E.O. Smith Girls Capture Cross Country Team Title; Boys 2nd In MM

MANCHESTER, CT — A quick glance at the individual results of Friday's Class L girls cross country championship race at Wickham Park would make one believe New Milford had blown away the field, placing its first four runners in the top 11. However, cross country is a sport where the top five runners count, plus two more may cause displacements, which is exactly what enabled E.O. Smith to emerge with the team title.

Led by an eighth-place showing by Miranda Graves, the Panthers had their next four finishers within a 10-runner span to compile 76 points, four better than runner-up Guilford. New Milford's fifth runner was 64th, dropping the Green Wave into third.

Yuria Yamamoto (13), Elizabeth Rose (14), Jayden Stygar (19) and Bridget Olson (22) all played a major role in securing E.O. Smith's first Class L championship since 2015, and 10th state title since 1990.

The Panthers advance as a team to the State Open on Nov. 2 at 2:45 p.m., also at Wickham Park.

Full results of the Class L girls race are available here.

E.O. Smith took second in the boys Class MM race, compiling 118 points to 53 for champion East Lyme. Top 20 performers were Keegan Santasiere (6), Cory Bill (11) and William Delaney (18).

Complete MM boys results are available here.

Photo credits: Tim Jensen

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