By Michael Letendre
MANCHESTER – Both the Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern girls cross country teams took part of the CCC Championships at Wickham Park in Manchester on Tuesday.
Overall, the Rams placed twenty-second in the CCC field and did an excellent overall despite a small but mighty crew.
Central’s squad finished the regular season at 8-7 overall and 7-7 in the CCC South.
Katie Tran (17th CCC South, 23:28.3) paced the Rams that afternoon while several other runners on the team worked hard on the course.
Emma Cavallari (23rd, 24:23.5), Sophia Stark (25th, 24:46.6), Lynae Lewis (30th, 25:38.2), Johannie Juarez (36th, 26:26.7) and Ruth Smith (37th, 27:00.6) helped the Rams finish fifth in the CCC South (108 points overall).
“[The] Bristol Central girls had a strong end to the season bringing the City Championship back to Central a few days ago and had a strong race today,” said Central coach Tamara Stafford-Kirk. “Our girls team has stayed strong through adversity and I’m very proud of them. Our girls team all return next year so we are excited to see how well they do!”
And for the Lancers, a certain freshman competitor ended up her first CCC event in the top five.
Kaelyn Gonzalez (fifth in CCC South) earned All-Conference honors with a stellar time of 22:00.7 – identical to her finish at the annual Bristol city series race this past weekend from St. Paul Catholic.
She was the second freshmen to cross the finish line from the South and placed 32nd overall in the CCC standings.
Lauren Ayotte (27th, 25:09.2) ran extremely well for the Lancers while teammates Rita Gao (39th, 27:54) and Salma Abdelaal (40th, 29:03.5) made gains throughout the event.
Eastern did not score as a team but showed plenty of effort and heart.
Berlin won the CCC South race (45 points) with Plainville (second, 49) and Middletown (third, 55) in the mix until the end.
Overall, 193 girls crossed the finish line at Wickham Park as Glastonbury (54 team points) won the overall CCC Championship.
Newington’s Katherine Bohlke won the overall title in 19:12.2 while Edwin O. Smith’s Gabriella Hernandez (19:48.8) was the runner up in Manchester.
What’s Next?
The season continues on Tuesday for the freshman class of the CCC.
The CCC Freshman Invite commences from the track at Hall High School in West Hartford.
Meet time is 4:30 p.m. and the following weekend, it’s state championship time from Wickham Park.
Here are the results from the squads at Central and Eastern from the CCC extravaganza:
CCC Girls Cross Country Championships
from Wickham Park, Manchester
Bristol Central Girls – Fifth CCC South Race
17th CCC South /70th overall – Katie Tran (23:28.3)
23rd/97th – Emma Cavallari 24:23.5
25th/112th – Sophia Stark 24:46.6
30th/135th – Lynae Lewis 25:38.2
36th/155th – Johannie Juarez 26:26.7
37th/167th – Ruth Smith 27:00.6
Bristol Eastern Girls – Did not score as a team
5th CCC South/32nd overall – Kaelyn Gonzalez (22:00.7)
27th – Lauren Ayotte (25:09.2)
39th – Rita Gao (27:54)
40th – Salma Abdelaal (29:03.5)
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