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STAMFORD, Conn. Westhill junior Nicole Ambrosecchio finished second to lead the Vikings to a fourth place team finish Monday in the league cross country championships at Waveny Park in New Canaan.
Ambrosecchio covered the 4-kilometer course in 15:00, five seconds behind winner Abby Markowitz of Greenwich in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference event. Westhills Claire Howlett finished fifth in 15:50, and freshman teammate Alison Ambrosecchio was 14th in 15:42. Isabelle Yick, a freshman, finished 32nd in 16:19 and sophomore Ria Baldoz was 47th in 16:57 to complete Westhills scoring.
Nicole Ambrosecchio and Howlett were part of a tight lead pack that hung together through the first two miles of the race. With about 800 meters remaining, Markowitz and Ambrosecchio emerged from a trail in the woods as the leaders. Markowitz surged ahead and held on to finish the season undefeated against league opponents.
The meet was still encouraging for Westhill and its lineup of underclassmen. Westhill finished 11-6 during the regular season, but on Monday it outran several teams that it lost to during the regular season, including Darien and Fairfield Warde.
In the boys race, Westhills Sam Lagasse had strong ninth-place finish, covering the 5k course in 16:45. Westhills boys finished 14th, while Stamford finished 15th. Zachary Arpaio led the Black Knights, finishing in 19:11. Stamfords girls finished 14th, with Lauren Beadle (80th) their top runner.
Westhills runners will compete in the Class LL championships Saturday at Wickham Park in Manchester. The boys race goes off at 1 p.m., and the girls begin at 1:30. Complete results of the FCIAC meet are available on clubct.org.
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