VCMS Runners Shine While Hosting League Meet, 8th-Grader Wins States

VERNON, CT — It was Vernon Center Middle School's turn to host the NEMSAC middle school cross country championships in 2022 and local runners shined again in what has become a showcase sport on campus. A VCMS runner then followed that performance with a win at the state level.

Staged at VCMS for the first time, Coach Nicholas Willette said he was hopeful that his teams could band together and bring home NEMSAC meet titles on their home course. For the past several years the Vernon teams have been no strangers to success. Each year, the teams seem to rebuild themselves into championship material by the post season, Willette said.

"This year, both teams had been beaten twice during the regular season," Willette said. "However, the idea of letting another team take their titles away on home turf was not something that top runners Hailey Morgan and Emmett Kristoff were willing to entertain. They rallied their teammates and convinced everyone that winning was the only option. They had practiced too hard for it to be taken away."

The VCMS girls team has won the past two of three titles and boys have won the last three of four.

On what Willette called a "very wet and squishy day," both boys and girls teams walked away with victories at the league meet. Morgan, an eighth-grader, led the way for the girls with a time of 14:58 over the tough 2.1-mile VCMS layout, which was good for a new course record, breaking the one she previously held by five seconds.

The rest of the scorers on the day were eighth-graders Madeline Maynard and Jillian Liebe and sixth-graders Josie Baber and Kacey Levecque. Sixth-graders Madison Bui and Gracie Kennedy took on the role of blockers for the team.

It was Kristoff who led the way for the boys with a time of 13:21 for the same 2.1 mile course. Other scorers on the day were fellow eighth-graders Oskar Kalneneiks, Andy Glidden, Judge Grey and Trey Jaison. In addition, seventh-grader Jacob Brown and sixth-grader Lucas Hurzog acted as blockers for the boys.

As if being the NEMSAC’s top runner for two straight seasons wasn’t grounds for a successful middle school running career, Kristoff has been on a "separate mission" all season to be completely undefeated in each race he competed in, Willette said.

"Emmett has quietly built himself up over the years as quite a talented runner," Willette said. "He has had really talented teammates in the past to train with and model after and this was clearly his year to shine. Not only has Emmett been unbeaten in every conference match, he also placed first in the very competitive Wickham Invitational held in early October."

In Manchester, Kristoff completed the 3K Wickham course in 10:01.

"This set him up nicely to mentally commit to the state meet that happens in early November," Willette said. "Emmett continued to put in the hard work during practice and on race day it all came together for him."

Back at Wickham on an unusually hot day in early November with more than 400 other boys, Kristoff found himself near the front of the state race and, after jockeying for position, three runners had separated themselves from the rest of the field, Willette said.

During the second half of the course, one runner dropped off and, with less than 400 meters to go, Kristoff slowly made some room between himself and second-place runner Aiden Hopkins from Suffield Middle School. He won by two seconds to become the first cross country runner from VCMS to win a state title.