Freshmen Lead South Windsor Girls Cross Country to Meet Sweep

The theme thus far for the South Windsor girls cross country team sounds almost biblical.

And freshmen shall lead them.

Indeed, head coach Clint Bowman inherited seven freshmen who were members of the successful Timothy Edwards Middle School cross country team that ranked fourth out of 33 teams last year.

The newcomers’ talents were on display Tuesday afternoon in a tri-meet against CCC North rivals Wethersfield and East Hartford at Nevers Park in South Windsor.

Four of the first five South Windsor runners who finished the 5K course - and, therefore, scored in the meet - were freshmen.

Kaitlin Bakas led the way by crossing the finish line first in 22:12, followed by fellow first-year teammates Megan McAndrew (third, 22:26), Alex Goslin (fifth, 22:39) and Kate Kuzcik (ninth, 24:21). Junior Melissa Jakaj was the only upperclassman to finish in the Bobcats’ top five (seventh, 23:10).

The performances were good enough for South Windsor (4-1) to cobble together a sweep of the meet, with the Bobcats topping Wethersfield 25-30 and shutting out East Hartford 15-50.

Bowman credited several of his young charges for hanging tough and overtaking a Wethersfield cluster of three that could have led to an Eagles’ victory.

“They had a group of runners in there for third, fourth and fifth,” Bowman said. “I just told our girls when they came past that you can’t let that happen or we lose. I said, ‘You have to go get them and break it up.’ And they did. So we ended up first, third, fifth, seventh and, until that last girl came in at ninth, they still could have caught us.”

It was an exciting - perhaps too exciting - victory for South Windsor. It’s also something that Bowman accepts may be the norm this year with such a talented, but callow, group of girls.

“[The freshmen are] moving from 2.1 miles to 3.1 miles, so not every one of them has adjusted yet,” Bowman said. “The main reason the freshmen are up there is that two of my top three runners [Kaitlin LaBonte and Jennifer Gilligan] are hurt.”

LaBonte, a junior who was coming off an ankle sprain, finished 11th overall with a time of 25:14.

“So, until [we get healthy], we live and die by the freshmen,” Bowman said. “I still say we’re going to beat somebody who we have no business of beating, and one day we’re going to lose to somebody we have no business of losing to. And I’m going to say, ‘What just happened? Oh yeah, they’re freshmen.’ So, it’s exciting and nerve-racking.”

With Tuesday’s meet being the only one hosted by the Bobcats this year (an unusual scheduling quirk that Bowman was not pleased with), South Windsor also had an unseasonably warm Senior Day.

Prior to the meet, South Windsor bade farewell to six seniors: Karen Bassilakis, Victoria Cousino, Helen Harding, Laila King, Sidney Kremidas, Elyse Waksman.

Girls Top 11

1. Kaitlin Bakas (South Windsor) 22:12

2. Nicole Varca (Wethersfield) 22:15

3. Megan McAndrew (South Windsor) 22:26

4. Helen Stec (Wethersfield) 22:34

5. Alex Goslin (South Windsor) 22:39

6. Rebecca Stefano (Wethersfield) 22:56

7. Melissa Jakaj (South Windsor) 23:10

8. Kate Lamberti (Wethersfield) 23:30

9. Kate Kuzcik (South Windsor) 24:21

10. Kassandrah Banks (Wethersfield) 24:51

11. Kaitlyn LaBonte (South Windsor) 25:14