SHARE

Darien Boys Aim For Fourth Straight State Cross Country Title

DARIEN, Conn. -- The Darien High School boys cross country team will aim for its fourth straight Class L championship while the Blue Wave girls will also be in the championship hunt in Saturday’s races at Wickham Park in Manchester.

Darien senior Anne Johnston will be one of the pre-race favorites in the Class L cross country championships Saturday at Wickham Park in Manchester. She finished third in the race last year.

Darien senior Anne Johnston will be one of the pre-race favorites in the Class L cross country championships Saturday at Wickham Park in Manchester. She finished third in the race last year.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Darien Athletic Foundation

The gun for the girls Class L championship goes off at 11:25 a.m., while the boys begin at noon.

Darien has won three straight Class L titles in the boys division, and also won the Class MM crown in 2009. Senior Alex Ostberg goes into the race as the favorite, and junior Armstrong Noonan has been a strong No. 2 runner for the Blue Wave. Ostberg is the defending champion in the race.

Darien is not as deep with its lineup as in previous years, however, and figures to have a tough time retaining its title. New Milford, which won the South-West Conference championship, is ranked sixth in the latest state coaches poll, one spot ahead of Darien.

Darien’s other runners on the start list on the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference website are Carter Ashcraft, Arthur Cassidy, Jack Consolini, Jack Murray and Brendan Triano. Darien took fourth at the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference championships on Monday.

In the girls race, Darien finished fifth last year while Wilton won the race. Those two teams figure to be in the hunt again on Saturday. Darien finished third at Monday’s league meet, one spot and seven points ahead of Wilton.

Senior Anne Johnston, who took second in Monday’s league meet, figures to be one of the front-runners on Saturday. She took third in the Class L championships last year. Darien’s other runners on the start list on the CIAC site are Alexandra Barnard, Kate Halabi, Lindsey Holek, Sarah Lehan, Erika Osherow and Amanda Percarpio.

Mercy, which is ranked sixth in the latest state coaches poll, will also be one of the pre-race favorites. Darien is ranked seventh in the coaches poll, and Wilton is ranked eighth. Darien has won three state titles in cross country, the last coming in 2005.

to follow Daily Voice Darien and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE