Sports
Asuncion and O'Toole are on the rise for Stratford Harriers
Newtown is off to a flying start in the SWC remaining undefeated with a meet sweep in a gorgeous afternoon of cross country racing.
On Tuesday September 17th the Stratford High Boys Cross Country team traveled to Weston for a quad meet with the Trojans, the Newtown Nighthawks, and the New Milford Greenwave in week two of the South West Conference cross country season.
On the grounds of Weston High School runners went up against a campus wide mostly level course with a figure eight type start and two loops in the same manner ending on the newly refurbished track.
Some of the running lanes took you through a wooded area in back of the school heading north circling the baseball fields, eventually turning to go right in front of the school and concrete sidewalks.
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The weather conditions could not be better with temperatures at 72 degrees, no wind, low dew point, and bright sunshine splashing the afternoon of racing action.
At 5:00 the runners toed the starting line waited for the command to go and all at once the race was underway.
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Jumping out in front were Weston’s Markus Sonnichsen and Ashe Leuzzi.
Running in a diamond formation were New Milford’s Aiden Padros and Stratford’s Dyllan Asuncion.
Stratford’s Zachary O’Toole was battling it out with New Milford’s Braden Cerra.
Asuncion and O’Toole, both Sophomores, continue to be a one two punch in the Stratford lineup. They are proving they belong in the top tier runners of the SWC and can run with the powerhouses of New Milford, Weston, and Newtown.
The next four runners and rounding out the top ten were all from Newtown, Ubay Dissa,Orion Lowery, Brian Sibley, and Stephen Sibley.
Two Weston runners, Sebastian Geraghty (18:31) and Jack Lorenz (18:34) were running in eleventh and twelfth place.
In team play the all important fifth runner was from Newtown, Soheib Dissa (18:49) running in the fourteenth spot. .
Weston’s fifth runner was Logan Bennetta (18:50), who made a valiant effort towards the finish line, came up on second short of S. Dissa’s pace.
The first five runners from one team decide victory in a duel meet.
At the midway point Weston Seniors Leuzzi and Sonnichsen opened up a five second lead over Asuncion who went ahead of Padros.
O’Toole was in fifth but was challenged by Cerra.
Newtown runners U. Dissa, Lowery, B. Sibley, and S. Sibley maintained their positions in six through ten.
In the final stages it was all Leuzzi as he headed down the final one-hundred meters on the track. He finished in the top spot with a time of 16:50.
Sonnichsen, also sprinting down the final stretch, took second at 16:55.
Asuncion cruised in comfortably in third at 17:09. He once again achieved his personal career best.
Padros came in fourth with a time of 17:20.
O’Toole came in fifth with a time of 17:25. This was O’toole’s second high school career race and he bested his time from last week by forty five seconds.
Cerra was sixth at 17:30, Lowery seventh at 17:32, U.Dissa eighth at 17:47, in ninth was B. Sibley at 17:50 and S. Sibley tenth at 17:57.
Newtown’s S.Dissa clinched a meet sweep for the Nighthawks with a fourteenth place finish at 18:49.
The remaining Stratford finishers were Jose Mora at 21:45, Ryan DeVeaux 21:57, Keeson Alonso, 23:36, in his high school race debut Brayden Acevedo at 27:42. Kevin Hughes finished at 31:51 and Papa Insaido in at 37:06.
Final scores on the afternoon saw Newtown over Weston 27-28, over New Milford 26-33, and over Stratford 25-36. Weston over New Milford 22-35 and Stratford 21-40. New Milford over Stratford 24-27.
Stratford goes to 1-5 on the season.
Up next for Stratford, Tuesday September 24th, 5:00, at Bunnell High School against the Bulldogs, the Masuk Panthers, and the Kolbe Cathedral Cougars.
