Simsbury Runners Turn In Strong Performances at Wickham Invitational

MANCHESTER, CT — They came by the thousands - in fact, 4,071 of them finished the course at one of the largest, most grueling and most prestigious cross country invitational meets in New England.

They came from four states to compete in 15 different races, ranging from middle school to varsity championship divisions, testing each athlete's endurance and stamina as they tackled the steep hill dubbed "The Green Monster."

For the 35th straight year, scholastic runners converged on Wickham Park Saturday for the annual Wickham Invitational, a great preview of the course that will again host the state class meets on Oct. 29, and the State Open on Nov. 4.

Maeve Daily of Simsbury won the girls' seeded race, completing the 3.1 mile course in 19:34 to beat runnerup Sydney Bagus of Smithfield, RI by 15 seconds. Kayla Greene was 20th, Dagny Edwards was 30th and Annika Hildebrandt was 37th, enabling the Trojans to place third in the field of 26 teams.

For the boys, Michael Kokines was 34th in the championship race.

For complete results of all 15 races, including varsity, JV, freshman and middle school, click here.

Photo credits: Tim Jensen