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HomeLocal SportsHigh School SportsGirls Cross Country 2024: HKHS Team Wins Fourth Consecutive Shoreline Championship

Girls Cross Country 2024: HKHS Team Wins Fourth Consecutive Shoreline Championship

By Matt Diglio 
The H-K Girls with their championship trophy and banner for the fourth consecutive year

(October 21, 2024) — The Haddam-Killingworth High School Girls Cross Country team won its fourth consecutive Shoreline Championship and their eighth title in the past ten years on October 17, 2024, as they scored thirty-one points to easily outdistance runner-up Nathan Hale-Ray, which placed second with seventy-four points, as well as the rest of the Shoreline schools.

The HKHS Girls were led by Sophomore Charlotte Behnke, who placed third in the race with a time of 18:32 over the three-mile course. Junior Grace Mitchell placed fourth just behind her in a time of 18:48.  Next for HKHS were Juniors Julia Downing 6th (19:17) and Amelia Riggs 7th (19:28), as all of the first four girls earned First Team All-Conference accolades by finishing in the top ten in the race.  They were followed by Senior Co-Captain Keira Sehl-Albert 11th (19:45), Junior Delaney Aronson 12th (19:51) and Sophomore Emi Schweitzer 16th (20:11), all of whom earned Second Team All-Conference honors.

Jack Cozean and Dan McCourt in the lead pack in the Boys Varsity race

The Boys Varsity team placed second overall as a team, as they lost a tough battle to Hale-Ray by a score of 40-52. It was only their second time not winning the team championship in the past eleven years. The Boys team was led once again by Senior co-captain Jack Cozean, who placed fourth in the race with a time of 15:33 for the flat three-mile course.  Following him was Junior Dan McCourt 5th (15:35), and both H-K runners earned First Team All-Conference honors.  Next to finish for H-K were Junior Cash Smigel 11th (15:58), Sophomore Evan Berardino 14th (16:11),  Junior Alex Fredericksen 18th (16:14) and Senior co-captain Matt Lara 19th (16:16).

In the JV race, the HKHS Boys team dominated the team competition as they scored a mere seventeen points to win the team title. They were led by a 1-2-3 finish of Freshman Fischer Norton (17:04), Sophomore Paul Birkmeyer 2nd (17:09) and Sophomore Tyler Traczyk 3rd (17:48).
The H-K Girls JV team also had a great race at the Shoreline Championship meet, as Senior co-captain Margaret Robinson placed first overall in the race in a time of 22:27 and was followed by Junior Brielle Kent 3rd (23:26) and Freshman Celia Huebner 5th (24:53).
The Cross Country team will next be in action on Saturday October 26, 2024 to compete in the State Championship Meet at Wickham Park in Manchester.
Photos courtesy of Kurt Tassmer and Sean McCourt

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