Ria Beri ‘27
Maddie Totten ‘27
EE Staff Writers
The Trumbull girls’ cross country team saw the start of their season on Thursday, August 24. They worked their way around the sizzling September temperatures to train for their upcoming meets. For the girls, sprints, hill workouts, and intense core exercises are just a normal part of practice. Fortunately, all of this hard work and dedication is starting to pay off.
They started out strong with the Wilton Invitational, and the girls showed why they placed 2nd in the FCIAC last year. Out of nine different high schools, Trumbull’s freshman team placed third in the 1.5 mile freshman race, with Nikki Adorante and Maura Kane placing 3rd and 4th respectively.
Kane believes that the team’s strong first race has paved the way for a strong season. “As a team we did incredible for our first race”, she said. “I think this shows the potential we have for the rest of the season”.
Trumbull also scored third in the 2.5 mile junior varsity race, but this time against 20 other teams! Finally, Trumbull came to a close with their varsity race, placing 10th with Leela Kocinsky running the 2.5 mile course in an astounding 16:47 minutes.
After kicking it off at the Wilton Invitational, the girls kept it going in back-to-back home meets. First, on September 12, they took on Wilton, Darien, and Saint Joseph. Trumbull’s Junior Varsity dominated the competition, placing first with three runners in the top five–scoring second, third, and fourth place for Trumbull High. Varsity placed an honorable second, with their own four runners rounding out the top ten.
Next, the girls battled it out at their second and final home meet of the season against Bridgeport, Stamford, and Ridgefield, which also happened to be on Senior Night. The junior varsity team kept their streak going, snatching another first place with Trumbull runners taking the top three spots.
Emily Meagher took first with an amazing time of 13:58. Talk about a clean sweep! The varsity team also finished first, with Leela Kocinsky and Bridget Walsh snagging second and third place in the race.
“The girls’ cross country team so far has been successful this season with a 5-1 score after our senior night,” said Senior Captain Isabella Hernandez. “We have a strong lineup and I’m so proud of my girls for their success. We will race more competitive teams later in the season. I know my team is up for the challenge”.
Senior Night brought on both sadness and appreciation for the entire team. All 18 senior girls have devoted much of their high school journey to training for and excelling in this sport. Their hours spent practicing will never be forgotten and they will be missed by the whole team. However, as these seniors move on to the next part of their lives, it is also important to recognize the future of the team as well. The varsity team is composed of several promising juniors and even freshmen like Nikki Adorante, Ria Beri, and Maura Kane. All of the girls hope to keep working hard to ensure that the team has the best season possible.
After a solid win on Senior Night, the girls traveled to Waveny Park to race Staples and New Canaan for the first away dual meet of the season. Going into the race, Trumbull knew that they would have to run hard to defeat Staples, the top, undefeated team in the Western division. Doing so would boost Trumbull into first in the division. However, there was a problem: Trumbull was missing its top two runners.
The junior varsity girls ripped through the course in record time, beating Staples and New Canaan by a wide margin. Aarushi Sharma ran the 3 kilometer course in just 13:05 seconds and placed 2nd, with 3 other Trumbull girls placing in the top 10. Varsity fell just short to the other schools, with the girls still running amazing races. Bridget Walsh placed 2nd, with Maura Kane trailing close behind in 4th. All of the girls pushed themselves and supported one another during the race.
Trumbull expects to regain top runners Katie Marchand and Leela Kocinsky for the Belfast Festival of Champions Invitational, where they are one of three schools representing Connecticut. We wish them the very best and hope that they bring back good results.
Featured Photo courtesy: Patrick Kane