Old Lyme's Gilbert wins third straight Shoreline cross country title

Chase Gilbert was speaking earlier this season about the course where the Shoreline Conference cross country championships are run: Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison.

“I love my conference course,” said Gilbert, a junior at Old Lyme High School, who ran the state’s fastest time of the season — 17 minutes, 6.5 seconds — in winning last year’s Shoreline meet. “The thing about flat courses people don’t talk about enough is that ripping a flat course is really painful, consistently pounding out a constant pace. ... I love that pace.”

This year, Gilbert ran even faster, winning her third straight Shoreline girls’ title Thursday in 16:32 — although Gilbert notes the course was shortened this year to an even three miles — beating her nearest competitor by nearly two minutes. East Hampton’s Jocelyn Gustavson was second in 18:29.6.

Old Lyme freshman Maia Guisti was 10th in 19:37.5, as the Wildcats finished seventh as a team with 166 points. Simon Karpinski was the top finisher for the Old Lyme boys, 35th in 17:51.50, as the team finished eighth with 221 points.

Gilbert has the fastest 5K time in the state (3.1 miles) in 17:43.1 headed into next week’s Class S state championship at Wickham Park in Manchester, where she will also vie for her third straight crown.

“I felt really great,” Gilbert said after Thursday’s race. “I think I did a good job pacing myself. I closed a little faster in the last mile than I did the mile before. My average pace was faster this year.”

Gilbert suffered a hip injury last year during the postseason, which sidelined her from the State Open on. She went through a lengthy recovery process, missing the bulk of the indoor track season.

“I felt a lot better than I did last year,” Gilbert said. “Last year I was really in pain. This year it felt a lot more comfortable. I reminded myself, ‘This is just the conference meet. Breathe.’ I reminded myself to keep a smile on my face. ... We’re having a great time as a team, as well.

“I felt great. Building momentum.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com