When talking about what Connecticut runners did at the New England Interscholastic Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Belfast, Maine, one could quote the Talking Heads song “Once in a Lifetime.”
Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was.
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That’s because Glastonbury’s Lauren Parrett and Griswold’s Tycen LaBelle once again finished third in their respective races. Glastonbury finished fifth as a team, just like they did last year. The girls’ race winner, Madeleine Lane of Hopkinton, N.H., was even the same as last year.
Parrett ran a personal-best time of 17:11.88 to claim third place. She surpassed her previous best time by nearly 18 seconds. Glastonbury’s 195 points put it ahead of Mercy, which was sixth with 260. New Canaan was 10th with 294 points.
In a crazy team finish, Cumberland, R.I., topped Exeter, N.H., 128-129, for the championship.
LaBelle also ran past his previous best time to take third place. He ran Saturday’s race in 15:05.68, which was over five seconds better than the 15:11 he ran during the season-opening 14th Connecticut River Valley Invitational on Sept. 19.
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Other notables
Manchester senior Harper Shirley ran a terrific race and took fourth in 17:16.84, blowing away her previous personal-best of 17:58 that she ran at the 43rd Wickham Park XC Invitational on Oct. 10.
Ridgefield junior Angelina Ruggeri smashed her previous personal-best time in a 15th place finish of 18:00.40. Her previous best time was 18:28.2 at the FCIAC championships on Oct. 21.
Junior Cora Wasiolek was 35th (18:36.06) to lead Mercy’s sixth-place finish. She was able to set her personal-best by .04 second. Wasiolek’s time of 18:36.1 at the 2025 SCC championships was her previous best.
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Senior Sienna de Kanter was 30th (18:25.90) to pace New Canaan’s 10th-place finish.
On the boys side, East Lyme junior Nico Cardello (sixth, 15:19.65) and Stratford senior Zackary O’Toole (10th, 15:24.30) each made it into the top 10 overall. Both Cardello and O’Toole set new personal-bests. Cardello did so by a little over a second over his previous best of 15:21 during an ECC dual meet against Woodstock Academy on Oct. 6. O’Toole blew past his previous best of 15:59.2 that he ran in winning the Class L state championship meet on Oct. 31.
Xavier was led by juniors Quentin Koch (15:25.49) and Holden Hines (15:30.89), who were 11th and 13th overall. Both Koch and Hines ran personal-best times. Koch’s previous best was 15:45.3, which he ran at the SCC championships. Hines’ previous best was 15:37.5, which he ran at the Great American XC Festival on Oct. 3. E.O. Smith senior Gabriel White was 20th (15:33.90), topping his previous personal-best of 15:51.1 that he ran at the Class MM state championship on Oct. 31. Greenwich was paced by junior James Hayes, who was 35th (15:53.68), just ahead of senior teammate Vihaan Kamath (36th, 15:54.19). Both times were personal-bests for Hayes and Kamath. Hayes previously ran 16:03.8 at the FCIAC championships on Oct. 21. Kamath previously ran 16:04.6 in an FCIAC meet against New Canaan, St. Joseph and Wilton on Oct. 13.
New England Interscholastic XC Championships
(At Troy Howard M.S., Belfast, Maine)
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Boys
1. Bishop Hendricken (R.I.), 53; 2. Coe-Brown Northwood Academy (N.H.), 146; 3. Champlain Valley Union (Vt.), 181; 4. Hanover (N.H.), 189; 5. Xavier, 195; 6. Pinkerton Academy (N.H.), 207; 7. Greenwich, 219; 8. St. Johnsbury (Vt.), 264; 9. Barrington (R.I.), 291; 10. Oyster River (N.H.), 356; 11. Newtown, 362; 14. Ridgefield, 383; 17. Glastonbury, 426; 19. Haddam-Killingworth, 527.
Individual results (top 10, top 30 CT runners): 1. Colby Flynn, Bishop Hendricken (R.I.), 15:03.74; 2. Ben Groves, Hanover (N.H.), 15:05.08; 3. Tycen LaBelle, Griswold, 15:05.68; 4. Shepherd Butler, Bishop Hendricken (R.I.), 15:06.38; 5. Ethan Fischer, Bishop Guertin (N.H.), 15:07.04; 6. Nico Cardello, East Lyme, 15:19.65; 7. Benjamin Holoch, Champlain Valley Union (Vt.), 15:22.05; 8. Jason Robie, Pinkerton Academy (N.H.), 15:22.14; 9. William Morris, Dirigo (Maine), 15:24.13; 10. Zackary O’Toole, Stratford, 15:24.30; 11. Quentin Koch, Xavier (CT), 15:25.49; 13. Holden Hines, Xavier (CT), 15:30.89; 20. Gabriel White, E.O. Smith, 15:33.90; 26. Henry Pugliese, Simsbury, 15:44.78.
Girls
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Team results (top 10, top 20 CT schools): 1. Cumberland (R.I.), 128; 2. Exeter (N.H.), 129; 3. LaSalle Academy (R.I.), 188; 4. Hanover (N.H.), 190; 5. Glastonbury, 195; 6. Mercy (CT), 260; 7. North Kingstown, 268; 8. Barrington, 282; 9. Lebanon, 291; 10. New Canaan, 294; 13. Ridgefield, 380.
1. Madeleine Lane, Hopkinton (N.H.), 16:42.10; 2. Alexis Paterna, Exeter (N.H.), 16:51.81; 3. Lauren Parrett, Glastonbury, 17:11.88; 4. Harper Shirley, Manchester, 17:16.84; 5. Nora Schmidt, Portland (Maine), 17:29.48; 6. Brianna Paterna, Exeter (N.H.), 17:30.57; 7. Allie Schmitt, Cheverus (Maine), 17:41.02; 8. Jillian Campbell, Lebanon (N.H.), 17:41.60; 9. Acadia Enman, Mt. Mansfield Union (Vt.), 17:45.32; 10. Addison Elliott, Hampden Academy (Maine), 17:48.60; 15. Angelina Ruggeri, Ridgefield, 18:00.40; 21. Callie DeLuise, Oxford, 18:12.85; 22. Maxine Rothman, Manchester, 18:13.78; 29. Briana Belanger, Thomaston, 18:25.69; 30. Sienna deKanter, New Canaan, 18:25.90.
This article originally published at Connecticut cross country runners shine as Lauren Parrett and Tycen LaBelle take third at New Englands.
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