By Michael Letendre

MERIDEN – The Bristol Eastern boys and girls cross country teams more than held their own in a tri-meet against Plainville and Maloney on Wednesday.

The girls ended up splitting the day against the competition, hanging a 24-25 loss on the Spartans while falling to the host Blue Devils by an 18-44 final from Hubbard Park in Meriden.

Two of Eastern’s distance runners were able to crack the top-12 at the event.

Kaelyn Gonzalez nabbed fifth place in 23:22 while Lauren Ayotte was eleventh with a time of 25:40.

“Kaelyn Gonzalez ran strong coming in fifth place with a time of 23:22,” said Eastern coach Paul Ryskowski. “Lauren Ayotte also had a strong day coming in 11th place with a time of 25:40.”

The Lancers started the season at 1-1 and the program has talented runners in the form of Gonzalez – a freshmen who is going to keep improving – while Ayotte is a multi-sport athlete and one of Eastern’s featured runners.

On the flip side, the boys had a tremendous day of action, sweeping the competition.

The Rams spun Maloney by a 23-38 final and took out Plainville 25-34 over the CCC South engagement.

In the race, Dominic Tartarelli (18:22) was the runner-up from Plainville Middle School – performing well on the relatively flat course.

Also for the Kingstreeters, Jack Mulcunry (19:42) earned sixth place while Aidan Tartarelli (19:47) was one spot behind. 

“Dominic Tartarelli runs a tough race and finishes in second with a time of 18:22,” said Ryskowski. “Jack Mulcunry and Aidan Tartarelli both came up huge, finishing in sixth and seventh and running 19:42 and 19:47, respectively. [It was a] great team win!”

The Lancers are back in action this coming Tuesday in its only home meet of the campaign.

Eastern squares off against Berlin and Lewis Mills from Page Park at 3:45 p.m. in a CCC South confrontation.

BRISTOL EASTERN CROSS COUNTRY

from Hubbard Park, Meriden – Wednesday, September 14

Boys Team Scores

Bristol Eastern 25, Plainville 34

Bristol Eastern 23, Maloney 38

Bristol Eastern’s Top Performers

2. Dominic Tartarelli 18:22

6. Jack Mulcunry 19:42

7. Aidan Tartarelli 19:47

Record: Bristol Eastern 2-0 overall

Girls Team Scores

Plainville 18, Bristol Eastern 44

Maloney 25, Bristol Eastern 24

Bristol Eastern’s Top Performers

5. Kaelyn Gonzalez 23:22

11. Lauren Ayotte 25:40

Record: Bristol Eastern 1-1 overall