Norwich — The stunning result was hard for Stonington to absorb.

Based on their impressive performance, the Bears had an inkling that they won the program's first Eastern Connecticut Conference girls' cross country championship on Thursday at Norwich Golf Course.

But they waited for the official results before celebrating.

"I'm ecstatic," coach Jenna Ross said. "I can't even tell you. This is unbelievable. It's a dream. It's so awesome. To beat teams like NFA and Bacon, two huge schools, it's nice.

"It's a good day for little schools."

Make that a great day.

With freshman Caroline Morehouse and junior Maia Smith leading the way, Stonington scored 80 points to outdistance Bacon Academy (112) and pre-race favorite Norwich Free Academy (120). Morehouse took fourth in 20 minutes, 56 seconds over the 5k course, and Smith placed ninth in 21:47.

"We worked so hard and it makes it feel worth it," Morehouse said. "We were undefeated this season, so we knew we wanted to come in and place high."

Two other Bears also finished in the top 20, as freshman Lindsey Orr (22:30) was 18th and senior Elise Huysman 19th (22:33). Senior Sienna Gray was 38th (23:31). NFA's top runner, sophomore Sara Burns, placed 20th.

"Our team has been pretty solid all year," Ross said. "They've just been working together really well as a team to try to stay as a close group, which is how you win big races like this."

There also was a surprise winner in the individual competition as Plainfield sophomore Brooke Brouillard broke away from the pack late in the race to capture her first title. Her winning time was 20:13.

"It was great," Brouillard said. "I felt awesome."

Ledyard senior Megan Brawner also ran a strong race, placing second in 20:34. Woodstock's Sylvia Lawrence, one of the top contenders, collapsed with about a mile to go and didn't finish.

"The goal today was to run a consistent, hard race, don't give up and rely on your training," Ledyard coach Bruce Douglass said. "Going up the hill with three-quarters of a mile to go, she was fourth.

"... Megan made a good attempt at it."

Brawner improved on last year's seventh-place finish in the ECC Championship. She also wanted to redeem herself for a poor race at the Wickham Invitational earlier this month.

"I just wanted to finish because I passed out at Wickham," Brawner said. "I felt like I had disappointed (coach) Douglass. ... I was really hard on myself all week practicing.

"I just wanted to come back and show him that I'm a good runner and that I'll do what he tells me to do."

A short time after the race, Brawner walked over to Douglass and gave him a hug.

"I'm back," Brawner told her coach. "I'm back."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe