Cross country teams find strength in ‘family’ competition at Vicenza

LAGO DI FIMON, Italy — When it comes to racing and family, the “Fast and Furious” film franchise may spring to mind first, but not for DODEA-Europe South cross country coaches.

“We are a family down here,” said Vicenza coach Anna Sansone, as the Cougars hosted Naples, Aviano, Sigonella, Rota, and American Overseas School Rome at their first meet of the season. “Our cross country culture is tight.”

Coaches and athletes were seen cheering on not only their teammates, but also their opponents at the finish line Saturday on the shore of Lake Fimon, south of Vicenza.

Cloudy skies kept the temperatures down as the runners pushed through the hillier of two 5 kilometer courses alongside the lake, which some said is an ideal place to set a personal best.

“It was perfect conditions,” said Naples freshman Anthony Fuoco, who finished second among the boys (17 minutes, 41.43 seconds), about 10 seconds behind Rota freshman Aaron Quiroz (17:32.20), but 20 seconds ahead of his previous personal best.

It was Fuoco’s first time traveling with the team, outside of a day trip to Rome, and he enjoyed the opportunity to meet other competitors Friday night when all the visitors other than Aviano crashed out at the Vicenza High School.

“Meeting other people like (Quiroz) is what pushes me,” Fuoco said.

Fuoco’s been running with the team since seventh grade and he’s off to a strong start with that sub-18-minute time, said coach Chip Noonan.

“He’s got a really bright future ahead of him,” said Noonan, who was surprised by Quiroz’s finish. “I would have bet I had the top freshman, but I guess I was wrong.”

It was also Quiroz’s first time on the road, said Rota coach Leigh Carignan. It comes on the heels of time trials last week when teams clocked times on their home courses by themselves.

“Rota doesn’t host much,” he said. “This is the first time he’s seen a different color shirt.”

Vicenza junior Kelsie Torgesen, center, in black, chases after an opponent from Rota at a cross country meet along Lake Fimon among the hills south of Caserma Ederle, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. Torgesen crossed the finish line in second with a time of 20:59.39 at the home opener against Naples, Aviano, Rota, Sigonella, and American Overseas School of Rome. (Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes)

Runners from the boys cross country squads of Naples, Rota, Vicenza, Aviano, Sigonella and American Overseas of School Rome take off up a short hill near the start of a cross country course along Lake Fimon, south of Vicenza, for a season-opening meet on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes)

Runners from the boys cross country squads of Naples, Rota, Vicenza, Aviano, Sigonella and American Overseas School of Rome take off up a short hill near the start of a cross country course along Lake Fimon, south of Vicenza, for a season-opening meet on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes)

Naples freshman Anthony Fuoco crosses the finish line in second place at Vicenza’s home-opener Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. The meet hosted squads from Naples, Rota, Aviano, Sigonella and American Overseas School of Rome on a course along Lake Fimon, south of Vicenza. (Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes)

A horse and rider navigate through the crowds of cross country runners near the finish line of a race course along Lake Fimon in the hills south of Vicenza, Italy, after a girls race on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. Vicenza’s home opener hosted Naples, Aviano, Rota, Sigonella, and American Overseas of School Rome on the course that is also used by cyclists, hikers, and even equestrians. (Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes)

Carignan, Noonan and Sansone all welcomed the competition and spoke of the need for runners to face — or pace — other speedy opponents, as it can drive them to personal bests.

Sansone, for example, tells her runners to thank those that finish near them for pushing them to run faster, she said.

“They want everyone to be fast,” Carignan said of Sansone and Noonan, crediting them with establishing the family-like nature of DODEA-Europe South’s cross country culture.

Just out of the top three was another of Carignan’s runners, sophomore Matthew Iglesias Rodriquez (17:49.21), who finished fourth.

“They’re right there, they just need some experience,” said Carignan, who said his team is the “new kid on the block.”

That experience can be crucial for pacing, as it can be too easy for novice runners to “shoot out too fast” and get into trouble. But for the coach, the early part of the season is the time to push, or they’ll struggle to make up the gap on the back end.

While his boys may be “in the hunt,” he said, the other teams aren’t going to make it easy for them. On the girls’ side, he said the Vicenza team is “a little bit untouchable this year.”

Indeed, the Cougars girls squad had three of the top four finishers Saturday, led by junior Kelsie Torgesen (20:59.39).

Torgesen started off the race trying to stay with a runner from Rota, who she said took off ahead of her at first, then on the backside of the course, Torgesen knew that she could use the final downhill to put on some steam.

Ultimately, she improved her time over last week, she said, though she was still about 13 seconds shy of a personal record.

“Hopefully next week it’ll be a (personal record),” Torgesen said. “Overall it was really good.”

But even Vicenza could not touch Noonan’s standout new senior, Kelly McIntire, a transfer to Naples from Point Loma, Calif.

Last November, she took 20th in the Division II race at the California Interscholastic Federation state cross country championships and led her team to a third-place finish.

On Saturday in Vicenza, McIntire led the field for the girls with an 18:05.58 finish. It not only beat all 47 other girls, it bested all but seven of the nearly 60 boys who ran.

“I feel like it’s a great start to the season,” said McIntire, who said the course was flatter and quicker than she’d expected it to be, but more of a true cross country route than the one her team runs on asphalt back home in Naples.

By the time she makes it to the Euros championships at Baumholder on Oct. 24, McIntire will “definitely be like below 18,” she said. “Hopefully,” she added, after a pause.

But athletes such as McIntire who come from California face a different set of challenges in DODEA-Europe, Noonan said. For example, his team traveled 10 hours by bus and slept on the floor the night before the meet.

Still, he said, McIntire’s already running well and “looks like she’s continuing on her path of excellence.”

Sansone, whose girls squad won the Division II title at last year’s Euros, said she was impressed how well everyone ran at Saturday’s meet, especially on the hilly course, and she welcomed the competition from Naples and Rota.

Her boys squad was missing its best runner, senior Jack Findlay, who was out taking the SATs, she said.

But she was already looking forward to the next matchup of the six teams of DODEA-Europe South on Sept. 19 in Aviano, before the season turns into a series of mostly dual meets.

“This meet was great. I wish that we could do this every weekend,” she said. “I welcome any opportunity to bring the family together.”