By Senior Correspondent Marty Ogden, Editing and Graphics by Ron Knapp

RESULTS - SRN RACE VIDEO - Interviews Below

There was an international hit song “Tubthumping" in the late 90s by the group Chumbawamba with the lyrics  "I get knocked down, I get up again... ain't nothing going to keep me down." Nothing could better describe the boys race at the 88th New England XC Championships held Saturday on Veterans Day at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast, Maine.

In what was described as unprecedented in a cross country race by many long time observers of the sport, the race was called back about 15-seconds after the gun went off when some runners fell down. But then after taking three minutes for the runners to put themselves back together and get back to the starting line, the race started again. And once again, several runners went down in a mangled heap, including several from Danbury and Bishop Hendricken, the Rhode Island state champions. 

Steven Hergenrother and the Ridgefield boys handled it with the maturity of the veteran team they have become and came away with both the individual and team wins. The Tigers who were 2nd in 2013 and third the past two years, finally broke through to claim their first New England team title, overtaking runner up Danbury by a score of 57 to 181. Xavier completed a Connecticut sweep of the podium spots scoring 200 points to take third place. 

Ridgefield coach Bryan Kovalsky, who himself was 2nd at the meet in 1997, has put increased emphasis on the postseason and the results speak for themselves. “It’s not a secret that we aren’t going to value dual meets as much as FCIAC champions or State Open championship and New England championships. But, for this one, we were just enjoying it. We were not going to gain anything by tightening up or freaking out. For me, that’s what I saw out there today. They let loose a little bit today and that meant more to me than trophies and history.”

Hergenrother was 2nd last year and took over from Maine state champion Maddox Jordan right around the halfway point. The senior, who has committed to Princeton, powered into the lead and looked smooth and relaxed the entire way crossing the line with his arms outstretched in a time of 15:21.87. He became the second Ridgefield boy to grab the individual time after Trevor Fuller won in 2013, defeating Alex Ostberg from Darien. That same year, Ridgefield finished 2nd to LaSalle Academy by three points. 

The Ridgefield senior’s leadership and maturity was on display after the call back, telling his team, “we are going to use this to our advantage. Anything that goes wrong, we will benefit from it. Any adversity affects everybody, but it benefits us.”

While there was plenty of mud and twists and turns, with no significant hills like the Green Monster, most runners and teams ran significantly faster than the State Open. Hergenrother ran 11-seconds faster, but his team, which broke the Wickham course record with a 1:20:56, ran 1:19:45 for almost a ten-second per man improvement that included All New England finishes by Charles Lovett (10th-15:52.98) and Magnus Manley (18th-16:01.01). The final two of that winning team also featured Trevor Fuller (31st-16:12.79) and Sullivan Dunn (39th-16:16.83).

Danbury was caught in the second pile up and several of their runners went down and started the race in last place. But the Hatters “got knocked down and got up again” and began their quest for another New England championship from there. Although they finished farther behind Ridgefield from where they wanted, the Hatters kept their strong pack intact, with only 44-seconds separating Devon Rosemark (16:03.15), who was Danbury’s first All New England runner in 11-years, from their 5th runner. 

Xavier always seems to be ready for the New England championship, claiming their third podium since 2017, when they were champions. Junior Jack Ouellette became the 36th Falcon to earn All New England with his 21st place finish (16:05.01), the most of any CT school. 

East Lyme improved greatly on expectations and finished 6th overall with New Milford grabbing the 10th spot. Defending champions Hall rounded out CT scoring with a 12th place finish in the 30-team field. 

After Hergenrother, Connecticut put 13th other harriers in the top 25 of the five-state race that earned them the coveted All New England honors. 

New England runner-up Isaac Mahler of Hall described the race as “definitely one of the most, if not the most physical cross country races I’ve ever run. It was a battle. You were pushing kids and kids were falling all around you. I definitely took my fair share of trips and falls.”

The senior, who was 6th last year and returned for his third New Englands, explained how he used his experience to his advantage by saying “some areas I just abandoned running the tangent and just focused on running around mud and the massive bodies because that’s where the collision happens. Just staying on your feet helps you the most.” The senior, who has committed to Boston University, finished in 15:36.3. 

Suffield’s Griffin Mandirola moved up from 8th last year to take the third spot and became All New England for the third straight year finishing in 15:39.33. 

Video clip pic courtesy of State Running Network

Jack Mattingly of E.O. Smith finished All New England for the second year in a row with a surprising 5th place finish. The senior who was 6th at the CT State Open moved up a spot to finish in 15:42.7.

One of the contenders of the title, Soheib Dissa of Newtown, fell in the middle of the race and lost his rhythm but still managed to hold on for 8th place; only four seconds out of 4th place in a time of 15:45.5.

Besides Hergenrother, Ridgefield’s title hopes were aided by Charles Lovett in 10th place and Magnus Manley in 18th. Both are returning next year and will become the foundation of a possible repeat. 

East Lyme’s Sean McCauley took 13th in 15:55.57 to become the third Viking to earn All Region honors. 

Bethel junior Evan Bureau became the first boy from his school to place in the top 25 with his 14th place finish in 15:56.85.  It was also his first time under 16-minutes for 5k.

Class MM champion Colby Bornstein took 17th in 15:58.64 to become the 8th Eagle to earn a medal and the first since the team was 3rd in 2019 at New Englands.

It is extremely rare for a freshman boy to earn All New England honors and we might have the makings of a future champion in Griswold’s Tycen Labelle. There were only two sophomores in front of him and he was the first freshman. The youngster is certainly looking towards more prosperous seasons in 2025 and 2026. 

Another school record was set when senior Nico Boyle became the first boy from North Haven to earn All New England with his 25th place finish. He finished in 16:06.63.

Check out the history of the New England Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Championships, courtesy of Keith Lawton.

CIAC Cross Country Individual and Team Records

MySportsResults has been keeping track and presenting the CIAC Cross Country team and individual championship records since 2000. Checkout the recently updated records dating back to 1932 for Boys Championships and 1973 for Girls Championships on our Records page.

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