THE HOME OF WEST HAVEN SPORTS

Westies compete in SCC Championships
Lawrence, Lubin lead the way
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 20, 2011) – The West Haven cross country team participated in the Southern Connecticut Conference Championships Thursday afternoon at Hammonasset State Park in Madison. In a meet which saw Guilford take home the girls’ SCC championship and Xavier take home the boys’ trophy, West Haven was well represented.
Candace Lawrence was West Haven’s top female runner, placing 51st out of 122 runners. Lawrence ran the course in 22 minutes, 41.98 seconds, using a 7:19 mile pace. 
Julia Consorte was second for West Haven in 26:30.58, while Alexis Goodhue and Elise Abu-Sitteh followed. Goodhue finished in a time of 29:07.30 while Abu-Sitteh finished in 29:28.20.
On the boys’ side, the team finished 17th overall. Louis Lubin was West Haven’s top runner and 88th overall out of 130 runners in 20:34.95. Lubin ran a 6:38 mile pace. 
Michael Bibens was second on the Westies and 105th overall in 21:40.68 and Steven Beckwith was third on the Westies in 22:58.81. Ruman Gonzales was fourth in 25:02.96 and Michael Tran rounded out West Haven’s five runners in 25:23.24. 
Louis Lubin (628) led West Haven and was 88th overall in the SCC Championships, October 20, 2011. Photo courtesy of Todd Dandelske. 
Candace Lawrence (635) led West Haven and was 51st overall in the SCC Championships, October 20, 2011. Photo courtesy of Todd Dandelske. 


Westies lowering times
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(October 4, 2011) – The West Haven cross country teams had mixed results Tuesday afternoon at Wharton Brook State Park. The 3.1 mile course was tough for the team results but also saw individuals improve their times.
The boys’ team fell to Xavier 15-50 and North Haven 17-46 but defeated Career 23-33. On the girls’ side, the Westies fell to Mercy 15-48, North Haven 18-43 and Career 27-28.  
“Pretty much everyone thought it was a tough course,” West Haven coach Bill McDermott said. “The kids thought it was the hardest course they ran so far.”
Mark Berretta led the boys in a time of 18 minutes, 15 seconds. Berretta finished first against Career and fifth against North Haven.
Louis Lubin was next for the Westies as he finished in 20:40 and was second against Career. Michael Bibens finished third in 21:30 and Steven Beckwith was fourth in 22:40.
“With the boys, we can win a couple more meets,” McDermott said. “For the girls, our top runners are Florence Diaz and Candace Lawrence, then Julia Consorte. If she (Consorte) was healthy, we would have won.”
On the girls’ side, Lawrence was sixth overall in a time of 21:40. She finished first against Career and third against North Haven.
Diaz was next for the Westies and third against Career in 23:10 and Consorte was third on West Haven and seventh against Career in 26:00.
“Individually, we are happy,” McDermott said of the girls. We are disappointed with the one-point loss to Career.
“For both, the times are getting better. Mark Berretta’s times are going down each meet from 18:48 to 18:18 to 18:15. We hope to get him in the 17’s. We want the other guys to break 20 before the year is up.”

Going the Distance
Berretta, Lawrence star for Westies in loss
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(September 27, 2011) - Despite not posting a victory Tuesday afternoon, the West Haven boys’ and girls’ cross country teams saw some solid individual efforts. Those efforts were not enough to lead the team to a victory, but showed promise for the upcoming meets.
On the boys’ side, the Westies fell to Amity 15-50, Notre Dame 20-35 and Lyman Hall 25-30. The girls were defeated by Amity 17-48, Sacred Heart Academy 20-35 and Lyman Hall 20-35.
“Our first two weeks on the schedule have been pretty tough,” West Haven coach Bill McDermott said. “We have seen some pretty tough teams in Guilford, Amity and Notre Dame on the schedule. We have some winnable ones coming up.”
Senior Mark Berretta led the boys as he was West Haven’s top runner and ninth overall. Berretta’s time in the 3.1 mile course was 18 minutes, 18 seconds. Berretta placed first against Notre Dame and Lyman Hall. 
Junior Louis Lubin was second on West Haven and 25th overall in a time of 20:30. Lubin finished fourth against Notre Dame and second against Lyman Hall.
“I am happy,” McDermott said. “The boys are running pretty good. Once we get the transfer from Notre Dame (Michael Bennett) back, it will make us stronger. He runs the same as Lubin. We will have three runners fairly close together. Mark Berretta will be number one and Lubin and Bennett run a minute behind. That will make us stronger.”
Senior Candace Lawrence was West Haven’s top female runner as she was sixth overall in a time of 17:17. Lawrence, who had a time which was one minute better than last year, was fourth against Amity, second against Sacred Heart Academy and second against Lyman Hall.
Sophomore Florence Diaz was second on the Westies and 22nd overall in a time of 20:10. Diaz placed fourth against Lyman Hall and her time was also a minute better than last year. 
“Our two returning girls (Lawrence and Diaz) are running well,” McDermott said. “Julia Consorte has had shin splints she is battling. She is trying to tough it out. She runs minimal during the week. She is a tough kid. We would be in better shape if she was healthy.  
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CROSS COUNTRY 2011

Ready to Go
West Haven cross country teams look to start season on right foot
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
The West Haven cross country team enters the 2011 season aiming to keep it simple. The Westies and coach Bill McDermott want to improve every race and knock down their finish times.
The teams will be a work in progress as there are only three seniors combined on the two teams. For the boys, captain Mark Berretta and Steven Beckwith are the only seniors while Candace Lawrence is the lone senior on the girls team.
“We want to continually improve our times,” McDermott said. “They are all improving.”
Berretta and Beckwith will be joined by juniors Michael Bibens and Louis Lubin , sophomore Ryan Guzhnay and freshman Michael Tran. Michael Bennett is a transfer from Notre Dame and will miss the first two races before joining the team in competition.
“No one has run cross country for the boys before,” McDermott said. “The boys team can actually be stronger once they all get running.”
Lawrence will lead a girls team consisting of juniors Ebonie Routh, Lucia Cotas and Julia Consorte. Sophomores Molly Long, Alexis Goodhue and Florence Diaz and freshman Elise Abu-Sitteh will also make an impact.
“Candace Lawrence has been running,” McDermott said. “Florence Diaz and Candace Lawrence are returners and Julia Consorte is a hard worker. Alexis Goodhue has good speed. We need to work on her endurance.”
In the opening race of the year at Brooksvale Park with Hamden, Guilford and Jonathan Law, Lawrence was West Haven’s top finisher for the girls and 14th overall in a time of 22 minutes.
Diaz was 24th overall and second on West Haven in 24 minutes and Consorte was next for the Westies and 30th overall in 26 minutes. Abu-Sitteh and Goodhue were fourth and fifth, respectively, for West Haven.
Berretta was West Haven’s top finisher and ninth overall in 18 minutes, 40 seconds. Lubin was second for the Westies and 24th overall in 21:05 and Beckwith followed in 25 minutes, good for 28th overall. Daniel Gonzalez and Tran rounded out the top five for the Westies.   

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