H.S. cross country: Ledyard girls beat Waterford 25-32 in battle of ECC Division II unbeatens

Waterford — Ledyard won a battle of unbeatens and a showdown for first place in Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II with a 25-32 girls' cross country victory over Waterford on Tuesday at Harkness Memorial State Park.The Colonels (7-0, 4-0) were led by Kate Littler in second (19:58) and Ella Stephenson in third (20:13). Their other top five finishers were Josie Withbroe in fifth (20:27), Tatiana Irizarry in sixth (21:26) and Avery Widlicka in ninth (22:14).Reigning ECC individual champion Avery Maise won individual honors for the Lancers (6-1, 3-1), finishing her home course in 19:26. Teammate Ellie DiBuono was fourth (20:24) while Ava Lee was seventh (21:34), Madison LaForte was eighth (21:42) and Adeline Steinhaus was 12th (22:25).In other meets:• East Lyme completed a perfect regular season with a 15-47 win over Fitch in an ECC Division I meet at Haley Farm in Groton. Maya D'Aquila was the individual winner for the Vikings (6-0, 3-0), finishing the 5k course in 21:37. Fitch is 2-6, 0-3.• Norwich Free Academy's Karina Chan and Helen Muench finished 1-2 as the Wildcats beat Woodstock Academy 20-39 in an ECC Division I meet at Mohegan Park. NFA is 7-1, 2-1. Julia Doyle finished third for the Centaurs.• Stonington edged St. Bernard 27-28 in an ECC Division III meet on the way to a quad-meet sweep in Montville. The Bears (8-1, 3-1) also beat New London and Putnam 15-50 as did the Saints (7-2, 2-2). St. Bernard's Helena Coury won individual honors in 20:50 with Stonington's Peyton Vanderstreet (21:09) and Molly Musselman (21:49) finishing 2-3, respectively. Addison Labbe (fifth, 23:34), Madeline DeLaura (eighth, 24:21) and Lauren Vassler (11th, 26:47) rounded out the top five for the Bears with Mia Klewin (fourth, 22:21), Martha Hammond (sixth, 24:06), Audrey Turner (9th, 24:27) and Violet Kunka (10th, 25:33) rounding out the top five for the Saints. Olivia Crane-Benjamin finished seventh overall (24:17) for the Whalers (0-5).• Wheeler swept the top four spots to defeat Plainfield 16-42 in an ECC Division IV meet. Carissa Brown finished first for the Lions (3-5, 3-0) in 22:38) and was followed by Sophie Zichichi (23:10), Kylie Melia (24:46) and Rose Tardiff (26:49), with Ava Vangieri placing sixth (27:36).• Lyman Memorial took the top four places and beat Montville 15-50 in ECC Division II and Windham 15-50. Hazel DeLucia was first in 23:34 and was followed by Sylvie Hiltz (23:37), Luci Gardella (24:45) and Kayla Osga (24:32) for Lyman (6-1, 4-0). Sage Gressly finished fifth (25:06) for the Wolves (2-6, 0-3).Boys• NFA used its depth to overcome a 1-2 finish by Woodstock's Christian Menounos and Colton Sallum to beat the Centaurs 27-30 in an ECC Division I meet. The Wildcats (7-1, 2-1) took the next four spots with Patrick Croughwell finishing third in 17:21, Jesse Croteau fourth in 17:35, Anthony DeBartolo fifth in 18:09 and Nicholas DeBartolo sixth in 18:15. Robinson Meuse completed the scoring for NFA by placing ninth in 18:40. Menounos won the race in 16:44.• Fitch's Ryan Dunning was the individual winner in 16:52 but East Lyme finished an unbeaten regular season with a 21-38 win over the Falcons in an ECC Division I met at Haley Farm in Groton. East Lyme is 6-0, 3-0 while Fitch falls to 4-4, 0-3.• Ledyard rode the 1-2-3 finish of Hayden Baber, Jackson Hill and Gabriel Huff to 17-45 ECC Division II win over Waterford at Harkness Memorial State Park. Baber and Hill both finished in 17:55 with Huff a second behind in 17:56 for the Colonels (7-0, 4-0), with Antonio Soldato placing fifth (18:02) and Greyson Stephenson sixth (18:23). Titus Olsen led the Lancers (3-4, 1-3) in fourth place (17:59), Jay Zimmerman was eighth (18:41) and Adam Balfour 10th (19:01).• St. Bernard's Colin Britner finished first in 17:52 as the Saints swept a quad meet at home. St. Bernard (8-1, 3-1) beat Stonington 19-42 in an ECC Division III meet and added 15-50 wins over New London and Putnam. Stonington (4-4, 1-3) also beat New London and Putnam 15-50. Lucas Dellacono placed second for the Saints (18:51) with the Bears' Brady deCastro finishing third (19:00) followed by St. Bernard's Maddox Roan (fourth, 19:50) and Rad Tanksley (fifth, 20:00). Gabriel Frommer led New London (0-5) by placing 13th (23:16).• Wheeler took four of the top five places on the way to a 20-35 win over Plainfield in an ECC Division IV meet. Trevor Scharchilli took top honors for the Lions (3-5, 3-0) in 18:51 while Cam Conway was third (19:28), Jayson Krysiewicz fourth (20:23) and James Noyes fifth (20:52). Jeff Timmons rounded out the top five for Wheeler in seventh (22:23).• Montville swept a tri-meet in Lebanon, defeating host Lyman Memorial 25-31 in an ECC Division III meet and defeating Windham 19-42. Lyman beat Windham 21-39. Jack Brehler finished first for the Wolves (7-2, 4-0) in 19:10 with Alex Joseph third (20:01), Nathan Dhillon fourth (20:14) and Brady Bilheimer 10th (21:13). Kellen Johnson finished second for Lyman (4-3, 2-2) in 19:20 with Ryan Spellman fifth (20:38), Hunter Sanchez eighth (21:05) and Oliver Gahi ninth (21:08). • Tycen LaBelle won individual honors as Griswold swept a tri-meet at Hopeville State Park, edging Bacon Academy 26-29 in an ECC Division II meet and beating Killingly 16-47. Bacon also beat Killingly 18-45. LaBelle finished in 17:41 for the Wolverines (4-4, 2-1) with Max Brown finished fourth (18:35), Dylan Bailey fifth (18:38) and Sean Silva sixth (18:40). Bacon (4-5, 1-2) was led by the 2-3 finish of Boden Paul (18:17) and Michael Dickey (18:19).