Centaurs capture Haddad-Windham Invitational title
It was not what it was.
But the Haddad-Windham Invitational, once a staple of the early portion of the cross-country season, has returned as it was run for a 42nd time on Saturday.
The Woodstock Academy girls’ cross country team joined Windsor, Ledyard and Waterford to welcome back the event which was on hiatus for several years as the school and its facilities were going through a major overhaul.
“I was so impressed with the facility. I had not been there for about five or six years and I just could not believe it was the grounds of Windham High School. They did a spectacular job, a huge upgrade,” veteran coach Joe Banas said. “Bob Haddad (the former Windham coach and athletic director after whom the event is named) was a great person and to acknowledge that and support the cause was great because he did so much for runners in eastern Connecticut.”
The Centaurs came out on top as they edged Windsor, 34-37.
Banas said he had a good inkling that his team would come out on top as Ledyard was missing its second runner.
Plus, Banas feels the Centaurs could excel in large events.
“I think our team is built for Invitational championship scoring. We scored 34 points in an invite and that’s pretty good,” Banas said.
Freshman Emmie Langevin finished second for a second time in her two high school outings.
She was also runner-up in a tri-meet with Fitch and Lyman Memorial in the season opener in Groton earlier in the week.
Langevin crossed the line in 20 minutes, 28 seconds, just 21 seconds back of Windsor’s Maya Donzella.
“I’m happy,” Banas said. “She was battling a head cold and said she was having trouble breathing but you would never know it.”
Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain placed sixth with Claire Bruneaux in seventh, and Olivia Tracy eighth.
It was a family affair earlier in the week.
Banas said “it runs in the genes” in the Langevin clan and there were a couple on the course at the Haley Farm State Park course in Groton.
Langevin is now a member of the Centaurs.
Lyman Memorial has her cousin, Hazel DeLucia, on its team.
DeLucia, a senior, is also the two-time defending ECC champion.
She took her cousin to school a bit on the Haley Farm State Park course in Groton as DeLucia finished first in 19 minutes, three seconds.
DeLucia’s effort led the Bulldogs to a 25-32 win over the Centaurs, both teams bested host Fitch.
Langevin, in her first high school effort, was second in 20:53.
Not far behind her was another freshman for Woodstock, Bruneaux, who became the pleasant surprise of the day for Banas.
The veteran coach expected good things from Langevin, who was a standout in the Quinebaug Valley Junior Conference prior to high school.
Bruneaux was making her debut in the sport.
“She has never run cross-country in her life,” Banas said. “Claire has only been running for a few weeks and she just has natural talent. Every day we run, she just keeps improving. If you watch her run, her gait is perfect, I would not change a thing.”
D’Alleva-Bochain, who finished in the top 10 in both the ECC and Class MM state championship meets a year ago, did finish second for the Centaurs and sixth overall in 22:26.
Bruneaux, however, was hot on her heels in 22:35, just ahead of Tracy.
Bella Amlaw, Melanie DiPippo and Nova Almquist finished ninth through 11th to make the race with Lyman Memorial close.
Boys’ Cross-Country
It was a busy but satisfying first week of competition for the boys’ cross-country team.
The Centaurs opened with a pair of victories on the road in Groton earlier in the week and followed it up with a second-place finish in the Windham Invitational cross-country meet on Saturday.
Sophomore Lucas Hecker had a day as he finished first overall at Windham in 17 minutes, two seconds.
"He took off, made a great race of it and just did fantastic," coach Josh Welch said. "I don't think we're anywhere near his fastest yet. When he has people to follow and really fight for it, I think it will help him out. He just ran a great race and looked strong throughout."
Hecker easily outpaced Jason Rycerz of Windsor who finished in 17:26.
Sam Greene placed seventh for the Centaurs with Harrison Durand in 10th.
The Centaurs finished second in the team competition to Ledyard, 41-46.
"I'm pretty happy. I thought we would have a shot at Ledyard because we had some kids at the tail end of our pack like Carter Mydlarz (who placed 17th overall) who really stepped up to make it very close," Welch said.
The five-point spread in invitational scoring means the two teams are very close.
They will find out just how close they are shortly as the Centaurs host the Colonels Tuesday at the Woodstock Fairgrounds.
It was one of those days where coaches were trying to do the math in their heads as runners crossed the finish line at Haley State Farm Park in Groton earlier in the week.
Woodstock Academy opened its season against Fitch in an ECC Div. I tri-meet with Lyman Memorial also involved.
The math wasn’t easy as the Centaurs escaped with a 27-28 victory over the Falcons and a 17-42 win over the Bulldogs.
“It was very close,” Welch said. “We definitely had some kids who stepped up and hit some great pr’s (personal records) which was awesome to see.”
The Centaurs were paced by a trio of runner with Hecker leading the way.
He finished in 17 minutes, 26 seconds, just 21 seconds behind Fitch’s Julien Silva who won the race.
Greene was 21 seconds back of his younger teammate with Durand right behind him in 18:02.
“That’s going to be a great combo and I think we can tighten that up even more and we will try and pull Bronson Eddy, our fourth runner, tighter to that group. Knowing that he did not do a lot over the summer, I think we’re going to see a lot of improvement from (Eddy) and will come on as the season progresses whereas the others are hitting their stride already,” Welch said.
Eddy was only 18 seconds behind Durand but finished in eighth place with Mydlarz fifth for the Centaurs in 12th place.
That will be a key for Woodstock this season. “We need to pull a fifth up if we’re going to win more meets this season so we’re looking at Carter and Oliver (Pierce) and others to see if we can get a tight fifth to go with them,” Welch said.
Hecker came in as the heir apparent to the likes of Christian Menounos and Colton Sallum, the Centaurs top two runners of a year ago.
The sophomore emerged last year as a solid No. 3 runner.
“He still has room to grow, a lot of room to grow. He’s going to get much faster pretty quickly. We didn’t taper for Fitch at all; we did a full run the day before, kept our workouts. I think that gave him some more confidence to go out in front. I think he could have hung a little tighter with the Fitch runner but, sometimes, the reputation of the guy you are chasing gets in your way. I think as he builds more confidence, learns what his race is and pushes himself a bit more, he will drop down. I would like to see him in the mid-16’s by the end of the season,” Welch said.
The Centaurs also got a pair of strong efforts from two newcomers at the Windham Invitational.
Liam Hewson and Jaxon Welch finished fourth and fifth for the Centaurs in the freshmen race that preceded the varsity contests.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
captions:
The Woodstock Academy girls got together near the finish line at the Haddad-Windham Invitational cross-country meet.
It was a happy group of Woodstock Academy boys’ cross-country runners after a second-place finish at the Haddad-Windham Invitational.
Woodstock Academy sophomore Lucas Hecker proudly displays the individual championship trophy after winning the Haddad-Windham Invitational cross-country meet’s boys varsity race. Photos by Josh Welch/Woodstock Academy.
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