BOYS

ECC Large

East Lyme

Coach: Sam Harfenist (7th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Vann Moffett, Jr. Colvert Moore.

Top newcomers: Jr. John Donnelly, So. Eli Montleton, So. Ryan McCauley.

Outlook: Moffett was the Vikings No. 1 runner a year ago, finishing ninth in the ECC meet and earning all-league honors. Moore and Moffett were both a part of East Lyme's 4x800 relay team which won the ECC title during track season and Harfenist thinks the team has a shot to improve on last year's record of 9-6 overall, 4-6 in the ECC Large, especially considering the roster is one of the largest he can recall.

Fitch

Coach: Rich Kosta (4th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Daelon Morgan, Sr. Aaron Panciera, Jr. Joel Lee, So. Tanner LeClair, So. Tom Readett.

Top newcomers: Sr. Owen Stanfield, Fr. Ian Poe, Fr. Ryan Poe, Fr. Dan Gaiewski.

Outlook: Nine freshman runners hope to have an impact on the varsity level this season, a team led by a group of experienced runners in Readett, Morgan, Lee and Panciera. Stanfield, a member of the Falcons' track team, should only add to the depth, as Fitch (6-8, 2-8) tries to keep pace in a tough ECC Large and gain confidence for the postseason. Kosta said he is pleased with the progression so far.

Ledyard

Coach: Bill Billing (3rd season).

Key returnees: Sr. Aaron Norcia, Sr. Josh Snow, Sr. Rigel Wachtmann, Jr. Christian Kuss, Jr. Geralson Withrow, So. Jacob Money, So. Zak King, So. Chad Lockaby.

Top newcomers: So. Aaron Perner, Fr. Ben Vajdos, Fr. Dominic Murray.

Outlook: Five of the Colonels' top six runners return — minus The Day's Runner of the Year, ECC champion Bryce Hedman, who graduated — from a team which went 15-2 overall, 8-2 in the ECC and finished second in the Class M state meet. Norcia and Kuss were both ECC Large Division all-stars and will be among the top runners in the conference, as Ledyard vies to contend for ECC and state titles once again.

NFA

Coach: Chad Johnson (11th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Connor Gralton, Sr. Tyler Sholes, Jr. Brandon Mehlinger, Jr. Lucas Shea, So. Brenden Sholes.

Top newcomers: Jr. Vinny Huang, Jr. Frankie Perrino.

Outlook: The Wildcats (13-0, 10-0) return their top five scorers from a team which placed 10th at the State Open last year, including Gralton, the 2013 ECC champion. If the group can build on that confidence during the regular season, Johnson believes a berth in the New England Championship is within reach. Gralton was third and Brandon Mehlinger fifth in the ECC last year, as NFA won the league meet with five runners in the top 14, edging Ledyard 47-52.

ECC Medium

Montville

Coach: Joel Finnegan (1st season).

Key returnees: Sr. Josh Anderson, Jr. Van Heller, Jr. Mason Whittaker, Jr. Colin Zawacki.

Top newcomers: So. Nick Donnell, Fr. Jayden Colon, Fr. Thomas Thomas.

Outlook: After suffering significant losses to graduation the past few seasons, Montville was winless last year. The Indians, under veteran track coach Joel Finnegan for the first time, who replaces Tim Egan after 21 seasons, are still young, but have shown a strong desire to improve, the coach said. Heller returns as the No. 1 runner.

New London

Coach: Mike Gorton (1st season).

Key returnees: Sr. Andrew Souza, Jr. Tim Glavan, Jr. Nate Skrabacz, Jr. Zach Moore, So. John Burnett.

Top newcomers: Sr. Connor Heap, Jr. Jack Madden, Fr. Pat Madden.

Outlook: Gorton hopes to build on the success the Whalers had last season under coach Bob Castronova, going 6-12 overall, 6-4 in the ECC Medium. A good number of returning runners should help the transition this season, despite the loss of All-ECC honoree Xavier Jones to graduation. Gorton feels the program is moving in the right direction.

Stonington

Coach: Jenna Ross (7th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Kieran Thornell, Sr. Nick Robinson, Sr. Owen Smith, Sr. Mitchell Edwards, Jr. David Manzella, Jr. Spencer Jones.

Top newcomers: Sr. Andrew Frosti.

Outlook: Stonington (13-4, 10-0) has won three straight ECC Medium Division titles, sweeping the division last year behind Thornell, the Bears' No. 1 runner, who was a first team all-conference pick. The Bears return five of their top seven runners from last year's ECC meet and are looking to improve on their times while hanging on to their conference championship.

Waterford

Coach: Chris Gamble (9th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Dylan Abate.

Outlook: Waterford lost a pair of all-conference runners in Caleb Harris and Dan Clark, who helped the Lancers go 11-6, 8-2, with a second-place finish in the ECC Medium Division behind Stonington, and will look to Abate to fill that leadership role. Abate is coming off a strong outdoor track season — he was a member of the 4x800 relay team which was third at the ECC meet. The Lancers have several freshmen who will contend to run at the varsity level.

ECC Small

St. Bernard

Coach: Rick Mitton (3rd season).

Key returnees: Sr. James Rose, Sr. Gabe Britos-Swain, Jr. Jack Feeley, Jr. Samuel Britner, Jr. Carter Wallace, So. Graham McCauley.

Top newcomers: Jr. John Butler, Fr. Sam Davis.

Outlook: Rose was an All-ECC selection last year and looks to help a small St. Bernard team with just 13 athletes contend for the ECC Small Division title which was won a season ago by Windham. (Windham beat St. Bernard 26-29 on Sept. 9). Britos-Swain will also be one of the team leaders, with a mix of underclassmen filling in behind the seniors for St. Bernard (11-3, 8-2).

Wheeler

Coach: Marc Tardiff (15th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Tyler Dibrino, Sr. Henry Smith, Jr. Anton Smith, Jr. Donny Davino, So. Ethan Smith.  

Outlook: The Lions (4-11, 3-7) graduated only one runner and gained six new competitors, pushing the total number of athletes on the roster to 19, one of Wheeler's largest teams in several years (even necessitating an assistant coach). Tardiff hopes to be among the top three teams in the Small Division. "The older guys are really encouraging the younger runners to push themselves. We have a great group of guys," Tardiff said. "Our younger guys know how important it is to train and we have high expectations for the future."

Others

Norwich Tech

Coach: Adam Lachendro (7th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Troy Anderson, Sr. Blake Wawryznowicz, Sr. Zach Benevides, Sr. Jeremy Perez, So. Cody Kersteter.

Top newcomers: Jr. Colby Chaluto, Fr. Alyx Bechler.

Outlook: The Warriors (8-0) are the two-time defending Constitution State Conference East champions and finished as the runners-up in last year's league meet. With several of the runners from that team lost to graduation, Norwich Tech will look to senior captains Anderson and Wawryznowicz to lead the team. Kersteter looks strong after putting in a great deal of work over the summer, Lachendro said. Anderson and Perez were among the Warriors' top five last year at the CSC meet.

Old Lyme

Coach: Bill Rayder (36th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Will DeMott.

Top newcomers: Fr. Casey Blue.

Outlook: Old Lyme lost its top two runners from a year ago to graduation in Ross Golebiewski and Thomas Roth, who were fourth and fifth in the Shoreline Conference meet. The Wildcats were second as a team in the Shoreline and fourth in Class SS. DeMott was part of the school's 4x800 relay team which won the Class S championship during indoor track and the Wildcats should remain competitive in the Shoreline due to their experience.

Williams

Coach: Greg Bowerman (2nd season).

Key returnees: Sr. Hattie Grant, Sr. James Burris, So. Will Jarrett, So. Colin Maduas.

Top newcomers: Jr. Grace Burlson, Jr. Amar Viswanathan.

Outlook: Jarrett was the Blues No. 2 runner at last year's SENE Championship, where the team finished fourth. Jarrett was seventh overall and Grant was seventh in the girls' race, both earning all-conference honors. Bowerman said the co-ed team is "extremely positive and energetic."

GIRLS

ECC Large

East Lyme

Coach: Dave Sdao (8th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Kirsten Thompson, Sr. Allie Fenton, Sr. Serena Valentin, Sr. Charlotte Wojcik, Sr. Amanda Callegari, Jr. Lily Whittaker, Jr. Kayla Berchielli, So. Colleen Keller, So. Erin Collinge.

Top newcomers: So. Hannah Gellar, Fr. Aleisha Price.

Outlook: An enthusiastic group of 30 runners is vying for varsity time in East Lyme (9-6, 4-6), where the Vikings' lineup will be built around Thompson, a returning All-ECC selection. Thompson was fourth in the ECC last year and 12th in Class MM. Returnees Valentin, Whittaker, Fenton, Wojcik and Callegari hold a big key, Sdao said, while Keller and Collinge have shown great improvement, as have Maura Whaley and Anna Donnelly.

Fitch

Coach: Shawn Towne (22nd year).

Key returnees: Sr. Alicia Moroyoqui, Sr. Carolyn Ellis, Sr. Katie Schneider, Jr. Molly Reinhold.

Top newcomers: So. Habeeba Kamel, Fr. Nell Chidley, Fr. Julia Aidan, Fr. Maddy Ellis.

Outlook: Competing in the Large Division along with NFA, Woodstock Academy and East Lyme during the regular season was a tough undertaking for Fitch (9-5, 5-5), but the Falcons came in fourth overall at the league championship to finish strong. Towne said he is looking for this team to improve on that result.

Ledyard

Coach: Bruce Douglass (43rd season).

Key returnees: Sr. Megan Brawner, Sr. Katherine Woodmansee, Sr. Destiny Kuss, Sr. Carina Mitchell, Jr. Erin Gralton, So. Averie Greeley.

Top newcomers: Fr. Cassidy Carroll, Fr. Jade Dessaint.

Outlook: The leader is Brawner, who was unbeaten last year during the regular season and who became even more confident in her running this spring when she won a Class MM state championship in the 800 meters during her first season in ourdoor track, being named The Day's All-Area Runner of the Year. Ledyard was 7-10 overall, 2-8 in the competitive ECC Large a year ago. Douglass said he believes that with continued improvement from each individual, that will enable the Colonels to move up in the team standings, as well, both at the ECC and state levels.

NFA

Coach: Kara Kochanski-Vendola (9th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Reide Jacksin, Jr. Breanna Cubilla, Jr. Mackenzie Lane, Jr. Aliza Moyer, Jr. Lindsay Sylvia, So. Sydney Corl, So. Sydney Kupis, So. Emma Trombley.

Top newcomers: So. Katie Kelly, So. Sara Burns.

Outlook: Sylvia was 14th in the ECC meet last year and is the Wildcats' only returning all-star from a team which went 13-0 overall and captured the league's regular season and postseason titles. Jacksin will captain the young team, which will need to gain experience during the dual meet season if it's to repeat as Large Division champion. Sylvia was fifth in the 3,200 at the ECC outdoor track meet.

ECC Medium

Montville

Coach: Joel Finnegan (1st season).

Key returnees: Sr. Suzie Fitzgerald, Jr. Karishma Chouhan.

Top newcomers: So. Annali Nelson, Fr. Emma Giurleo, Fr. Xyla West, Fr. Maddie Whittaker.

Outlook: Fitzgerald was an ECC all-star last year and is coming off a strong track season, helping lift the Indians to their second straight ECC Medium Division title, as is Chouhan. Meanwhile, Finnegan said Whittaker, Giurleo and West will have an immediate impact as freshmen for the Indians (7-6, 6-2).

New London

Coach: Mike Gorton (1st season).

Key returnees: Sr. Rebecca Weigel.

Top newcomers: Jr. Shineika Fareus.

Outlook: The boys' and girls' runners at New London do their workouts together, meaning although the girls' team is small in numbers, the athletes receive plenty of encouragement from their fellow Whalers and are also headed in the right direction, Gorton said. Weigel was the No. 2 runner last year for New London (2-14, 2-6), behind All-ECC pick Deanna McCarville, who graduated.

Stonington

Coach: Jenna Ross (7th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Elise Huysman, Sr. Sienna Gray, Sr. Serena Monteiro, Sr. Anna Bornstein, So. Liz Gray.

Top newcomers: Jr. Maia Smith, Fr. Caroline Morehouse, Fr. Lindsey Orr.

Outlook: Ross lists finishing in the top five in the Class M state championship as one of the goals for the Bears (14-2, 8-0), who return all five of their top runners from the team which won last year's ECC Medium Division title. Sienna and Liz Gray both earned All-ECC honors, with Liz finishing as Stonington's No. 3 runner in the ECC and state meets in just her freshman season.

Waterford

Coach: Chris Gamble (9th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Jeanette Mooney.

Outlook: Mooney was ninth in the ECC, earning all-conference honors in the Medium Division, and was 12th in the Class M state championship meet (21:02), gaining a spot in the State Open for the Lancers (5-10, 3-5). The rest is to be determined, said Gamble, although he mentions Cassidy Rubin and Emily Johnson as a pair of runners with outdoor track experience he is hoping will translate to cross country.

ECC Small

St. Bernard

Coach: Susan Griffin (8th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Kaelin Smith, Sr. Emily delaCruz, Jr. Ellen Arvidson, Jr. Anna McKinley, Jr. Julie Sedensky, So. Christina McCaffrey.

Top newcomers: Fr. Bridget Feeley, Fr. Payton McCauley, Fr. Emily Nelson.

Outlook: The Saints (8-5, 8-2, second in the Small Division to Griswold) return five of their top seven runners, including The Day's All-Area Cross Country Runner of the Year in Arvidson, now a junior. Arvidson was third in the ECC meet, the top local finisher, and will lead this group, which overall possesses substantial race experience and a great deal of depth.

Others

Norwich Tech

Coach: Adam Lachendro (7th season).

Key returnees: So. Meghan Moore.

Outlook: Moore, the lone holdover from last year, improved a great deal as a freshman, finishing sixth in the junior varsity race at the Constitution State Conference championship. The Warriors (4-3) continue to look for additional runners in order to qualify as a team in dual meets.

Old Lyme

Coach: Barbara O'Leary (11th season).

Key returnees: So. Emma Pennie.

Top newcomers: Fr. Anna Sather.

Outlook: Pennie made a name for herself as a freshman last year when she earned All-Area honors after finishing seventh in the Shoreline Conference (19:57) and eighth in the Class S state championship (20:59). Old Lyme was fourth as a team in Class S. O'Leary calls it a very young team, however — all but one of the Wildcats' top seven was a freshman or sophomore — and it still might take time to be in the top echelon of the Shoreline.