Local Runners Fare Well 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, teams and individuals from north-central Connecticut has posted impressive showings.

The Suffield High School girls had the best team finish among the four local schools, placing fifth out of 31 teams in the girls seeded race. Nina Begley led the way with a 19th-place finish, followed by Deana Pileika (23rd), Hanna Englander (47th) and Katie Baker (48th) in the field of 197 runners.

Justin Walch was the lone Suffield boy to place high in the boys seeded race, finishing 13th out of 231 runners.

Ellington’s boys team finished sixth of 33 teams in the seeded race, paced by top 20 efforts from David Clavet (9th) and Thomas Arbeiter (19th). Kyle Fitzgerald also ran well for the Knights, finishing 35th.

Anna Chamberland (38th) and Lia Guerette (42nd) were top finishers for the Ellington girls in the seeded race.

Somers fared well in the girls unseeded division, placing ninth of 50 teams. Ava Roche led the way by finishing 11th out of 369 racers.

Connor Shannahan of Enfield also had a fantastic outing in the day’s largest field, finishing 13th out of 486 runners in the boys unseeded race.

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

Photo credit: Google Maps