Xavier fulfills prophetic words, but needs sixth man to do it

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

It was four years ago on a cold day at the Manhattan Invitational in New York when Xavier High coach Chris Stonier told his team it could win a Connecticut State Open cross country title as seniors.

Flash forward to Friday at Wickham Park in Manchester, as the group of now seniors toed the line at the Open, searching for that championship.

"Years went by, we had a horrible, horrible result when they were sophomores, 16th at Class LL, worst in Xavier history, but we never gave up," Stonier recalled. 

PHOTOS - BOYS | GIRLS

That desire was on display Friday as the Falcons relied on a total team effort to propel them to their first State Open title since 2009. 

"These kids are dedicated," Stonier said. 

The scene that unfolded at Wickham came as no surprise: Staples and Xavier battling it out for boys Open crown. 

The teams, which have gone back and forth all fall, were neck and neck for the entire 5,000-meter course, ending the day with 61 points each. The score went to a sixth-man tiebreaker with Xavier senior Owen Lally crossing the line before Staples' sixth runner.

"All year the message has been that every individual on the team needs to be the best that they can be, whether that's the best first guy on the team or the best 35th guy on the team, that's been the message," Stonier said. "When it came down to the sixth guy, I had no doubt in my mind we were in good hands."

It's been Xavier's depth all season that has led them to greatness, including a dominating performance at the Southern Connecticut Conference Championship, the Wickham Park Invite crown and the runner-up LL title. 

Stonier said it's been the quality and character of this team, including Robbie Cozean, who battled back from injury, that has helped carry on the tradition of the Xavier program. This is the 12th Open title in Xavier history. 

The top runner for Xavier was Peter Schulten in eighth place (16:22). 

Individually for the boys, Fairfield Prep's Drew Thompson, No. 14 in the latest DyeStat rankings, clocked 15 minutes, 44 seconds to win his first Open crown. The win adds to an undefeated season in Connecticut for Thompson. Cheshire senior Brendan Murray collected runner-up honors in 16:01.

On the girls side, Wilton senior Morgan McCormick continued her strong season, repeating as Open champion in 18:23. Pomperaug freshman Katherine Wiser placed second in 18:42. 

In the girls team battle, Glastonbury scored 80 points to win the program's first title since 2010. Led by Angela Braga (19:56, 11th overall), Glastonbury placed four runners in the top 25. Danbury was second with 128 points.

Team Champions

Boys- Xavier 61 points

Girls - Glastonbury 80 points