Vikes are still leaders of the pack
East Lyme seniors leave with fourth straight girls’ crown
Norwich — With two major events in a six-day span, East Lyme's Mike Flynn wasn't demanding a peak performance from his girls' cross country team.
But that doesn't mean winning a fourth straight Eastern Connecticut Conference championship wasn't a priority.
That's why Flynn was beaming after the Vikings did just that, placing five runners in the top 15 and cruising to another championship on a perfect fall afternoon Monday at the Norwich Golf Course.
"We really didn't put a lot of emphasis on this race, to be honest with you, from an emotional standpoint," Flynn said after East Lyme finished with 43 points to beat second-place Woodstock Academy (67). "Our goals are for Saturday (the Class MM state championship), so it was more like, 'Let's just go out and run, get through it, and move on."
East Lyme's depth was on full display against a talented ECC field. Freshman Izzy Pazzaglia led the way with a third-place finish in 21 minutes, 1 second over the hilly 5k course, while senior Gilly Goodwin finished sixth (21:45), freshman Kennedy Holsapple ninth (21:53), senior Samantha Lyster 10th (22:03) and sophomore Sydney Sager 15th (22:40).
That more than made up for a rare off-day by top runner Madison Sjostrom, a junior who was ill and finished 16th in 22:43. That's why Flynn hopes East Lyme's depth will pay off on Saturday at Wickham Park when the Vikings expect to challenge E.O. Smith, Guilford, Avon and Tolland for Class MM honors.
"The girls really stepped up," he said. "Madison is usually our No. 1 runner and she was sixth for us, so we kind of showcased the depth and proved they can pick each other up if somebody's having a little bit of an off day.
"All things considered they competed pretty well and should be happy."
It was especially pleasing for senior captains Goodwin and Lyster, who have been varsity runners on all four ECC championship teams.
"When we were on the course, we all encouraged each other," Goodwin said. "When I was near Sam (Lyster)
and when I was near Kennedy and Izzy, we all were talking."
"It's mostly just to focus on ourselves. All the teams had good runners that we can pace around and be near, so it's all about just focusing on us as a team. It's individual, but in the end it's all about each other."
That's why Goodwin believes the Vikings will be successful on Saturday.
"We really want to win," she said. "That's our main goal. When we started the season, we knew we'd win ECCs if we tried and did well, but our next goal is states with as strong as a team as we have this year."
Bacon Academy sophomore Jordan Malloy successfully defended her individual title, finishing in 20:24 to defeating Woodstock's Linsey Arends by a second in a sprint to the finish.
Malloy is the first ECC runner to repeat since Griswold's Shelby Donahue (2005-06), but what made her win even more impressive was the fact she was in a walking boot less than three weeks ago, missing a dual meet against Woodstock and Arends on Oct. 1.
Malloy rolled her right ankle during a training run and thought her season might be over when an initial x-ray showed a small fracture. But an MRI a few days later ruled out any broken bones and she would return a week later.
"I've never had that type of injury before and I've never been in a boot, so it was a really weird experience," Malloy said.
"I feel it made me realize that I really love running, and it's hard when you're not able to run."
Malloy said she was a combination of "confident and nervous" on Monday, and happy to run against Arends, who is also a sophomore. Malloy took the lead after they reached the top of one last hill. She then used a strong kick to take the lead and eventually hang on for the win.
Bacon earned a share of the Division II title by defeating Stonington (the Bears beat Bacon in a dual meet) while St. Bernard clinched the Division III title and Wheeler won Division IV. c.banning@theday.com