FAIRFIELD, Conn. The Fairfield Prep cross country team wrapped up a memorable season by winning the team championship at the Jesuit Championships at Van Cortlandt Park.
Prep captured the team championship in the varsity race and finished second in the junior varsity race on Saturday. Connor Rog won the varsity race, while Alec Hilton and James Mulliken went 2-3 in the junior varsity race. Andy Thane finished third in the freshman race.
Teams from throughout the Northeast competed in the race. Prep already won the Class LL and State Open crowns, and finished second in the New England championships.
Its always great to be part of Fairfield Prep cross country, this is just a year full of shiny things, coach Bob Ford said. It has been a long haul. They worked hard for it all year, and they deserved it. We saw three years ago that a season like this could happen. They worked hard to make it happen.
The undisputed leader has been Rog, who breezed through the 4,000 meter course in 12:39.58 and won by more than two seconds. Patrick Corona (third), Christian Alvarado (fourth), Michael Whelan (seventh) and James Murphy (27th) rounded out Preps scoring. Scott Ball (31st) and Brendan Terry (66th) were Preps other runners in the race. They finished with 42 points and easily outdistanced Gonzaga College High School of Washington, D.C.
Rog, who is headed to the University of North Carolina, won the Class LL and State Open meets, and finished second in New England. He will run in the Foot Locker Regional championships Saturday and will look to finish in the top 10 and earn a berth to next months national championships.
The remarkable thing about this team is the way they held together through adversity, Ford said, who lost senior William Schloth to an injury early in the season. Schloth was expected to be one of Preps top runners. Corona and Whelan improved more than anyone could have expected. They had 30-second drops toward the end of the season. I was glad that they were able to hold themselves together toward the end of the season.
Even with the departure of an outstanding senior class, Prep looks ready to reload for next year. Raphael Kinney (fifth), Matthew Scholl (eighth) and Dan Donahue (52nd) comprised the teams other scorers in the junior varsity race. Matthew Rusin (14th), Chris Cashman (18th), Peter Antonicelli (37th) and Chris Forgette (40th) ran well in the freshman race. With such a promising group of underclassmen, Prep is built for the long haul.
Our goal is to make it to the top six in the state every year and make it to New Englands, Ford said. With what we have coming back, thats a reasonable goal to shoot for.
Complete results of the Jesuit Championships are available online.
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