WINNING WICKHAM — From left, Jack Sparkman, Marshal Huffman, Colton Appleby, Brian Davey, Ben Olsen, Alex Ostberg, Peter Kreuch and coach Tyson Kaczmarek.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
On Saturday, the Darien boys’ cross country team captured the title at the prestigious Wickham Invite, taking the most difficult event of the day, the Championship Race, with 102 points.
In the win, No. 5 Darien defeated five of the top 10 teams in the state — second ranked Xavier, No. 3 Amity, No. 6 Simsbury, No. 7 Staples and No. 10 New Milford.
It was the second straight year the Blue Wave has won this meet.
In the grand scheme it is meaningless. We have to perform when it matters at the championship race. However, it was a good test for us.
— Tyson Kaczmarek
The Wave’s Alex Ostberg placed fourth in 16:48 over the challenging 3.1 mile course. Marshall Huffman was 19th in 17:38 and Colten Appleby was 22nd in 17:42.
They were followed by Ben Olsen in 25th in 17:44 and Brian Davey in 38th in 18:01, Peter Kreuch in 47th in 18:10 and Jack Sparkman in 82nd 19:01.
“It was an awesome day,” said Darien coach Tyson Kaczmarek. “We shocked some teams for the second year in a row. People did not think we could win the race, but we were motivated being the defending champions.”
The Wave on the run at Wickham.
Don’t call this a vanity meet. Finishing first means a lot more than just seeing your winning smiles reflected back at you from the trophy’s shine.
It’s just that Darien’s out for a lot more.
“This is a meet that is nice to win, but (we) have to keep it in perspective,” Kaczmarek said. “Winning it doesn’t help us win anything else like Class L.
“In the grand scheme it is meaningless. We have to perform when it matters at the championship race.
“However, it was a good test for us.”
Darien races at Danbury on Tuesday, not taking first, but landing the FCIAC East title all the same.
Back in the county
On Tuesday, Darien suffered its first loss of the season, 29-26 versus host Danbury.
The team picked up wins over Norwalk (15-50) and Trumbull (15-48).
Darien finished the regular season at 16-1.
Complications crop up though, when considering that Central did not show up for a scheduled dual meet on Sept. 18. So according to Kaczmarek, it is either a forfeit or Darien races the Hilltoppers at FCIACs and scores it from those results.
“Either way, we will finish 17-1,” Kaczmarek said. “The two wins allowed Darien to capture the FCIAC Eastern Division Championship (again).”
In a very close race with the Hatters, Darien fell short, though.
Danbury is ranked No. 1 in the state.
Ostberg was second for the Blue Wave in 13:24 over the 2.5 mile course.
Huffman finished fourth in 13:33 and Appleby sixth in 13:38.
Ben Olsen was seventh in 13:43 and Peter Kreuch was 10th in 13:49.
Brian Davey placed 12th in 14:03 and Jack Sparkman and Arthur Cassidy were 20th and 21st respectively in 14:25.
Danbury’s 1-3-5-8-9 finish was just too much for the Blue Wave.
“They are ranked first in the state for a reason,” said Kaczmarek. “They are a strong, well disciplined team.
“They raced very well today.”
This is hardly a downer going into the FCIACs next week.
“We knew what we were getting into. I’m very proud of how the boys raced,” Kaczmarerk added. “They ran their tails off and we just came up short. However, we took a lot of good out of the meet today.”
The loss snapped Darien’s 47 consecutive dual meets winning streak dating back to 2010 when the Wave last lost to Danbury at the same venue, Tarrywile Park.
Over the past six seasons, Darien is 98-5 in the FCIAC with five losses all being to Danbury.
