Southington Girls Cross Country Ready To Reload
- Dan Fappiano
- Sep 6
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 7
With four of their top seven runners graduating from the program, Southington High School girls cross country will have a very different identity during the 2025 campaign. But as Jaclyn Sullivan prepares for her second season as head coach, she would emphasize that the Blue Knights are reloading, not rebuilding.
Given such a significant change in their top seven, Sullivan admits that Southington will have plenty of new names on their best-finisher list. Still, the Blue Knights have a team laden with upperclassmen. Southington’s head coach has already watched them lead pre-meet warm ups and stretching routines. With the program’s culture established, Sullivan knows Southington is one step further along on the learning curve.
“We’re not rebuilding the team, we’re reloading,” Sullivan said. “That seems like a subtle difference, but I don’t want them to think we’re starting from zero. We already have some meat and potatoes, so what else can we add? Our seniors and returning juniors are going to help set the tone for what it means to be varsity."
The Blue Knights will be led by a pair of senior captains in Katherine Cavanaugh and Jenna Hebert. Both are returning to the program and made a strong first impression on Sullivan during her first season coaching the team. Cavanaugh and Hebert are poised to be among Southington’s top runners throughout the season. But they’ll be taking on the additional responsibility of assisting with coaching.
“Jenna and Katie are strong leaders. I see them as an extension of myself and the coaching staff,” Sullivan said. “They foster openness, honesty and camaraderie among the girls. They bring valuable experience and knowledge, but they’re also phenomenal role models. They’re consistent, reliable, supportive, positive and motivational. Most importantly, they are all-in and echo the messages, culture and values we want to build for the program.”
Southington’s senior class also features Reilly Doran, Shaelyn Flaherty, Jacqueline Liebler, Shannon Serenson and Veronika Sukhacheva. Sullivan said many of the returning seniors were the Blue Knights’ eight-through-10 runners in 2024. She is intrigued to see how they step up in their final year with the program. Flaherty, who is in her first year of cross country, has excelled under Sullivan in track and field.
Junior Fiona Kilbride is another strong upperclassman making her return to the Blue Knights. She will be welcoming runners such as sophomore Jenna Tartarelli, who has made a name for herself as an 800-meter runner in track and field. Furthermore, Sullivan is excited to see the debut of a freshman class that features runners like Emily Blankenship, Madeleine Canner-O’Mealy, Giada Pagnucco and Emily Phipps.
“Our freshman will probably make an impact,” Sullivan said. “They trained hard. They ran a lot over the summer on their own and with some of the girls. It was great to see that.”
Southington Girls Cross Country Prepares to Run
Heading into year two, Sullivan saw the girls cross country team grow in number. When they had a smaller squad, the Blue Knights were forced to compete tooth and nail every single meet. Southington will still have that scrappiness, but an increase in roster size not only points to the growing success of the program, it also gives the squad a bit of wiggle room.
“It was really exciting,” Sullivan said of the team’s increase in size. "You can do something with a small team, but everyone has to be in it and want it. I was very happy that the girls who were part of the team last year wanted it. But it’s also good for reloading purposes to have nine freshmen on the roster.”
Despite having more girls, Southington were as close-knit as ever throughout the offseason program. Many of them attended the Northeast Kingdom Running Camp in Lyndon, Vermont. While living and running together, those who attended grew closer to their teammates.
For Sullivan, those shared memories mattered more than the specific times the Blue Knights recorded at camp. Throughout the summer, she wanted Southington to bond and have shared experiences. Yes, running is about being, “aerobically fit,” as she puts it. But for Southington to succeed, they needed to train, and eventually to compete, as one.
“It’s not just about getting in miles or going through the motions,” Sullivan said. “It’s really about coming together and getting to know people before you even start high school, finding your friends. Southington is a big school. But you’re already going to know people, you’re already going to know the vibes. You’re working through those shared experiences too.”
“Cross country isn’t just an individual sport,” she continued. “They get to learn and vibe with each other and run together.”
Blue Knights Open Season With Win
The Blue Knights began their season with a dual meet against Plainville and Maloney on September 2nd. Before the race began, Sullivan wanted Southington to channel their inner Allyson Felix. The seven-time Olympic gold medalist knew how to win, but the message that Sullivan wanted to get across was that even Allyson got nervous before her races.
She knew that nerves would kick in, especially for anyone running their first ever cross country meet. At the same time, Sullivan says she would be even more concerned if they weren’t nervous – nerves show they are serious about competing. If Southington could battle through those nerves and embrace their inner Felix, they’d start their season off on the right foot.
“You’re not just out there competing for yourself. When it gets tough, think about the other girls on your team,” Sullivan said. “Fight for them if you have a hard time fighting for yourself in those moments. A 5K is a long time and doubts can seep in. Everyone has those doubts at some point in a race. What can you do, what mental tactics can you employ so that you can get through this and step up for your team?”
Southington was able to do just that and started their season by defeating Plainville 20-43 and Maloney 15-50. Canner-O’Mealy led the way, finishing second overall with a time of 20:43. Cavanaugh and Hebert followed right behind, coming third and fourth overall with marks of 21:09 and 21:53, respectively. Phipps and Blankenship, who finished fifth and sixth, rounded out the Blue Knight’s top five with times of 21:58 and 22:51.
Southington continued their list of top-10 overall finishers with Flaherty and Liebler. They completed the Blue Knight’s top seven with finishes of 22:54 and 23:39, respectively.
Sullivan said she wasn’t surprised to see Canner-O’Mealy emerge as Southington’s top runner based on how she had prepared. Furthermore, Cavanaugh made a strong first impression, given that she was battling back from a minor injury.
But for all their top times, Sullivan was most impressed with how the Blue Knights stood together. It’s something they had worked on in practice, closing gaps and working as a group throughout the whole race. Southington managed to put that training to good use against Plainville and Maloney.
“I think opening the season with two wins is a great way to get things started,” Sullivan said. “We have some young girls and newcomers competing for varsity spots and having this kind of competitive experience will only help them grow. It gives them a positive memory to keep in their back pocket when they hit tough spots in workouts and races. Challenges are part of the sport, but if they can derive confidence from moments like today, it will help carry them through.”
Southington Crafting Their Own Brand of Success
Sullivan and the Blue Knights will certainly take the wins. But that isn’t the only way to evaluate success in the program. The head coach wants to see every member on the roster compete in every meet. She wants to see grit and an ability to battle through hardship. Each time they step on the line, Southington must take advantage of the opportunities in front of them.
But even if things don’t go the Blue Knights’ way, Sullivan encourages the team to focus on the positives. “I’m still going to love them no matter what,” she says. A three-mile race is a daunting task for anyone. How Southington embraces that challenge each meet will determine how successful they truly are.
“I want to go for wins, but that’s not the end-all, be-all. It’s fun to win, but there are other ways to win,” Sullivan said. “You can only have one winner. When there are 300 girls on the line at Conferences or States, you can’t look at it and be like, ‘Oh, I lost,’ if you came in 30th. How did you run your race? Did you run it well? Did you really push yourself to the best of your ability? Did you meet your goals and did you contribute to the team in a positive way?”
As they strive for those goals, any success will be rooted in the team-first culture Southington is trying to foster. Amongst Sullivan’s objectives is continuing to have the Blue Knights operate as a family. She wants everyone to grow together. Once a personal record is hit, Southington will celebrate as one.
“I really encourage a team-family environment and the setting of goals. If those girls can feel like a family and enjoy what they’re doing while they’re working hard together, I think that’s a mark of success,” Sullivan said. “If they’ve reached their goal, whether it’s process oriented, whether it’s how they’re contributing to the team, whatever the goal, if they meet that, or even surpass that, that is a win.”
Girl’s Cross Country Ready to Keep Running
Following their first meet, Sullivan knew that her team was “ready to get after it," and that each runner was capable and ready to contribute on a major level. And at the start of practice, that became crystal clear.
Sullivan asked the Blue Knights why they decided to join cross country. One member said she wanted to get better. Another said she loved running and wanted to contribute to a team. From the answers it became evident that Southington’s runners aren’t just “here to be here” but have a shared goal of progress. That is the foundation Southington girls cross country is built on.
“Cross country is truly something for everyone,” Sullivan said. “Anyone can get out there and run. We are a varsity sport. If you want to be a part of something that’s bigger than yourself, if you want a team that really becomes a close-knit family, if you want to work hard, set goals and go after them, then this is your place, no matter who you are or how fast you are. Everyone on the team matters.”
The 2025 Southington girls cross country team features seniors: Katherine Cavanaugh, Reilly Doran, Shaelyn Flaherty, Jenna Hebert, Jacqueline Liebler, Shannon Serenson and Veronika Sukhacheva; juniors: Addison Deptula, Brooke Flugrad and Fiona Kilbride; sophomores: Anna Janowski, Gabriela Paskowski and Jenna Tartarelli; alongside freshmen: Giuliana Angieri, Emily Blankenship, Madeleine Canner-O’Mealy, Alyssa Flugrad, Hayley Friar, Emily Gura, Giada Pagnucco, Emily Phipps and Alice Reilly.
