THETFORD — Middlebury Union High School sophomore Emily Anderson capped her successful Vermont fall cross-country season by winning the Division II girls’ individual championship on Saturday at Thetford Academy.
Anderson’s time of 21:40 eclipsed that of runner-up Megan Flint of Missisquoi by 48 seconds and was easily the largest margin of victory by any male or female runner in D-I, II or III. Overall, her time was fourth best among all girls and would have placed her fourth in D-I. Anderson added to a trophy case that already included wins at the 2009 Essex and MUHS invitationals and NVAC small-school championship race.
Anderson also became the only local runner to qualify to compete in this Saturday’s New England Cross Country Championships, which will be held in Manchester, Conn. The top 25 runners regardless of division earned the right to advance to the regional meet.
In the boys’ race, Vergennes freshman Shep Carter edged MUHS sophomore Stuart Guertin for the best finish by a local runner. Carter took eighth in 19:17, two seconds ahead of Guertin in ninth. Both Carter and Guertin came up just seconds short of qualifying for the New England meet.
The MUHS boys had the best local performance as a team in their first year at the D-II level. The Tigers — with sophomores Neil Guertin (Stuart’s twin) and Will Conlon also finishing in the top 20 — took third overall with 105 points. Harwood (60 points) won the boys’ competition, followed by Montpelier (95). VUHS (144) was sixth, with senior Chris Parfitt also in the top 20; Otter Valley (337) was 13th; and Mount Abraham was 14th in the 15-team field.
The Tiger girls were sixth with 167 points. The Harwood girls (37) made it a sweep, followed by Burr & Burton (73) and MVU (129). OV (217) was 10th; VUHS (287), which saw senior Ellen Watkins crack the top 20, was 12th; and Mount Abe (382) was 13th.
BOYS’ RESULTS
The point-scorers for the local boys’ teams and their overall finishes, including independent runners, were:
MUHS: 9. S. Guertin, 19:19; 12. N. Guertin, 19:34; 20. Conlon, 19:56; 35. freshman Sawyer Hescock, 20:36; 36. senior Schuyler Klein, 20:44.
VUHS: 8. Carter, 19:17; 16. Parfitt, 19:41; 29. sophomore Collin Curler, 20:32; 49. freshman Damian Chamberlain, 21:13; 50. sophomore David Clancy, 21:13.
OV: 48. senior Andrew Fusco, 21:11; 63. sophomore Justin McKeighan, 21:58; 67. junior George Mitchell, 22:19; 89. sophomore Bruce Poirier, 23:19; 91. freshman Ryan Kelly, 24:55.
MOUNT ABE: 39. freshman Malcolm Plunkett, 20:49; 62. junior Isaac Prescott, 21:52; 93. junior Mark Dickerson, 25:32; 95. sophomore Garth Wilson, 26:19; 97. junior Linwood Chamberlain, 26:51.
GIRLS’ RESULTS
The point-scorers for the local girls’ teams and their overall finishes, including independent runners, were:
MUHS: 1. Anderson, 21:40; 29. sophomore Dominique Powers, 25:31; 37. senior Hilary Swift, 25:52; 38. freshman Nicole Morris, 25:57; 75. junior Jasmine Blodgett, 28:59.
OV: 32. sophomore Marissa D’Avignon, 25:34; 43. freshman Courtney Stearns, 26:13; 51. junior Kristen Root, 27:01; 54. sophomore Shannon Brown, 27:15; 55. senior Shelby Benoit, 27:18.
VUHS: 16. Watkins, 24:15; 59. junior Hannah Sturtevant, 27:38; 68. junior Ann Clancy, 28:31; 84. junior Isabel Hamilton, 30:33; 86. junior Hannah Degraaf.
MOUNT ABE: 71. junior Patience Thompson, 28:41; 78. senior Katelynn Sawyer, 29:21; 89. senior Megan Bedard, 32:57; 92. senior Brynna Carper, 36:57; 93. junior Amber Emmell, 38:47.