By Senior Correspondent Marty Ogden, Photos, Editing and Graphics by Ron Knapp

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced the state-by-state winners of its tenth annual High School Cross Country Coaches of the Year Presented by the United States Marine Corps in their ceremony on Wednesday.

Matt Conyers of Mercy was chosen as the Connecticut Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year and East Lyme’s Mike Flynn was selected for the boys honor.

One boys coach and one girls coach from 50 states – as well as the District of Columbia – were honored for their successes during the fall of 2024, as selected by a committee of experts from around the nation.

State-by-state winners were selected based on their teams’ performances throughout the 2024 cross country season. Among the factors taken into consideration were team score and placement at the state championships, margin of victory, performance against rankings if available, individual championships, and how their teams’ performances stacked up to previous years (e.g. first title in school history, consecutive titles, etc.).

Each honoree will receive a trophy from the USTFCCCA recognizing their achievements.

The winners from each state are in consideration for the Association’s National High School Cross Country Coach of the Year award. One boys coach and one girls coach from among all the states will be selected by a panel of experts and be announced next week as the national winners.

Coach Conyners’ Mercy team was Class MM champions for the 2nd year in a row. At the State Open, Mercy’s 2nd place finish ties the school’s highest finish at the State Open which was  accomplished in 1992 and 1993. This is the first time since 2014 the team from Middletown qualified for New Englands where they placed 9th. The Tigers were led once again by a 1-2 punch of junior Sarah Roberts in 12th place and freshman Cora Wasiolek who took 23rd.

Xavier coach Chris Stonier, who coaches Mercy’s brother school, said “this award is a well deserved honor for a coach that commits his all to the athletes and the program.”

Coach Matt Conyers (far right) and his Mercy State Open runner up cross country team.

Mike Flynn’s East Lyme teams have won seven of the past eight Class championships, but the 2024 boys were certainly his “Dream Team”. Only Ridgefield’s boys of the past two years have run faster than East Lyme on the Wickham 5000m course. The Vikings were led by Sean McCauley and Sam Leone who both finished in the top ten at the Open at New Englands, they had their highest team finish and took home the runner-up trophy. 

Flynn’s high school coach Gerry Chester, formerly of Griswold, has followed his protege’s career closely and said “this is a well deserved honor. As the results show, he has a unique ability to get kids to get kids to achieve their individual potential.”

Coach Mike Flynn (far right) and his State Open runner-up cross country team.

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