By Michael Letendre
MERIDEN – The Bristol Central cross country programs opened the 2023 campaign with a little trip to Meriden on Tuesday afternoon.
And the boys and girls teams battled Plainville and Platt in a CCC South tilt from Hubbard Park.
On the boys front, Central split the day, defeating Platt but falling to Plainville.
On the flip side, it was more of the same for the girls – spinning Platt but dropping a tough decision to Plainville.
The boys race was a good one as Plainville’s Chase McNamara and Central’s Patrick Wininger waged a tremendous battle on the course.
Those two athletes might be a couple of the top runners in the CCC South this season.
And this won’t be the only time those two warriors will clash this season and in Meriden, Wininger pulled out a pretty good time in his debut in CCC South action.
McNamara/Wininger finished 1-2 with the Blue Devils’ standout winning the event.
McNamara (17:25) took the race with Wininger (17:48) not far off the mark.
Plainville captured the meet as the team nabbed four of the next six slots in the bout to seal the deal.
The Blue Devils took third, fourth and fifth place before Central’s Noah Pellerin (20:38) finished in sixth.
Also for the boys from Bristol, Rowan Hennessey (7th, 20:38), Braydan Dwyer (11th, 21:07) and Beckham (12th, 21:17) all made solid finishes but, in the end, Plainville was able to top Central by seventeen points.
The Rams were able to defeat the Panthers 15-50, moving to 1-1 on the young season.
The girls from Plainville won their race, defeating Central 19-40 while the Rams were able to upend the hosts, 15-50.
Platt’s Erin Sola won the day with a time of 21:23 while Plainville’s Gianna Rodriguez (21:27) finished as the runner-up.
Central’s Katie Tran (5th, 23:24), Sophia Stark (7th, 23:49) and Emersyn Mazzei (8th, 24:01) all placed in the top 10 as the locals made a good showing.
To end the scoring for the Rams, Emma Cavallari (13th, 26:41) and Johannie Juarez (15th, 28:26) made gains throughout the meet.
On Tuesday, September 19, Central returns to its home course of Rockwell Park for a CCC South tri-meet.
Berlin and Lewis Mills come to Bristol that day, starting at 3:45 p.m.
Bristol Central Cross Country – CCC South encounter
from Hubbard Park, Meriden
Meet Scores – Boys
*Bristol Central 15, Platt 50
*Plainville 21, Bristol Central 38
Top 12 Finishers
Winner: Chase McNamara, Plainville (17:25)
Runner-up: Patrick Wininger, Bristol Central (17:48)
3. Valiantsin Kasabrukhau, Plainville (18:14)
4. Braedan Ramsey, Plainville (18:54)
5. Darren Paznokus, Plainville (18:580
6. Noah Pellerin, Bristol Central (20:38)
7. Rowan Hennessey, Bristol Central (20:38)
8. Julian Steward, Plainville (20:44)
9. Elijah Ramsey, Plainville (20:50)
10. Nate Cransen, Plainville (21:00)
11. Braydan Dwyer, Bristol Central (21:07)
12. Beckham Barse, Bristol Central (21:17)
Meet Scores – Girls
*Bristol Central 15, Platt 50
*Plainville 19, Bristol Central 40
Top 10
Winner: Erin Sola, Platt (21:23)
2. Gianna Rodriguez, Plainville (21:27)
3. Olivia Mareciak, Plainville (22:13)
4. Penley Giola, Plainville (23:06)
5. Katie Tran, Bristol Central (23:24)
6. Hailey Anderson, Plainville (23:35)
7. Sophia Stark, Bristol Central (23:49)
8. Emersyn Mazzei, Bristol Central (24:01)
9. Rachel Diaz, Plainville (24:20)
10. Sophia Leonetti, Plainville (24:26)
Rounding out top five for Bristol Central
13. Emma Cavallari (26:41)
15. Johannie Juarez (28:26)
Records: Both the girls and boys teams at Bristol Central are 1-1.
