DERBY – Derby High School’s Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country teams were recognized March 8 for their array of accomplishments during the 2025 season at the annual team banquet held at Munch Eatery in Ansonia.
About 50 people – including team members, their families and special guests – attended the event, which included a buffet dinner, slide show and remarks from the coaching staff. Awards were presented and each runner received a certificate and a winter hat. Gabby Prizio Sanders, among the top female distance runners in Derby High School history and who captained the girls’ team from 2013-2015, was the guest speaker.
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams earned 8-5 records, and for the first time in program history, both teams can boast of having at least three consecutive winning seasons at the same time. The boys had compiled nine consecutive winning seasons from 1976 to 1984, while the girls currently have five consecutive winning seasons and in 12 out of the last 13 years. But both teams had never had at least three consecutive winning seasons at the same time.
Other accomplishments this season include:
*Seven athletes attaining medals for 1st or 2nd Team All-Naugatuck Valley League honors. That is the most number of medals won by Derby at the NVL Championship since 2016.
*Girls’ team placing 5th in the NVL and 7th in Class S, its highest finishes since 2021.
*In the Class SS Championship, the boys’ team turning the tables on three of the five NVL teams that had defeated them in the regular season and having a faster team time than a fourth team that had beaten Derby in the regular season.
“This was a great opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments and dedication of our cross country runners,” said Derby head coach Joe “Muz” Musante. “This team is very close with everybody as quick to celebrate the successes of their teammates as they are of themselves. They represent their school and community well.”
Sanders is a 12-time All-NVL runner, earning the distinction twice in cross country, three times during indoor track and seven times in outdoor track. She also garnered 6th place at the Class S State Championship during her senior year in cross country to attain Class S All-State honors. She went on to compete for the University of Alabama and later Quinnipiac University and today is a registered nurse at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
“Gabby talked about challenges she had early in her running career and how she overcame them,” Musante said. “She encouraged the team to do the same and how trusting in themselves and in the process will be worth it in the long run.”
Other speakers included: Athletic Director Jennifer Moffat, assistant coaches Ryan Adams and Kiley Rodriguez.
Award winners were:
Most Valuable Runner: Sasha Capelle (girls), Joel Capelle (boys).
Most Improved Runner: Shirley Diglio-Guerrette (girls); Colton Shields and Ayden Rodriguez (boys).
Senior plaques: Sofia Rudus and Jayson Drayton.
The team also included: Kezia Amartey, Julianne Meagher, Mac Gray, Jayden Cooper, Sage Cobb, Nevaeh DaCruz, Tyler Adams and Jeyden Allwood.
Guests in attendance included: Shelley Sheridan, photographer and a Derby Middle School running club coach; Derby Athletic Hall of Fame President Mike Cannici; and trainer Dan Perillo.
For more information about the banquet and the Derby running program, check out Facebook and Twitter.
. . .