By Senior Correspondent Marty Ogden, Editing and Graphics by Ron Knapp

LIVE RESULTS

Some people claim Fairfield County is more like New York than New England and from the lineup of the Fast Times at Ridgefield High Invitational you would certainly think so tonight. With the New York border being less than a mile from the entrance to Ridgefield High, meet director and Ridgefield boys coach, Bryan Kovalsky has attracted some of the best distance runners from both states for an evening of 3200m races starting at 6 pm Saturday night.

Boys’ Top Entries

Sophomore Ryan Sykes of Horace Greeley was the NY Federation Champion in cross country and top 10 in NY in all the distance events this winter. Last year as a freshman, he ran 9:04 for 3200m so we just might be catching the rise of the next big national class distance runner and those in attendance on Saturday can say “we saw him before he was famous.” 

New York is a much bigger state and it makes sense there would be more depth. Last year, Saratoga Springs’ Darren Pasek finished 6th in the 3200m in the time of 9:04.23 at the NYSPHSAA Outdoor State Championship and this year he has already won the NY Relays in 9:25 and beat his young rival Sykes by only .03 seconds. This should be a great rematch and provide plenty of excitement between these two Empire State boys. 

John Jay High School in Cross River is only a 15 minute drive to Ridgefield, so this is almost a home meet for the Wolves. They are sending Andy Condon who was 2nd in the 3200m at the NYPHSAA Indoor State Championships with a time of 9:07.24. He has been undefeated so far this season in eight races over various distances so we will see if he is able to keep his streak alive. 

Connecticut will be well represented. Of course Ridgefield’s top three will be there. The trio of  Charles Lovett, Magnus Manley and Trevor Fuller were part of the New England record settinging 4x800m relay this winter and have serious distance credentials as well. Lovett ran 9:13 last year at this meet and was 13th at NXR-NE despite being injured for most of the cross country season. Manley ran 9:11 and finished right in front of Lovett at the Fast Times meet and was 3rd in the State Open in the fall. Fuller, despite running 9:19 for 3200m last year was not part of the record setting 4x800m and DMR last spring but he has worked his way into the “A” squad this year and improved to become All State and All New England this fall.

Amity’s Luke Cushing was State Open runner up in XC with a 2 mile best of 9:19 from his 7th place finish at New Englands this winter. He has also run 4:15 for the 1600m and should be among the top few finishers. 

A relative newcomer to the state’s elite is Oxford’s Joseph DeLuise. He is strong and likes to go out hard. He finished 7th at the indoor State Open in 9:33.00 but followed that up with a 15:05 5k at Nike Indoor Nationals, the 7th best time in state history. Last week he was easily winning the O’Grady Relays 2k steeple when he fell over the last hurdle and despite losing several seconds, he still managed to run 6:09, the 15th fastest time in state history. He looks due for a big PR. 

Girls’ Top Entries

Another athlete making the short trip from NY to Ridgefield is Sloan Wasserman of John Jay in nearby Cross River. She has been under 10 minutes for 3000m three times this winter and has a 2-mile best of 9:37 on top of her 17:17 5k best from NBNI. She was also the NYSPHSAA Class B runner up and finished 22nd at Feds during cross country. 

Alexandra Morgan of Fairfield Warde was the surprise winner of the Class L Championship in cross country and finished top 10 at the State Open a week later. The junior has continued to add to her credentials by finishing 3rd at the State Open in the 1000m and 5th at New Englands in a PR of 2:56.71. Last week she broke 5:10 for the first time in a dual meet with no one to push her so you know she is fit. 

After several runner-up finishes Katie McMorrow of New Fairfield won the CIAC 2k steeplechase which was her first major championship. The junior used that single race to give her the confidence to win SWC and the Class M title last fall and followed this up with a 7th place finish at the Open. With the right conditions, she could improve upon her 11:12 3200m PR and finish among the top two or three girls. 

Sarah Bogden of Staples set her 3200m PR of 11:16.39 when she finished 2nd at the indoor FCIAC championships. This spring she ran a solo 3200m that was only a couple of tenths off her PR and split a 5:15 1600m to help her team win the O’Grady Relays DMR. During the fall she qualified for New Englands with a top 20 finish at the State Open. A low 11 3200m could be a real possibility on Saturday night.

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Will take place August 14-19, 2025 at Camp Wah Nee in Torrington, CT

Visit their website at fossrunningcamp.com for more information and to apply for 2025.