Weston senior Steven Vento pulled away from the pack in the final mile Saturday to win the Wilton Invitational cross country meet. Vento ran 16:50 for the 3.1 mile race and won by 25 seconds. Alex Spinu of New Canaan finished third, followed by Danny Prospect of Wilton.
"It wasn't expected, but I'm glad it happened,'' Weston coach Marty Ogden said. "Every time we enter Steve in a race he has a shot to win."
Weston finished second in the small schools division behind Joel Barlow. Its five scorers included David Stankiewicz (11th), Noah Krassin (13th), Joey Fitzpatrick (24th) and Jack Curran (26th).
"Some kids stepped up for some other runners who were out sick, and did a good job,'' Ogden said. "What I liked is the kids were running together. It's important for your teammates to pull you along."
Weston has won the Class SS state championship in three of the past four years. While the team has suffered some graduation losses, Ogden likes what he sees as the squad heads for its most important races of the season. "We're coming into our own,'' Ogden said. "The kids are starting to get over some little nicks and bruises and we're starting to come together."
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