The stakes have gotten higher and the competition tougher, but the Ridgefield High girls cross country team remains a model of consistency.
After finishing third at the FCIAC and Class LL meets, Ridgefield added a third-place finish in the most competitive meet of the season: Thursday's State Open at Wickham Park in Manchester.
The Tigers had 160 points to edge fourth-place Trumbull (165) in the 20-team field.
Ridgefield was well behind the top-two teams, Danbury and Immaculate. Danbury, the FCIAC and Class LL champion, beat Immaculate by one point, 115-116, to win its third-postseason title.
By placing in the top six, Ridgefield qualified for the upcoming New England regional championships.
Two Ridgefield runners had top-10 individual finishes: Gabriella Viggiano was eighth with a time of 19:23, one second faster than teammate Tess Pisanelli, who was ninth in a time of 19:24.
Rory McGrath (57th, 20:56), Katherine Langis (65th, 21:04) and Elizabeth Jasminski (87th, 21:38) also contributed to the Tigers' team score.
The Ridgefield boys team continued its own impressive post-season with a seventh-place finish at the State Open.
Ridgefield had 227 points, five fewer than eighth-place Conard (232).
The Tigers were 20 points behind sixth-place Danbury (207), which earned the last automatic qualifying berth for the New England championships.
Chip Coffin was Ridgefield's top individual runner, finishing 33rd overall in 16:51.
Also contributing to the Tigers' team score were Charles Namiot (62nd, 17:12), Chris Lauretani (65th, 17:14), Ethan MacKenzie (73rd, 17:23), and Ryan Crist (94th, 17:41).
Notes: Xavier won the boys State Open title with 75 points. Hall was second with 121 points.
The individual champions were Eli Nahom of New Milford (15:54) and Kate Wiser of Pomperaug (17:59).