U-32 First Vermont Boys Team Since 1987 To Win New Englands

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

U-32 coach Andrew Tripp said he believes he's cried once in the past 30 years. 

But on Saturday at the New England High School Cross Country Championships, after a 40-minute wait to hear the results, Tripp was overcome. 

"It's magic," Tripp said. "I never could have imagined we would get to this level."

Running on home soil at Vermont's Thetford Academy, the U-32 boys became the first team from the state to win a New Englands title since 1987. It's hard to imagine a team from a school this small, 400 students, has ever won it. 

U-32 beat regional powers La Salle and Bishop Hendricken of Rhode Island, plus the entrants from Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine, and scored 139 points. The Rhode Island schools both scored 162 with La Salle ahead on the tiebreaker.

Senior twins Carson Beard and Austin Beard finished 10th and 11th in the team scoring. Ollie Hansen and Cyrus Hansen gave the team critical advantages at Nos 3 and 4, and fifth man Sargent Burns ran a great race to keep U-32 in it. 

U-32 had to rely on strength and depth to win in challenging conditions. Already one of the toughest courses in the U.S. because of its hills, the area was soaked by an inch of rain Friday. 

"We don't have much margin for error," Tripp said. "But what we did have is that when we rolled into the parking lot, the officials, parents and kids from other schools in Vermont, they were cheering for us and yelling for us."

Up front, Conard CT senior Gavin Sherry was doing something historic, going under 16 minutes and running the second-fastest time ever at Thetford in spite of the muddy conditions. He ran 15:54.7 and was followed by Northern Arizona commit Aidan Puffer from Manchester CT and his twin brother Callum Sherry. The top five were all from Connecticut.

"Gavin ran his A+ race to defend his 2019 title, while Callum ran an A race to claim third place," Conard coach Ron Knapp said. "While they are celebrating today’s exciting accomplishments we are back to training on Monday as we renew attention to the Eastbay Regional in two weeks and the ultimate goal of a trip West to their final cross country championship."

New Milford CT won the girls team title with 140 points to beat Bonny Eagle ME (208), Glastonbury CT (226) and Champlain Valley VT (235). New Milford won the Connecticut State Open championship the week prior. 

Maine champion Ruth White, a sophomore, ran 18:44.8 and won girls race by 22.7 seconds. Rachel St. Germain from Somers CT was second. 

White is the second straight champion from Maine, following Sofie Matson's victory in 2019. Her time is the third-fastest since 2000 in a New England Championships race at Thetford.

RESULTS