Danbury’s girls’ cross country faced Greenwich, who was ranked #1 in the Western Division. Our girls stepped up to the start line with a season record of 10-2, looking for one more win to secure the hard-earned Western Division Championship.

Leading up to this win, the training had not been easy for the girls. For months, the girls had been training, averaging 30-40 miles per week and completing 10-mile long runs on Saturdays.

During the season, Danbury’s girls went up against competitive teams like Fairfield Ludlowe, New Canaan, and Ridgefield. Going into the final race at Greenwich’s home course at Tod’s Point, our girls looked to defeat at least two of the three teams. After months of training over the summer and during the season, the girls managed to beat both Trumbull and Norwalk to finish their regular season at 12-3. The team’s scorers consisted of five Juniors, all finishing within 2 minutes of each other. The pack was led by Bridget Preveza, followed by Leyna Scappaticci, Marianna Sousa, Katelyn Zaloski, and closed off by Emili Lopez-Gibbons. The Western Division Championship had not been won by the girls’ cross country team since 2018 with a tiebreaker.

This win was not easy. Although the girls had the training behind them when they stepped up to the line, they still faced adversity, knowing that some of the top runners would not be with them. The Junior, Bridget Preveza, who was the first finisher, saw the adversity as an opportunity. She said that she “knew [she] had to really prove to [herself]” and that it was “a new opportunity for [herself] and [the] team.” The mentality paid off, and they walked away with a championship title. One of the team captains, Katelyn Zaloski, said they would move “forward, and we will bring the same to FCIACS and states.” As the Hatters closed off their regular season, “having a championship that they won is quite a springboard into the championship season,” said proud Coach Fraticelli.