By Michael Letendre
How difficult is it to win a state championship in scholastic cross country?
Running isn’t just a sport where conditioning is paramount but cross country is a huge mental challenge as well – proving titles are tough to come by.
On both a team and individual front, only two squads from Bristol have won a cross country championship as the feat is a rare accomplishment in the Mum City.
Boys cross country championships have been awarded by the CIAC since 1932 when the program from Hartford Public won the first ever Boys Connecticut State Open event.
But when it comes to winners from Bristol – including individual and team championships – only an elite group of harriers from the city have won it all.
On an individual front, Bristol high school’s Don Wilde took home the Individual Open Championship in 1957, earning first place in a time of 13:25.
Wilde’s time was the fastest since Public’s Edward Lemieux won the Open in 13:14.
And starting in 1958, the CIAC held Class L, M, and S championship races along with the usual Open event.
In an unexpected finish in 1967, the boys cross country team from Bristol Eastern did not win its class but – under the leadership of head coach Johnie M. Floyd – the Lancers took the Connecticut State Open, the only team from Bristol ever to win that event.
St. Paul’s Terry Perrault won the individual Class M Championship in 1978 (15:03) and the program from Bristol Central was the Class L runner-up in both 2018 and 2019.
But in 2010, the boys team from Bristol Central, led by head coach Tamara Stafford-Kirk, was an extremely talented group of harriers.
And on Saturday, October 30, Central stormed Wickham Park – taking on a stacked field of teams at the Class L championship event.
The Rams were a highly skilled group that season, and a possible title finish was in the cards with all the athletes Central had hitting the courses.
Expectations in the preseason were high, the regular season ended with a sixth consecutive CCC South title for the program, and at the class championship, Central was off to an outstanding start.
Four Central runners finished in the top 14 spots at the Class L race and quickly, a title bid was in the works for the CCC South champs.
And in the end, the Rams easily won the Class L title, defeating runner-up Darien by 15 points (71-86).
“When thinking about that crew, they definitely set the standard for Bristol Central cross country and the teams that have come after them,” said Stafford-Kirk when reflecting about that championship squad.
Darien, who had won the Class MM championship the previous year, was bumped up to Class L in 2010 and was an excellent squad that pushed the Rams to the brink.
But after an excellent fourth place finish the season before at the Class L championships, Central’s scoring core of Michael Duprey, Jacob Eschner, Connor Kelley, Ethan Washburn, and Jake Mancini – all returning from that outstanding 2009 program – worked even harder to put themselves on the doorstep of a state title.
And when everything clicked at Wickham Park, the Bristol Central boys cross country team had its first state title.
Over the next few days, The Bristol Edition will take a look at the 2010 Class L cross country champs – getting special insight from Stafford-Kirk – while running down the regular season the Rams simply dominated from start to finish.
Here’s a snapshot of the boys cross country program history from Bristol Central high school:
Bristol Central High School – Boys Cross Country File
Head Coach: Tamara Stafford-Kirk
Championship Accolades
*2010 CIAC Class L Boys Cross Country State Champion
*2018 CIAC Class L Runner UP
*2019 CIAC Class L Boys Cross Country Runner-up
Boys Conference Champions: 1966, 1969, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
2010 Bristol Central Class L, State Championship (Varsity Roster) – Michael Duprey, Jacob Eschner, Connor Kelley, Ethan Washburn, Jake Mancini, Spencer Johnson, Brendan Gonsalves
2010 CIAC Class L Championship Race – October 30, 2010
from Wickham Park, Manchester
Champion: Bristol Central, 71 points
Runner-up: Darien, 86 points
Third: Pomperaug, 89 points
Other notables – Daniel Hand (5th place, 149 points); Farmington (12th place, 333 points).
