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"When the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams in the state start off, it's like fireworks," said Rob Murray, Danbury Boys Cross Country Coach. "It's like the Fourth of July because you test yourself physically and mentally, and it is a great way to evaluate ourselves and make adjustments and set standards to achieve our goals."
Teams from Danbury, Darien, Norwalk and Staples competed in varsity and novice races for both boys and girls.
The varsity boys ran a 5K, and the varsity girls ran a 4,400-meter race. The novice boys and girls ran 3K.
Staples won the girls varsity team race over Danbury.
Zakeer Ahmad of Staples won the boys' race with a time of 16:22.1. Lauren Moore of Danbury won the girls' race with a time of 17:38.
"It was a good race," said winner Moore, who is a sophomore. "I tried to stay with the top group for a while. When I knew they were trying to kick, I just stayed in front of them. At the halfway point, which was on the track, I knew I felt good."
It was the first ever cross country meet for 13-year-old Dylan Rosemark, a Danbury High School freshman, and Dylan's mother Dianne was very happy to get the chance to watch it.
"It was a great evening and a good turnout by all of the teams," she said. "I'm so proud of the Danbury runners and as a freshman mom, I'm really impressed with how hard they work. I'm excited to see how they do this season."
Marsha Turek, Danbury High School Girls' Cross Country coach, said the Danbury girls are prepared for the season.
"We have a new group of girls running in spots 1 to 3 and a very solid pack of experienced returning athletes rounding out 4 to 10," she said. "Their workouts have been very focused. There is a lot of sportsmanship and I think their race today showed that."
The top boys in each school, and their time and place, are as follows:
- Ahmad, 16:22.1, 1st place, Staples
- Reed, 16:33.1, 3rd, place Danbury
- Johnson J., 16:36.7, 7th place, Darien
- Goldstein, 19:09.3, 35th place, Norwalk
The top girls in each school, and their time and place, are as follows:
- Moore, 17:38, 1st place, Danbury
- Martin, 18:00.6, 2nd place, Staples
- Calliry, 19:02.03, 5th place, Darien
- Sheehan, 21.5, 18th place, Norwalk
For official results of the meet, click here.
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