ESSEX — Runners from the Middlebury and Mount Abraham union high school cross country teams submitted some promising early-season results in Saturday’s Essex Invitational, with seven Tiger boys, three Tiger girls and two Eagle girls posting top-10 finishes in Division II competition.
Overall, the Tiger boys and girls each finished second and the Eagle teams third behind Montpelier. Other D-II teams competing did not send enough runners to score.
On the boys’ side, the scores were Montpelier, 24; MUHS, 33; and Mount Abe, 82.
On the girls’ side, the scores were Montpelier, 16; MUHS, 45; and Mount Abe, 61.
Tiger David Dregallo posted the top local finish overall, earning third in the D-II boys’ race in 17:44.2, breaking up Montpelier’s monopoly of the top five. Solons finished first, second, fourth and fifth, led by Isaac Mears in 16.35 in first. Jude Bunch led the Eagle boys, all of whom are underclassmen, by taking 14th in 19:56.9.
Isabelle Welker led the MUHS girls in fifth in D-II (23:13.5), while Delaynah Leavitt paced the Eagle girls in seventh (24:04.5). Rice’s Charlotte Boyden streaked to the win in 20:36, but did not officially place in the team scoring, leaving the Solons to score in first through fourth in the standings.
The Tiger boys’ complete results were: 3. Dregallo, 17:44.2; 6. Willem Landis, 18:14.8; 7. Henry Ganey, 18:25.2; 8. Tobias Broucke, 18:34.8; 9. Haven Tate, 18:51.6; 10. Julian Schmitt, 19.14.2; 11. James Whitley, 19:20.1.
The Eagle boys’ complete results were: 14: Bunch, 19:56.9; 15. Roman Mayer, 20:22.1; 16. Andrew Raymond, 21:12.4; 18. Aidan May, 21:30.3; 19. Ross Carr, 22:07.8; 20. Will Aldrich, 22:18.4; 21. Peter Foley, 22:38.8.
The Tiger girls’ complete results were: 5. Welker, 23:13.5; 8. Indigo Woods, 24:14.1; 9. Kate Oster, 24:42.1; 11. Kate Wallace, 24:55.5; 12. Dani Morris, 25:41.4.
The Eagle girls’ complete results were: 7. Leavitt, 24:04.5; 10. Ally Hoff, 24:50.1; 13. Harmony Taggart, 25:58.1; 15. Madeline Bernoudy, 28:53.2; 16. Cora Funke, 31:37.2.