Suffield Runner Captures Third Straight State Cross Country Title

MANCHESTER, CT — For the third straight season, Griffin Mandirola of Suffield High School captured an individual championship in the CIAC divisional races Saturday at Wickham Park. And for the second straight year, his efforts paced the Wildcats in claiming the runner-up spot in Class SS.

Mandirola posted the largest margin of victory in the 10 races conducted on "The Green Monster" course, finishing in 16:06 to leave runner-up Tycen Labelle of Griswold 49 seconds behind. It was the second-fastest time of the day over the grueling 3.1-mile course, trailing just Class L champion Soheib Dissa of Newtown, who was the only runner to break the 16-minute mark in 15:59.

Last season, Mandirola won Class SS by 40 seconds, then placed second at the State Open. In 2021, he was the Class M individual champion.

Four other Wildcats posted top 20 finishes: Nathan Peskin (10th), Andrew Organ (11th), Aiden Hopkins (18th) and Keller Tobey (19th). Suffield compiled 59 points, trailing only champion Rocky Hill's 50.

The Wildcat girls wound up eighth in Class M.