THETFORD — Cross-country runners from all four local high schools competed this past Saturday at the Thetford Invitational, which drew more than 1,400 athletes from more than 100 high schools around New England.
Middlebury Union runners fared the best, with the Tiger boys taking 22nd out of 63 qualifying teams in their race, while the Tiger girls finished 35 out of 53 teams with at least five runners in their event.
The Mount Abraham boys were 55th, and the Eagle girls finished 50th in a tightly grouped event. The Vergennes and Otter Valley teams did not field enough runners to score.
Connecticut’s Amity Regional High School won the boys’ race, and New Hampshire’s Pinkerton Academy prevailed in the girls’ race. The Champlain Valley Union team finished fourth in both 5-kilometer races for the best Vermont finishes. U-32 finished 8th in the boys’ race and 22nd in the girls’ event for the best finishes among Vermont Division II schools.
Tiger David Dregallo was 59th among 823 male runners for the best individual finish among local athletes, while Tiger Caroline Kimble finished 121st among 608 athletes to lead the way among area female runners.
The top seven Tiger boys runners and their finishes and times were: 59. Dregallo, 18:05.16; 137. Willem Landis, 18:48.43; 148. Henry Ganey, 18:50.65; 192. Tobias Broucke, 19:12.52; 223. Christopher Garner, 19:28.91; 266. Matt Ferguson, 19:47.84; and 281. Nikhil Plouffe, 19:52.46.
The top seven Eagle boys runners and their finishes and times were: 391. Roman Mayer, 20:36.56; 416. Aidan May, 20:49.27; 454. Lyn Ackert-Smith, 21:02.80; 481. Andrew Raymond, 21:18.05; 491. Jude Bunch, 21:25.99; 553. Will Aldrich, 21:57.84; and 586. Peter Foley, 22:17.84.
For the OV boys, the results were: 372. Wesley Smith, 20:30.10; 428. Anthony Rovi, 20:52.84; 526. Hayden Gallo, 21:44.94; and Henry Bart, 25:23.99.
For the VUHS boys, the results were: 581. Xavier Provencher, 22:15.41; 642. Spencer Hurlburt, 23:02.26; and 692. Silas Mullin, 23:52.47
The top seven Tiger girls runners and their finishes and times were: 121. Kimble, 22:18.47; 184. Isabelle Welker, 23:18.52; 230. Kate Wallace, 23:59.52; 258. Indigo Woods, 24:24.18; 289. Danielle Morris. 24:53.97; 300. Kate Oster, 25:06.17; 342. Emily Fleming, 25:42.23.
The top Eagle girls runners and their finishes and times were: 285. Ally Hoff, 24:49.59; 286. Delaynah Leavitt, 24:50.86; 435. Harmony Taggart, 27:14.97; 445. Claire Holloway, 27:21.15; 557. Cora Funke, 31:02.01.
For the OV girls, the results were: 414. Kyla Dodge-Goshea, 26:46.58; 550. Britney Danforth, 31:03.01.
One VUHS girl ran: Sophia Callis finished 403rd in 26:34.68.