VERMONT STATE MEET

Champlain Valley Union Sweeps Team Titles At Thetford Academy

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

The Champlain Valley Union (CVU) girls' road back to qualifying for the Nike Cross Nationals took a solid step forward on Saturday at the Vermont State Championships held at Thetford Academy. 

Senior Charlotte Crum led with a 19:15.3 win on the demanding 5,000-meter course. Teammate Lydia Donahue followed in 19:28.6, and No. 13 CVU posted six runners in the top 12 to capture the title with a low 25 points; Essex followed with 62.

It wasn’t just the girls who found success. The CVU boys also dethroned four-time champion St. Johnsbury Academy, scoring 47–55. Junior Benjamin Holoch led the way with his first state title with a time of 16:32.4 and four runners finished in the top 11.

In Division 2, after finishing second last year to U‑32 High, the girls of Burr & Burton Academy took no chances this time. Senior Sydney Remenar claimed first place in 19:47.8 and the team placed all five runners inside the top 15 to score 39 points. U-32 was second with 46. 

On the boys side, U-32 dominated again, earning a 10th straight team title with juniors Cole Page (16:51.5) and senior Ben Warfield (16:59.9) leading the way; six runners were in the top 10 as the team finished with just 19 points.

In girls D3 action, Rice Memorial edged out defending champion Stowe as they both finished with 49 but Rice took first with the tiebreaker. Individually, Green Mountain Union junior Desi Broadley won the race by more than a minute with a time of 20:22.7. 

A year after finishing runner-up by one point, Bellows Free Academy left nothing to chance. On Saturday, senior Gage Magnuson won his second straight individual title in a time of 16:38.8 and teammate Kenny Grey was third (17:30.3). Bellows finished with 41 points, more than 30 ahead of runner-up Thetford Academy (78). 

Team Champions 

DI - Champlain Valley Union boys 47 points; Champlain Valley Union girls 25 points - RESULTS

DII - U-32 boys 19 points; Burr and Burton girls 39 points - RESULTS

DIII - Bellows Free Academy-Fairfaix boys 41 points; Rice Memorial girls 49 points - RESULTS