The Guilford girls' cross country team even surprised itself, winning its first State Open title since 2002. Coach Jim Ford said the Indians were hoping to get in the top six, so they can qualify for next Saturday's New England Championships. Ford said some of his girls ran 1 minute better than they did all season. This was a team that was affected by the swine flu outbreak that hit Guilford high school last month and saw its streak of five straight SCC titles come to an end.
Junior Val Williams led the Indians Friday with a mark of 19 minutes, 32 seconds. That was good for 16th place. Now the question is how will the Indians fare at the regional meet?
Other notable performances from Friday...
-Xavier won its first State Open title since 1999.
-Sean Mueller of Cheshire was the top area finisher, placing third in the boys' race with a time 16:00.
-The Amity boys' team earned a New England Championship berth.
-As did Hamden, its first in school history. The Green Dragons gave the SCC three teams in the regional meet. Only six qualify.
-Bunnell senior Lauren Sara was the top area girls' finisher, finishing fourth (18:29).
-SCC champion Sarah Cotton didn't make the cut. She finished 32nd. Only the top 25 individual runners qualify. Cotton was sick all week, leading up to the race.

For a complete look at the boys' race results click here
For a complete look at the girls' race results click here