Ledyard Invitational Relays 

Third time a charm for Fitch's Ross

By BILL BARNHART
Norwich Bulletin
Sunday, April 28, 2002

BOYS RESULTS, GIRLS RESULTS

Dante Ross got one record at the Ledyard Invitational Relays on Saturday. He wanted more. 
The Fitch senior scratched on his first two attempts in the long jump. Knowing his team needed him to score, he didn't take any chances with his third and final opportunity. Despite taking off about 10 inches behind the launch line, he soared to a jump of 21 feet, 10Þ inches, good enough to break New London's Ed Bowens' old record of 21-6Þ, set in 1977. 

Runner-up Marvin Gilchrist of Windham also flirted with the mark, registering a leap of 21-2. 

"I put the pressure on myself by faulting early," said Ross, whose personal record is 22-0. "But it feels real nice (to get the record). I kind of planned it that way." 

The jump also helped propel the Falcons to the team title in the long jump as Ross, Randy Baker (18-9/) and Sean Berg (20-0) totaled 60-6œ. The team record for the meet is 61-1, set by Ledyard in 1995. Gilchrist led his Whippets to a second-place finish as they tallied 60-œ. 

"I think we all could have done a little bit better," Ross said of his team's effort. "But for this early in the season, it's a respectable standard for us." 

As dominating as Ross was individually, the NFA high jumpers were as a team. 

Ross, John Dahl and Sean Burbank finished runners-up (17-10) to the trio of Kenny Jones, Jordy Vereen and Brian Shea. Dahl captured top honors with a jump of 6-4, but the Wildcat team placed second (Jones, 6-2), fourth (Vereen, 6-2) and fifth Shea, 6-0) to break a 27-year-old record by half a foot. 

NFA tallied 18-4 to set the record, smashing Ledyard's old mark of 17-10, set in 1975. 

They weren't the only team to pummel an old mark. 

Despite missing one of their top milers, the Griswold foursome of Gavin Coombs, Reynolds Chapman, Brian Laguerre and Mike Charron utterly demolished the record in the 4x1,600 relay. 

"We came here to break that record," said Griswold coach Gerry Chester. 

Powered by a dominating time of 4:29 by Coombs on the lead lap, the Wolverines finished with a time of 18:16.9. That was an amazing 40 seconds better than the record set by NFA last year. 

"We wanted to break the record," said Coombs. "I wanted to try and run a PR -- that's why I wanted to go first. I ran a 4.29. A 4.35 is my previous best, and that was indoors." 

The team was even missing Will Preston, who is one of the squad's best 1,600-meter runners. 

"Our goal was to run sub-18:10," said Laguerre. "I knew we had the talent. My leg was a little slow. But I definitely think we're all on the same page. We all work together very hard in practice." 

"It's contagious," Chester said of the strong group. "They really rub off on each other." 

Griswold also captured the sprint medley relay to make Leguerre a double-winner for the afternoon. 

Stonington was also strong in the distance events as Sam Agnello and Will Agnello claimed first and second in the 5,000-mter run and Mark Bissette won the 3,200. 

Fitch senior Pat Berg was a double-winner in the Relays, capturing the javelin and the discus. He also powered the Falcons to team wins in both events, including a 1-5-6 finish in the shot put with teammates Sean Berg and Bill Strickland. Leslie Gumbs charted a throw of 45-7 to lead a 1-2-3 sweep of shot put by Windham Tech, along with teammates Pat Gildea (44-9) and Jake Chalupsky (44-6). 

Andy King helped Montville sweep gold in the 4x100 and 4x400 events. He and teammates Ryan Edgeley, Josh Posey and Johnny Posey were just one second off the 1975 NFA record of 43.6 as they clocked in at 44.6 to win the 4x100. He then partnered with Cliff Bourne, Ryan Schultz and Jerry Sparkman to capture the 4x400 in a time of 3:34.1 

Fitch grabbed wins in the 4x110 shuttle hurdles and distance medley relay as Sean Berg helped power both squads. East Lyme's Eric Griswold grabbed top honors in the 300 hurdles with a time of 41.5 seconds. 

Woodstock's Kevin Joly cleared 12-6 to win the pole vault and NFA's Myles Bradley jumped 42-4/ for gold in the triple jump. 

East Lyme won the 4x800 relay while Waterford captured the 4x100 weight relay. 

BOYS RESULTS: LEDYARD INVITATIONAL RELAYS

High jump: 1. John Dahl (Fitch) 6-4; 2. Kenny Jones (NFA); 3. Jerry Sparkman (Mont.); Jordy Vereen (NFA); 5. Brian Shea (NFA); 6. Chris Marchese (Mid.). Team scores: 1. NFA 18-4 (meet record); 2. Fitch; 3.Montville. Shot put: 1. Leslie Gumbs (Wind.) 45-7; 2. Pat Gildea (Wind.); 3. Jake Chalupsky (Wind.); 4. L.J. Spinnato (Hand); 5. Josh Rivera (E.L.); 6. Josh Lillibridge (NFA). Team scores: 1. Windham 134-10; 2. NFA; 3. East Lyme. Javelin: 1. Pat Berg (Fitch) 159-10; 2. J.J. Justice (NFA); 3. Mike Irr (EL); 4. John Phelan (Hand); 5. Scott Conn (Mont.); 6. Andy Beatman (Mid.). Team scores: 1. Fitch 412-4; 2. Windham; 3. East Lyme.

300 hurdles: 1. Eric Griswold (EL) 41.5; 2. Jeff Swenson (Wood.); 3. Brandon Beloin (Kill.); 4. Chris Troxell (Led.); 5. (tie) Louis Allen (NL), Brice Hellstrom (Wind.). 5,000 run: 1. Sam Agnello (Ston.) 16:14.5; 2. Will Agnello (Ston.); 3. Sean Burbank (Fitch); 4. Mike Sedlack (Led.); 5. Dave Holliday (Led.); 6. Nate Morello (NFA). 3200 run: 1. Mark Bissette (Ston.) 9:45.9; 2. Matt Liebal (Mont.); 3. John Graham (Wood.); 4. Colin Raunig (NL); 5. Rob O'Donnell (Led.); 6. Tom Scott (Led.). Long jump: 1. Dante Ross (Fitch) 21-10Þ (meet record); 2. Marvin Gilchrist (Wind.); 3. Jerry Sparkman (Mont.); 4. Eric Griswold (EL); 5. Justin Siler (Ston.); 6. J.J. Justice (NFA). Team scores: 1. Fitch 60-6œ; 2. Montville; 3. East Lyme.

Pole vault: 1. Kevin Joly (Wood.) 12-6; 2. Luke Mainiero (Hand); 3. Eoin Wallace (Kill.); 4. Rickey Dickinson (Plain.); 5. Matt Nemeth (Led.); 6. Chris Lee (Kill.). Team scores: 1. Woodstock 31-0; 2. Ledyard; 3. Hand. Triple jump: 1. Myles Bradley (NFA) 42-4/; 2. Derrick Perry (Mid.); 3. Ricky Franklin (Mont.); 4. Shergell Ahktar (Mid.); 5. Jordy Vereen (NFA); 6. Dan Murphy (Mont.). Team scores: 1. Middletown 118-2œ; 2. Montville; 3. NFA. Discus: 1. Pat Berg (Fitch) 50-8; 2. Jake Chalupsky (Wind.); 3. Steve Cote (Wind.); 4. Sevag Bedian (EL); 5. Sean Berg (Fitch); 6. Bill Strickland (Fitch). Team scores: 1. Fitch 386-0; 2. Windham; 3. East Lyme.

4x110 shuttle hurdles: 1. Fitch (Randy Baker, Tyler Walworth, Sean Berg, Dan Vanasse) 1:07.0; 2. NFA; 3. Hand; 4. Griswold; 5. Ledyard; 6. Middletown. 4x1600 relay: 1. Griswold (Gavin Coombs, Reynolds Chapman, Brian Laguerre, Mike Charron) 18:16.9 (meet record); 2. NFA; 3. Ledyard; 4. Woodstock; 5. Fitch; 6. Hand. 4x100 relay: 1. Montville (Ryan Edgely, Andy King, Josh Posey, Johnny Posey) 44.6; 2. Middletown; 3. Fitch; 4. East Lyme; 5. Windham; 6. NFA. 4x400 relay: 1. Montville (Andy King, Cliff Bourne, Ryan Schultz, Jerry Sparkman) 3:34.1; 2. Woodstock; 3. Ledyard; 4. East Lyme; 5. Middletown; 6. Windham.

Distance medley relay (1,200-400-800-1,600): 1. Fitch (J.P. Gilbert, Sean Berg, Adam Landry, Mark Olivier) 11:05.2; 2. Griswold; 3. Hand; 4. Ledyard; 5. Montville; 6. Windham. 4x800 relay: 1. East Lyme (Mike Hartzell, Mike Irr, Cliff Allen, Andrew O'Reilly) 8:38.0; 2. Plainfield; 3. Middletown; 4. NFA; 5. Woodstock; 6. Montville. Sprint medley (400-200-200-800): 1. Griswold (Brian Laguerre, Tony Santos, Kevin Dolliven, Justin Laguerre) 3:46.4; 2. Stonington; 3. Montville; 4. Woodstock; 5. Fitch; 6. Ledyard. 4x100 weight relay: 1. Waterford (Steve Welch, Andrew Schoepfer, Jared Freeman, Andrew Manzi) 51.5; 2. Griswold; 3. Ledyard; 4. Plainfield; 5. Stonington; 6. Fitch.

GIRLS RESULTS: LEDYARD INVITATIONAL RELAYS

High jump: 1. Derin Kozlowski (Wood.) 5-2; 2. Venita Barnes (Mid.); 3. (tie) Liz Auger (NFA), Allison Griggs (EL); 5. Chelsea Jeffers (Rock); 6. Megan Shoemaker (Rock). Team scores: 1. Woodstock 14-0; 2. Rockville; 3. East Lyme. Shot put: 1. Lacey-Ann Parker (Led.); 2. Allison Griggs (EL); 3. Lauren Roland (EL); 4. Kelley Berryman (Rock.); 5. Jami Shackles (NL); 6. Rebecca Rice (Hand). Team scores: 1. East Lyme 107-6; 2. Rockville; 3. NFA. Javelin: 1. Anne Fatek (Led.) 104-1; 2. Ashley Ferra (NFA); 3. Sarah Latham (Fitch); 4. Lacey-Ann Parker (Led.); 5. Maria Vasquez (NFA); 6. Katie Coit (NFA). Team scores: 1. NFA 302-0; 2. Rockville; 3. Ledyard. 300 hurdles: 1. Jenny Worth (Led.) 45.9; 2. Tarah Jarda (Mid.); 3. Kara Giglietti (Mid.); 4. Kishelle Paul (Fitch); 5. Renee Laplante (Rock); 6. Kristin Coit (NFA).

3200 run: 1. Carrie Ritter. (Wat.) 12:06.6; 2. Bess Ritter (Wat.); 3. Sophie Holly (Led.); 4. Stacey Sarber (Mont.); 5. Nicole Ruffo (Plain.); 6. Robyn Glenney (Rock.). Long jump: 1. Abbey Sadowski (Gris.) 15-1Þ; 2. Jenna Christie (Fitch); 3. Jen Steele (Mid.); 4. Katie Colello (Led.); 5. Katherine D'Auria (NFA); 6. Annie Egan (Wat.). Team scores: 1. NFA 43-1Þ; 2. Fitch; 3. Waterford. Pole vault: 1. (tie) Jen Rahusen (Mont.), Amy Jancewicz (NFA) 7-0; 3. (tie) Stephanie Basley (Wood.), Celia Miller (Mid.), Samantha Reich (Mid). Team scores: 1. Middletown 20-6 (meet record); 2. Plainfield; 3. Windham.

Triple jump: 1. Ginger Bynum (NFA) 33-1; 2. Jenna Christie (Fitch); 3. Josephine Vincent (EL); 4. Katherine D'Auria (NFA); 5. Annie Egan (Wat.); 6. Katie Colella (Led.). Team scores: 1. NFA 96-2Þ; 2. Fitch; 3. Rockville. Discus: 1. Lauren Roland (EL) 117-9; 2. Allison Griggs (EL) 114-10; 3. Maria Vasquez (NFA); 4. Jami Shackles (NL); 5. Tania Morosan (Hand); 6. Jen Britner (Rock.). Team scores: 1. East Lyme 313-8 (meet record); 2. NFA; 3. Rockville. 4x100 shuttle hurdles: 1. Middletown (Kara Giglietti, Tarah Jarda, Safira Robinson, Celia Miller) 1:10.7; 2. Ledyard; 3. Rockville; 4. Killingly; 5. Fitch; 6. Plainfield.

4x1600 relay: 1. Hand (Liz Trupin, Abby Clawson, Evans, Laura Phillips) 23:39.8; 2. Griswold; 3. Plainfield; 4. Rockville; 5. East Lyme; 6. Montville. 4x100 relay: 1. Middletown (Venita Barnes, Denise Bregen, Nancy Marrero, Danielle Tye) 50.1 (meet record); 2. Fitch; 3. East Lyme; 4. Hand; 5. Killingly; 6. Woodstock. 4x400 relay: 1. Middletown (Venita Barnes, Jen Steele, Nancy Marrero, Laura Biegen) 4:05.8 (meet record); 2. Griswold; 3. Hand; 4. Ledyard; 5. Montville; 6. Windham. Distance medley relay (1,200-400-800-1,600): 1. East Lyme (Ali Barner, Erin O'Connell, Laura Wang, Heather Stevenson) 12:50.3 (meet record); 2. Fitch; 3. NFA; 4. Rockville; 5. Hand; 6. Stonington.

4x800 relay: 1. Woodstock (Julie Larsen, Kim Shields, Kyle MacQueen, Amy Hicks) 9:55.5 (meet record); 2. Middletown; 3. Ledyard; 4. NFA; 5. Fitch; 6. Montville. Sprint medley (400-200-200-800): 1. Fitch (Portia Delain, Pattie Murphy, Jenna Christie, Emily Watson) 4:25.5; 2. East Lyme; 3. Middletown; 4. Plainfield; 5. Hand; 6. Montville. 4x100 weight relay: 1. Fitch (Sara Latham, Theresa Wilding, Jessica Stellenwerf, Stephanie Bergado) 1:01.6; 2. Woodstock; 3. Hand; 4. Ledyard; 5. Rockville; 6. Montville.

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