Perfection! Fall 2023 CHS Lady Rams Cross Country Teams

Sports Notebook: Season Recap
FALL 2023 CHS GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS
ARTICLE & PHOTO BY FRANK LOGIUDICE

Stellar plus extraordinary equals perfection for the 2023 Fall Cheshire High School Lady Rams Cross Country Teams. Just like 2022 they had an undefeated season and they won the Housatonic Division title for the 3rd consecutive year. They won the SCC Division title for the 2nd consecutive year.

Here is a recap of their meets this season.

At their season opener on September 8th the Wilton Cross Country Invitational they began winning again just like 2022 by taking second place with a score of 113 New Canaan was first with 98 points and Glastonbury was third with 142 points.

CHS Tri-Captains & Seniors Alexa Ciccone & Mia Vientos were the first and second student athletes from CHS to finish the course first and all season. No surprises there just like the Fall 2022 season.

At their second meet and their first home meet at Cheshire Park on September 12th the Lady Rams Cross Country Teams were made to shine. Just watch them shine and they did not disappoint. They won 1st Place with a score of 32 against Guilford 56, Wilbur Cross 64 and Sacred Heart 8. The next meet they traveled to Branford Supply Ponds on September 19th against Branford, Hamden, & Hillhouse high school where they continued to make strides winning first place.

At the Winding Trails Cross Country Invitational in Farmington on Saturday, September 23rd not even the stormy weather prevented the Lady Rams Cross Country Varsity Team from winning 2nd Place with a score of 54. They were sandwiched between 1st Place Glastonbury 50 and 3rd Place New Canaan 69. The Rams JV team also did well. Seven of these student-athletes finished in the Top 5, Top 10, Top 15 & Top 20 but that did not mean the other student-athletes did not do well, they did.

At the SCC Divisional Championships on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 in Guilford they won 1st Place with a score of 16 and became the Housatonic Champions for the 3rd Consecutive year beating out Amity( 2nd) with 55, Shelton(3rd) 66, Lyman Hall(4th) 115. Tri-Captain & Senior Mia Vientos was the heroine of the day at this meet who returned to the team after a brief illness of no running stated Head Coach Rob Schaefer. Schaefer tried out his new frosh student-athletes Sage Falcon and Sarah Curran in this varsity race due to their prowess.

The next meet would have been the Wickham Invitational in Manchester but this meet was canceled so this team got an unexpected vacation from their competitions. The next meet was October 10th in Milford against Foran, Lauralton Hall & East Haven. The Lady Rams won first place with a score of 18, Foran 46 & Lauralton Hall 88 and East Haven did not have enough athletes to score at the meet. At this meet, “The home team coach said that only a couple of girls have run this course under 20:00. Now we can add Alexa Ciccone’s name to the list. She is simply amazing!” stated Head Coach Rob Schaefer.

At the second home meet at Cheshire Park on Friday the 13th, October 2023 nothing bad happened, just good fortunes for the Lady Rams Cross Country Teams they won first place against Wallingford’s Lyman Hall High School. The score was CHS 15 Lyman Hall 50. The Lady Rams Cross Country Team finished in the Top Ten at the meet.

The next meet was the SCC Championship Meet at East Shore Park in New Haven on Wednesday, October 18th. At this meet the Lady Rams Varsity CC Team became the SCC Champions for the second consecutive year they won first place with a score of 46. The CHS trio of Alexa Ciccone, Mia Vientos & Eva Curran won First Team All-SCC honors. Additional recognition went to the trio of Ava Ciccone, Sage Falcon & Julia Gonzales for Second Team All-SCC honors.

Next up on the schedule was the CIAC Cross Country Championships at Manchester's Wickham Park on Saturday, October 28, 2023. This meet was the most difficult not because the course was tough but because of the unseasonably hot temperatures that were in the 80’s during the race causing the CIAC to postpone the Class LL girls and boys races to Tuesday, October 31st. The extreme heat caused many student-athletes from many teams to collapse due to dehydration during the Class L girls and boy races. Once they crossed the finish line the student-athletes just wanted to lay down once they got there. Who could blame them?

The Lady Rams Cross Country Team won third place at this meet. Most of the Lady Rams Running Team did not even flinch during the race in the hot weather compared to their competitors. They kept on running until the end; they persevered. Tri-Captain & Senior Mia Vientos is an example of this. Of all of the images that were captured of her she was always smiling as she was running the course. You would not even know the temperature was unusually hot for this time of year. Vientos made her running look effortless at the CIAC Cross Country Championships. As a result of the Lady Rams 3rd Place finish they qualified for CIAC State Open on November 6th also in Manchester. However, they had to wait until the Class LL races were completed before they knew they qualified.

At the State Open on November 6th they won 2nd Place with 166 points. Greenwich finished first with 95 points. In third was Glastonbury 170, 4th New Fairfield 209 & 5th New Canaan 215. As a result of the Varsity Lady Rams Cross Country 2nd Place victory they were headed to Belfast, Maine for the New England Interscholastic Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 11, 2023

At the New England Meet in Belfast Maine the Lady Rams Cross Country Team won 6th place with a score of 292 points. They finished ahead of Greenwich High School who came in 8th Place in Belfast, Maine which won 1st Place at the State Open on November 6, 2023 in Manchester and New Canaan High School which placed 26th at the New England Meet. The CHS Lady Rams are amazing and remarkable.

What were the highs and lows of the season that ended on November 11th? Head Coach Rob Schaefer stated, “The only low was the difficulty experienced at the Class L meet in the heat. But we rose from that trial to finish runner up in the state. Every other day, practice, and race was a high. A great team.” He singled out the four seniors Alexa Ciccone, Katie Hall, Mia Vientos and Abby Cortigiano who he will be losing as part of the CHS Class of 2024 “The four seniors are irreplaceable, but we will try. Our outlook is bright for next year.”

Congratulations to the 2023 CHS Lady Rams Cross Country Teams for another successful and exciting season.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Enjoy the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwaxNPY5nIY