Local Runners Succeed at Wickham Invitational

It was a sea of running humanity, with nearly 4,000 athletes from four New England states tackling “The Green Monster” - the large, steep slope at Wickham Park in Manchester - in the Wickham Invitational, the region’s largest scholastic cross country meet.

When all was said and done, the Avon High School girls team had emerged victorious in the girls seeded race, compiling 127 points to edge Southington by five.

The Falcons did not place a single runner in the top 10, but used a pack strategy to earn the triumph.

Rachel Martin finished 13th, Ryley Higgins was 14th and Sara Leavens placed 17th to lead the way. Christina Martin (37th) and Caroline Luby (50th) also ran well in the field of 197.

Andrew Suter (29th) was the lone Falcon runner to place in the top 50 in the boys seeded race.

Simsbury competed in the championship division; Joseph O’Bryan (109th) and Solomon Davis (21st) paced the boys, while Maeve Daily (20th) ran well for the girls.

Among local runners, Farmington’s Julia Furmanek had the top individual showing, finishing eighth out of 369 runners in the girls unseeded race.

Click here for complete results from all 15 races, including JV, freshman and middle school.

Photo credit: Google Maps