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The boys squad improved to 10-0 by beating both of its opponents. The Wave came out on top against New Fairfield by a score of 21-40, and easily beat Masuk, 15-50, on the three-mile course.
The New Milford runners again crossed the line in bunches, with eight of the top 10 finishers wearing Wave green. John Raneri of New Fairfield was first with a time of 15:38, but the next four runners were Zack Kraus (16:44), Pat Clare (16:44), Joel Anderson (16:44) and Cole Rossiter (16:52). The seven-10 slots were also filled by New Milford: Nick Grudev (17:14), Derek Vill (17:39), Kerry Chayka (17:47) and Noah Rossiter (17:53).
"Zack, Pat, and Joel all ran a solid race and looked comfortable, while Cole made a strong move in the final 200 to overtake New Fairfield's number-two runner," said Wave coach Chris Bacich. "As a team, we continue to evolve and improve. We're keeping a close eye on our number 8-14 runners, who are rapidly maturing as distance runners and becoming extremely competitive."
Another big meet is coming up this weekend, as the Wave will take part in the Wickham Invitational. It's good training for the postseason, where New Milford will go up against many unfamiliar teams from out of the area.
"The Wickham Invitational will be a big test for us and should offer us a peek at our postseason chances," said Bacich. "We look to be tested by a number of teams, particularly Xavier, Hamden, and Amity."
The Wave girls also made it a clean sweep Tuesday, beating all three of the teams it faced. New Milford bested New Fairfield, 22-36, Lauralton Hall, 19-44, and Masuk, 15-50, to improve to 11-0.
The Rebels' Allie Thomas won the three-mile race in 19:35, but right behind was the Wave's Candice Weiss (20:14) in second place, with Jen Paradiso (20:30) fourth, and Jessica Noteware (20:37) fifth. Gabby Passarelli (20:53) was seventh, Jenna Roberts (20:59) eighth, and Erin Kersten (21:00) ninth.
Coach Tom Marks just keeps seeing his team improve.
"We ran well, 1-6. Our top six runners were only 46 seconds apart, which is incredible," he said. "Our goal is to have them within a minute of each other, so 46 seconds is amazing."
It was only the second loss of the year for a strong New Fairfield team.
The girls will also be at Wickham Park in Manchester this Saturday.
"It's a huge meet with 17 teams and runners from over 100 schools," said Marks. "And the teams are all good, almost every one is undefeated."
In the latest coaches poll, the New Milford girls have moved up to being the 10th-ranked team in the state. The boys are still number one.
"We're running well now, the entire team is working so hard," said Marks. "We're right on track."
The Wave will face three opponents, Bethel, Newtown and Bunnell, at Bethel High School on Tuesday. That will be the last meet before the South-West Conference Championships, also at Bethel, on Oct. 22.
