Darien Scores and Standings, Nov. 14

UPDATES

• Boys cross county: The Darien boys cross country team completed its historic season by earning a spot on the list of New England’s top 10 high school squads.

In a season of historic achievements, the Blue Wave added this latest first to the Darien history books at the 77th New England Association High School Cross Country Championship meet Saturday at Ponagansett High School in North Scituate, R.I.    

The Blue Wave out-ran 21 of 30 of the region’s most elite high school cross country teams from Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The team had already made school history by even qualifying for the meet, so its top-10 finish was an unanticipated final flourish to its incredible season.

Each of the 30 teams competing at the meet represented the best of the best of New England’s boys high school cross country programs: all were state champions or runners-up in their respective divisions. The field of 30 was pared down from the approximately 500-plus teams across the five New England states that participated in their state championship races.  

Running under perfect early fall conditions with bluebird skies and a brisk wind, the Darien harriers scored 319 points, earning them a ninth-place finish overall and fourth among the Connecticut teams in the meet. In a field of 275 runners, the Blue Wave put two of its runners in the top 100 and four in the top 150. 

Finishing first for Darien and 40th overall was co-captain Michael Johnston, who posted a time of 16:40 for the 5K race.

Second for Darien and 100th overall was co-captain Charlie Baird, who crossed the finish in 17:09. Co-captain Michael Coe finished in 17:19, third for the Blue Wave and 124th overall. 

Sophomore Marshall Huffman finished behind Coe in fourth for Darien and 135th overall, coming across the finish line in 17:23. Freshman Alex Ostberg was the Blue Wave’s fifth finisher in the race and 154th overall with a time of 17:30. Co-captain Eli Converse came in at 17:53 for 203rd and sophomore Peter Kreuch finished in 18:41 in the 254th spot.

According to DHS boys cross country head coach Tyson Kaczmarek, the Blue Wave’s strong showing at the New England meet was a fitting end-of-season statement, not just about his runners’ talent, but their dedication. 

"They deserved to be here," Kaczmarek said. "They earned this. It was awesome. The whole experience was great. This group of boys worked so hard this year. I’m so proud of them. We earned our place in this meet."

"The meet was a lot of fun," Converse added. "It was a fitting end to one of the best seasons this team has ever had. Everyone had been working hard since the very beginning. This was the reward for our effort."

Baird said the Blue Wave were determined to accomplish great things from the start of the season.

“We started off this season telling people ‘we mean business,’ and we proved it," Baird said. "We beat Danbury. We won Wickham. We went undefeated, won the Class L state title and did so well at the state Open that we qualified for New Englands. So making the Top 10 teams in New England is just the icing on the cake for just us. What an awesome season."

• Boys soccer: The Darien boys soccer team would love nothing better than to eliminate its archrival from the state tournament.

The fifth-seeded Blue Wave will have that chance on Monday when they host New Canaan, the defending state champion, in the second round of the Class L tournament. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.

Neither team had much trouble in the first round. No. 5 Darien (13-3-3) advanced with a 3-0 win over No. 28 North Haven 3-0 and No. 12 New Canaan defeated No. 21 Lyman Hall by the same score.

During the regular season, Darien and New Canaan played to a 1-1 tie on Oct. 10

Eight FCIAC teams have reached the second round of the state tournament: No. 3 Norwalk, No. 7 Trumbull, No. 11 Staples, No. 17 Greenwich and No. 19 Westhill in Class LL and 5 Darien, No. 12 New Canaan and No. 16 Wilton in Class L.

• Field hockey: Top seed Darien (17-1-0-0) hosts No. 8 Guilford in the quarterfinals of the Class M tournament on Monday (2 p.m.).

The winner gets either No. 4 Wilton or No. 5 New Fairfield in the semifinals on Wednesday.

Darien, which had a 93-game unbeaten streak snapped by Staples in the FCIAC semifinals, is seeking a fifth consecutive state championship.

• Junior football: Three Darien teams have advanced to the finals of the Fairfield County Football League in their age division. Semifinal results:

Bantam third grade

• Wilton Blue 25, New Canaan Red 12
• Witon White 14, New Canaan Black 13

Bantam fourth grade

• Wilton Blue 28, New Canaan Red 6
• Wilton White vs. New Canaan Red

Junior fifth grade

• New Canaan Red 28, DJFL Wave 14
• Wilton Blue 12, DJFL Blue 0

Junior sixth grade

• Fairfield Red 13, DJFL Blue 0
• Wilton Black 14, Westport North 0

Senior seventh grade

• Fairfield Blue 18, DJFL Blue 13
• DJFL White 26, RYF Orange 12

Senior eighth grade

• DJFL White 21, New Canaan Black 15
• DJFL Blue 12, New Canaan Red 7

FRIDAY'S RESULTS

• Boys soccer: Darien 3, North Haven 0, Class L, first round
• Field hockey: Darien 5, Pomperaug 0, Class M, first round

SATURDAY'S RESULTS

• Football: Darien 35, Bassick 8
• Girls soccer: Glastonbury 2, Darien 1, Class LL (second round)
• Girls volleyball: Darien 3, Fairfield Ludlowe 1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-20) Class LL (second round)

MONDAY'S SCHEDULE

• Boys soccer: New Canaan at Darien, 2 p.m., Class L, second round
• Field hockey: Guilford at Darien, 2 p.m., Class M, quarterfinals

STANDINGS

• Football

• Boys soccer

• Girls soccer

• Field hockey

• Girls volleyball