Perfect score! CVU girls fly to 19th XC running title in 21 years in dominant fashion

The state's most dominant high school cross country program one-upped itself on Saturday: The Champlain Valley girls ran a perfect race.

At least by team scoring standards.

The first five finishers in the Division I field all hail from the Hinesburg powerhouse, in a stunning display of star power and depth as CVU stormed to its 19th crown in 21 years during Saturday's state championship at Thetford Academy.

Alice Kredell led the 1-2-3-4-5 finish with the second of back-to-back individual victories, posting a time of 19 minutes, 49.3 seconds on Thetford's demanding 5k course. Estella Laird took runner-up honors (19:54.9), followed by Audrey Neilson, Lydia Donahue and Charlotte Crum for the nationally-ranked Redhawks.

CVU's score of 15 is the lowest possible total for team. And for good measure, CVU's sixth and seventh runners, Annalise Wood and Noe Jenni, finished ninth and 10th, respectively.

[Editor's note: See below for full team scores and top 10 individuals in each division].

In the Division I boys race, St. Johnsbury collected a three-peat without its top runner, Andrew Thornton-Sherman, who was unable to finish because of an injury during the race, according to the Caledonian Record.

Carson Eames stepped up to claim the individual crown (16:56.1), about three seconds ahead of runner-up Porter Hurteau of BFA-St. Albans. The Hilltoppers, who had four runners in the top 20, including three in the top 8, and totaled a 64 team score to inch in front of Essex (67) and Champlain Valley (68).

In D-II girls, Ginger Long and her U-32 teammates stormed to repeat titles. Long, a junior, retained her individual crown from a year ago, cruising to a winning time of 20:33.3. Long, who won by 1:24 over runner-up Mary Harrington of Middlebury, paced the Raiders' top five, all of whom finished in the top 25.

Following Long, Madison Beaudoin (eighth), Amy Felice (ninth), Isobel Koger (13th) and Elise Koger (22nd) led U-32 to back-to-back championships and the program's fourth title since 2017.

In D-II boys, U-32 didn't need a photo finish like a year ago to edge out rival Montpelier. Behind Cyrus Hanson's first-place run (16:56.8), the Raiders took four spots in the top five and had a score of 23 to runner-up Montpelier's 36.

It was U-32's eighth straight crown.

For Division III, the Stowe girls raced to the program's first championship, totaling 39 points to second-place Thetford's 73. Leila Griffith led the Stowe outfit with the individual win (20:55.9), with all five scoring runners placing in the top 20.

The Stowe girls are the first team in school history to qualify for the New England championships.

For the D-III boys, Craftsbury outlasted Thetford (43-50) for the program's fourth consecutive crown. The small school from the Northeast Kingdom overcame a rule change this fall — D-III scoring switched from scoring four runners per team to five — and placed all five in the top 25, including its first four finishers in the top 8.

Ben Mattern took home the D-III boys title (17:51.0).

2023 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

DIVISION I GIRLS

Team scores: 1. Champlain Valley 15; 2. Essex 84; 3. South Burlington 91; 4. Mount Mansfield 144; 5. St. Johnsbury 154; 6. Burlington 161; 7. BFA-St. Albans 175; 8. Stratton 238; 9. Rutland 262; 10. Mount Anthony 274; 11. Colchester 280; 12. North Country 333; 13. Brattleboro 369.

Top 10: 1. Alice Kredell, CVU 19:49.3; 2. Estella Laird, CVU 19:54.9; 3. Audrey Neilson, CVU 20:02.1; 4. Lydia Donahue, CVU 20:15.8; 5. Charlotte Crum, CVU 20:32.7; 6. Kaitlyn Lumbra, BFA 20:59.0; 7. Amelia Dion, BHS 21:14; 8. Kathryn Nourse, Essex 21:18.2; 9. Annalise Wood, CVU 21:34.4; 10. Noe Jenni, CVU 21:53.0.

DIVISION II GIRLS

Team scores: 1. U-32 52; 2. Harwood 83; 3. Burr and Burton 90; 4. Woodstock 129; 5. Lamoille 133; 6. Lamoille 133; 7. Lyndon 141; 8. Montpelier 149.

Top 10: 1. Ginger Long, U-32 20:33.3; 2. Mary Harrington, Midd 21:57.0; 3. Madelyn Harris, BBA 22:12.9; 4. Beth McIntosh, Midd 22:14.4; 5. Emily Harris, BBA 22:15.0; 6. Logan Knox, Wood 22:26.0; 7. Samantha Hensel, Lyn 22:38.4; 8. Madison Beaudoin, U-32 22:44.7; 9. Amy Felice, U-32 22:46.3; 10. Celia Wing, Har 22:47.3.

DIVISION III GIRLS

Team scores: 1. Stowe 39; 2. Thetford 73; 3. Rice 103; 4. BFA-Fairfax 112; 5. White River Valley 136; 6. Bellows Falls 151; 7. Mill River 157; 8. Peoples 190; 9. Northfield/Williamstown 200; 10. Lake Region 213.

Top 10: 1. Leila Griffith, Stowe 20:55.9; 2. Anya Young, WRV 21:54.4; 3. Anita Miller, WRV 22:10.5; 4. Lydia Matson, Stowe 22:34.8; 5. Cassandra Royer, Hazen 22:50.3; 6. Ava Hayden, Thet 23:00.9; 7. Desi Broadley, BF 23:11.6; 8. Hattie Mitchell, Stowe 23:12.6; 9. Abigail Bedore, Fairfax 23:48.5; 10. Charlize Brown, Thet 24:18.3.

DIVISION I BOYS

Team scores: 1. St. Johnsbury 64; 2. Essex 67; 3. Champlain Valley 68; 4. BFA-St. Albans 82; 5. Burlington 119; 6. South Burlington 148; 7. Mount Mansfield 173; 8. Rutland 220; 9. Mount Anthony 246; 10. Brattleboro 281; 11. Colchester 281.

Top 10: 1. Carson Eames, SJ 16:56.1; 2. Porter Hurteau, BFA 16:59.0; 3. Emmett Johnson, SJA 17:06.3; 4. Dan Knight, CVU 17:14.4; 5. Owen Deale, CVU 17:30.3; 6. James Steward, Essex 17:32.0; 7. Henry Nasse, Essex 17:32.3; 8. Ari Leven, SJA 17:39.6; 9. Teddy Tremblay, BFA 17:44.4; 10. Austin Simone, SB 17:54.8.

DIVISION II BOYS

Team scores: 1. U-32 23; 2. Montpelier 36; 3. Burr and Burton 117; 4. Middlebury 121; 5. Vergennes 167; 6. Harwood 189; 7. Lamoille 197; 8. Woodstock 216; 9. Hartford 221; 10. Lyndon 223; 11. Missisquoi 311.

Top 10: 1. Cyrus Hansen, U-32 16:56.8; 2. Taggart Schrader, U-32 17:27.6; 3. Jay Borland, Mont 17:44.1; 4. Wyatt Malloy, U-32 18:01.6; 5. Ben Warfield, U-32 18:02.6; 6. Samuel Brondyke, Mont 18:05.8; 7. James Underwood, Wood 18:07.6; 8. Luke Murphy, Mont 18:11.8; 9. Ezra Merrill-Triplett, Mont 18:15.7; 10. Steven Supan, Mont 18:18.7.

DIVISION III BOYS

Team scores: 1. Craftsbury 43; 2. Thetford 50; 3. Stowe 55; 4. Lake Region 136; 5. Peoples 156; 6. Randolph 162; 7. Otter Valley 172; 8. BFA-Fairfax 185; 9. Long Trail 197.

Top 10: 1. Ben Mattern, Thet 17:51.0; 2. Charlie Kehler, Craft 18:00.6; 3. Brady Sloop, Thet 18:06.7; 4. Matthew Califano, Craft 18:45.8; 5. Lincoln Miller, WRV 18:51.1; 6. Alexander Califano, Craft 18:54.8; 7. Sebastian Perdrizet, Thet 19:03.0; 8. Silas Hunt, Craft 19:18.9; 9. Xaviar Chapdelaine, LR 19:20.3; 10. Enzo Delena, Stowe 19:27.0.

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This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: VT H.S. XC running championships: CVU girls run perfect race