Stratford XC's Colocho and Munoz end Careers way Ahead of Projections

On Saturday October 29th at Manchester’s famed Wickham Park the Stratford High School Boys Cross Country team took part in the 90th annual Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class L Cross Country 5K Championships. It was just three weeks ago Stratford made the journey north to race in the Wickham Park Invitational.

More than twenty-one teams gathered for the 9:35 am start with each team sending its seven best to the starting line.

On arrival most of the athletes were reminded of the particulars of the course.

It is described as a course that covers some 280 acres of gardens, open fields, woodlands and trails, in addition to picnic areas. The course also runs along a natural balcony overlooking the hills of the western skyline.

What runners always think about is the two hundred yard hill known as the “Green Monster”. Most runners use spikes to handle the wood chipped, grass covered, and gravel covered hill.

This morning’s race saw an absolute gem of a morning with sunny skies, temperatures at 34 degrees at the start, frost covering most of the grounds, and no wind to speak of. To add, the backdrop of trees were now at peak colors.

The Stratford seven were positioned in box twenty-four along the starting rail. For Amos Colocho and Ryan Munoz this would be their final high school career cross country race. For Papa Insaidoo, this is his second year in the race. It is Matt Kleszczewski, Max Lilya’s, Ken, and Jace Taylor’s first trip to the divisional championships.

Race officials estimated the size of the crowd to be at four thousand.

Early race projections compiled by Athletic.net, now the official CIAC XC race registration site, showed Colocho projected at number thirty-three and Munoz at eight-five.

More than one hundred sixty runners lined up at the starting line, and with the sound of Head Race Official Gene Waring’s starter pistol the 2022 CIAC Class L race was on.

All runners are tasked with merging into a narrow choke point in the first two-tenths of a mile. If you fall behind at the choke point you will lose ground in a hurry. Fortunately Colocho and Munoz stayed in the top half of the leaders.

Off to great starts were the teams of New Milford and Xavier, each boasting their top four within the top sixteen. At the one mile mark there was a cluster of runners with a race strategy of “drafting runners” taking place.

South West Conference individual champion Collin Walsh, Xavier’s Owen Martin and Alexander Ushchak, Simbury’s Luke Davis, and Newtown’s Sohieb Dissa occupied the first five spots. In the next five spots it was Whetherfield’s Ryan Gagne, New Milford’s Ben Daniels and Andrew Taborsak, and Xavier’s Cameron Nephew and Nicholas Casserino rounding out the top ten overall. There was only a second or two separating all ten runners at the one mile mark.

Staying in the top twenty was Colocho with a first mile of 5:12.

Xavier’s fifth runner, Jack Larkin, sped his way into the top fourteen giving Xavier a team scoring advantage over New Milford.

Heading up and over the “Green Monster'' Xavier's Martin was in the lead with New Milford’s Walsh in second. Ushchak had control of third place. In fourth was Davis of Simsbury. Newtown’s Dissa was now in fifth.

Daniels and Taborsak kept New Milford in the team title contention with spots in six and eight overall with Gagne (Whetherfield) in between.

Spots nine and ten had Xavier’s Nephew and Cassarino in them. Moving into the thirteenth spot was Xavier teammate Larkin. He was the all important fifth runner for Xavier in team scoring.

Colocho held down the eighteenth spot with under a mile to go.

Down the final stretch it was all Martin cruising in at 16:08 followed by Walsh at 16:14. Ushchak in third at 16:22. Davis fourth at 16:30. Dissa fifth at 16:31.

Daniels took sixth at 16:33. Gagne seventh at 16:36. In eighth, Taborsak at 16:39. In ninth, Nephew at 16:45. Cassarino tenth at 16:47.

Clinching the 2022 CIAC Class L Championship for Xavier was Larkin at thirteenth overall with a time of 17:12.

Stratford’s Colocho finished in the eighteenth spot, way ahead of projections, with his best Wickham Park career time of 17:36.

Colocho stayed near the finish to embrace his final career race and also to see where his fellow teammate Ryan Munoz would finish. The two have enjoyed standout four year careers.

Munoz had a nagging leg injury during the middle of the week but kept within the top third of the race and was on pace to finish way higher than his projected finish.

Athletic.net qualified their projected finishes based on each athlete’s conference championship finishes.

Munoz raced in with a finish of 19:02, good enough for sixty-fifth overall, and his best Wickham Park career finish.
Both Colocho and Munoz congratulated each other and made the rounds in congratulating many of the runners they have faced over the last four years.

They remained near the finish line awaiting their teammates that were moments away from finishing.

Next in for Stratford it was Max Lilya at 23:07, followed by Matt Kleszczewski at 26:12, Jace Taylor trickled in at 26:57, and Papa Isaidoo finished in a time of 29:26. Kent Taylor was not able to finish the race due to an undisclosed issue.

Xavier’s Owen Martin was crowned the CIAC Class L Individual Champion.

Up next for Stratford, season over.

Stratford looks forward to the 2023 season with the return of Papa Isaidoo, Kent and Jace Taylor, Matt Kleszczewski, and the return of Raiyan Khursu.