Manchester — This was the culmination of a conversation the members of the East Lyme High School boys’ cross country team began in 2021.

What if?

“We started talking about how great it would be to make New Englands, but it was a pipe dream,” East Lyme coach Mike Flynn said. “In 2022, it became closer to reality as we finished seventh, although it was by a lot.

“Since then, we’ve trained, talked and believed and we had the team to make it this year.”

The Vikings pipe dream came to fruition Monday. East Lyme finished fifth at the State Open cross country championship at Wickham Park in Manchester with 150 points. The top six teams qualified for the New England meet Saturday in Belfast, Maine.

East Lyme junior Sean McCauley was ninth in 16 minutes, 7 seconds to lead the way, followed by Jilali Benjdid (39th), Matthew Carrier (40th), Sam Leone (45th) and Nathan Bergman (76th). Kai Ritz and Mason Hintze also competed.

Griswold freshman Tycen LaBelle (16th, 16:17) qualified for New Englands by finishing in the top 25 in the boys’ race, while Eastern Connecticut Conference champion Hazel DeLucia of Lyman Memorial qualified in the girls’ race (24th, 19:44).

The East Lyme boys won ECC and Class MM state championships heading into Monday’s race.

“These boys have answered every question all year and have consistently stepped up in the biggest moments,” Flynn said. “Sean ran an incredibly composed race. I told him before ‘It’s time. It’s time to make that leap into the next elite group of runners’ and today he did.

“Jilali, Matt and Sam have been so incredibly consistent and great all year. Nate moved up 50-60 spots in the last mile, which was needed to seal it. ... The top eight teams ran incredibly well today; there was no room for anyone to be off, which makes the accomplishment that much more meaningful and special.”

Steven Hergenrother of Ridgefield won the individual title in 15:32 and Ridgefield was the top team, as well, with 60 points.

In the girls’ race, DeLucia, a sophomore, knew she was close to making the cut.

“Overall, I’m happy,” DeLucia said. “I was just trying to make New Englands. I just squeaked in. It feels really, really good.

“I was paying attention to where I was. I was trying to mark one person and get to them and just keep getting the next person.”

Newington’s Katherine Bohlke won the individual title with a time of 18:16. Greenwich captured the team title with 95 points.

Old Lyme sophomore Chase Gilbert, one of the favorites, watched the race from the sidelines. A back issue prevented her from competing.

“I felt what we thought was a muscle spasm in my lower back,” said Gilbert, the Shoreline Conference and Class S champion. “I wanted to recover for today, but the stars did not align. But I’m on the mend. I’m hoping to be back very soon. This isn’t major.

“Just really bad timing.”

Gilbert hoped to compete for the title after taking third in last year’s State Open.

“It was a tough week,” Gilbert said. “Of course, I was super disappointed. I wanted to come today because I have so many friends who are racing and I wanted to cheer for them. Being in the environment helped deal with the issue.”

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