well, he said.
Harwood girls captured third place among a mix of Division 1, 2 and 3 schools. For the third meet in a row Harwood’s dynamic duo of Charlie Flint and Julia Thurston went one, two in the girls’ race. “Charlie is gaining confidence going into the state championships and Julia is right behind her. They should be fun to watch next Saturday at Thetford,” Kerrigan noted.
Backing up the Flint-Thurston performance was Heidi Haroldsen (13), Maisie Franke (20), Pippa Diller (28), Libby Spina (29) Piper Floyd (52)
“We were a little short-handed today due to illness and injury, Pippa, Libby and Piper picked it up for us,” the coach pointed out.
The young Harwood boys’ team was led by Indy Metcalf (18), Lincoln Gage (23), Quinn Smith (24), Chris Cummiskey (25), Chapin Rivers(29), Cooper Hansel (45) and Tanner Hackett (52)
“Atticus Ellis was impressive in the boys’ JV race finishing in sixth place,” Kerrigan said.
The coach said he was quite pleased with sophomore Lincoln Gage and freshman Chapin Rivers.
“Lincoln has broken into our top three and Chapin had an awesome kick passing several runners just before the finish line,” Kerrigan reported.
Harwood XC will compete at the Vermont cross-country championships in Thetford this Saturday, October 29.
“Our boys are hoping for a top five finish. Our girls are the defending state champions but U-32 girls have to be the overwhelming favorite with several strong team finishes all season,” said Kerrigan.
The top 25 individuals and the top six teams in the cumulative score will qualify for the New England cross-country championships to be held in Rhode Island on November 12.
The schedule for the meet at Thetford Academy is as follows: boys’ Division 2 at 11:30 a.m. and girls’ Division 2 at 1 p.m.
Here is the link to the information regarding the state meet:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lEC8u8XzP5TS6mfYwU-q4x7q8QEjuA8vGkcv4UIVM1M/edit#
