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

LIVE RESULTS

The Middletown Varsity Invitational has established itself as one of the largest meets in CT for the outdoor track season. Over 50 teams will compete with either their freshman and sophomore on Friday night or their varsity teams on Saturday. There is a noon start for the field events and the running events are scheduled to go off at 1 pm. Check out as MSR previews a few of the top events that could make a real dent in the state rankings. 

Girls Long Jump

Bloomfield is simply ruling the long jump this year. They had the three farthest jumpers this winter and swept the top 3 spots at the State Open as well. They also have the best three jumps in CT so far this season. On Saturday Vanessa Agyemang should lead the charge with her 19’7 PR from indoor track and a recent 19’2 jump at the Hillhouse Outdoor Invitational. Saphyr Brown was the State Open champion as a freshman last year with a 19’1 jump and Indya Norman was the surprise 3rd place finisher at the Indoor State Open. April Nathaniel is the 4th WarHawk with a PR over 17 and a half feet. 

Girls Pole Vault

Jordan Carr of Joel Barlow has been the top dog in the pole vault for the past several years and she has already won three State Open championships and has a lifetime best of 12’7. The Clemson bound senior has made several attempts at the Emily Savage’s indoor and outdoor CT record and will be looking to go for a three peat in the vault. But Kaylin Diglio will be looking to upset her elder. The Guilford freshman has already cleared 12 ft this season and 12’3 during indoor track which is believed to be the best freshman indoor vaulter in CT history. This pair, from different conferences and different classes, rarely get to compete against one another so Saturday could be a real treat for anyone who is a fan of the pole vault. 

Girls Shot Put

The girls shot put should be interesting just because of how many girls have PRs between 39 to 41 ft that are entered. East Hartford’s Bryanna Boroze has the 2nd farthest throw this spring in CT with 39’7.5, which is less than an inch off her lifetime best. Payton Sirdine of Bloomfield was the State Open runner up this indoor season and has gone over 40 ft this winter. Woodstock Academy’s Avery Plouffe has the best PR in the field with her 41’1.75 from Nike Indoor Nationals but hasn’t quite gotten her groove yet this season. Against this quality field, this just might be the time to pop something off. Multi talented Lauren Smith of New Canaan often does the three throwing events and the pole vault where she scored in the Class L meet this winter. But on Saturday, the senior who has committed to Cornell University, will focus on the shot put. Keep your eye on sophomore Sara Fares of Southington who has already thrown 37’2 this season in her first year of track and field. 

Hurdles

Four of the top hurdlers in the state are entered in both hurdle events. Bloomfield’ D’Asia Duncan is an All American heptathlete and can be a state quality athlete in any of the seven events. She comes in the top seed in both the 100HH and 300IH. She was the New England runner up in the 100HH and champion in the 300IH. Joel Barlow sits in Redding, a small town north of Fairfield. Every year, they seem to have a couple of state championship quality athletes in the sprints. This year that honor goes to Class M champion in the 55HH, Phoebe Cora Smith. Only a sophomore, she has already run 45.31 in the 300IH and 15.14. Bloomfield shattered the meet record for the 3 x 300IH. Besides Duncan, the WarHawks also boast Vanessa Agyemang. While better known as a long jumper, she has also put up times of 14.85 and 45.90 and was State Open champion this winter in the 55HH and long jump. Windsor likes to take their fastest girls and steer them toward the hurdles. Tomari Gillespie was 7th last year in the 100m at the State Open but took 4th in the 300IH. She will be one of the top seeds in the 100m again and part of a very strong 4 x 100m. One reason Windsor doesn’t need Gillespie in the 100HH is because they have Jordyn Willians. The senior has the 2nd fastest time in CT this season with her 14.68. Sparks should fly in both events. 

Girls Sprints

Defending Class M champion Saphyr Brown of Bloomfield headlines the field with the top seed time of 12.19. She was 2nd at the State Open this winter in the 55m behind champion Samiya Eady of Manchester who was undefeated against CT competition. Zoe Eastman-Grossel was a strong hurdler last year but moved to the flat races this winter with much success. This indoor track season she was 2nd at the Open in the 300IH and broke 25 seconds in the 200m to finish 5th at Adidas Track Nationals. Depth is something Bloomfield certainly has enough of. Nikki Fletcher is 2nd on her team, but 4th in CT in the 100m and 5th in CT in the 200m. She was All New England in the 200m last year and part of more championship relays to count. As more display of their depth, Bloomfield entered Caleah Baker and Jahniya Barclay who should make the fast heat of the 200m filled with orange and blue. 

Boys 400m

Fast sprint times in New England are tough to run early in the season. The weather can be cold, windy and rainy which is not conducive to sprinting and they usually have to wait until May. Trumbul’s Sebastian Perez raced hard just about every week and culminated with a State Open championship in the 300m and 4 x 400m. This spring he seems to have laid off the racing early season but still managed to run a state leading 48.77 at the Hillhouse Outdoor Championship. He should be pushed by State Open runner up in the 600m Yendri Ruiz of New Britain who should face his first serious challenge of the outdoor track season. Shelldon Simpson II is the sole returner of Windsor’s CT state record 4 x 400m team from last year. He earned his way onto the team with his 49.01 PR and has already broken 50 seconds this season. Perez didn’t win the State Open 4 x 400m by himself. Tim Keane has already improved over two seconds in his 400m time from last year and has already broken 50 seconds this season. 

Eastern CT Distance

With the Fast Times at Ridgefield High drawing much of the state’s talent in the western half, Middletown will highlight the distance runners from eastern CT. Who knows who is doubling but East Lyme’s Sam Leone, the New England Indoor mile champion is entered in both the 1600m and 800m where he is the top seed in both. His teammate Sean McCauley, the State Open runner up in the 3200m this winter, is the 2nd seed in the 1600m and the 3200m and also entered in the 800m. The top seed in the 3200m is ECC rival Tycen LaBelle who is also entered in the two longest races. The sophomore has already gone under 4:25 for the mile this season and was top 10 at New Englands in cross country. Norwich Free Academy’s Patrick Croughwell was the Class LL indoor 3200m champion in 2024 has put up some impressive times as an unattached runner this winter including a 15:19 5k at Nike Indoor Nationals. His teammate Kyle Kornacki has already dropped a 1:57.20, the 3rd best 800m in CT this spring. Add in Fitch’s Evan Vitagliano and Evan LoPresti of East Hampton and you could see several boys go under 2 minutes in the 800m. All New England cross country runner Christian Menounos of Woodstock Academy focused on the shorter distances this indoor season but has already run a 4:22 1600m this spring should be a factor until the very end in the 4 lap race.

Match Up in the 4x400m

Trumbull won the State Open this indoor season in the 4x400m, but Hand High School ran a little faster than the Golden Eagles at NBNO. Hand has already run 1:28 in the 4x200m and Trumbull ran a 3:25 at the Penn Relays but their individual season best proves they can run much faster. This one event could close out the meet with a state leading time and the two teams could flirt with the 3:20 barrier. 

Boys Shot Put

There will be a Battle of the Titans in the boys shot put. The past two years we have witnessed the back and forth between NFA’s Chris Amy and East Lyme’s Thomas Matlock. They have traded off State Open and New England titles with Amy getting the edge this winter and breaking Gary Moore’s all time CT record with his best of 65’7. But while all eyes have been on these two giants, Simsbury’s Marshall Potter was quietly improving and came away with All American honors with his 63' 4.75 P, good for 5th place at NBNI. If the planets align on Saturday, we could see three boys over 60 ft. Not far behind in the mid 50s could be Bloomfield’s Khile Francis and East Hartford’s Joshua Keaton.

Boys High Jump

There could be plenty of depth in the boys high jump on Saturday with 15 boys seeded over 6 ft. The top seed is Waterford’s Brodie Scott who has already cleared 6’7.5 in a dual meet this season. NFA’s Joal Barros, the State Open runner up this indoor season, has leaped 6’7 at the Bacon Academy Invitational. Sophomore Jayden Compton of Windsor has the 4th best jump this season and Zacharie Boisrond of New Britain has become more consistent this season with three meets over 6’2 and a best of 6’5. Finally we have Trumbull’s Mason Sweeney who was FCIAC champion last outdoor and this indoor season with a lifetime best of 6’5.

Top seeds in other events include:

Boys 100m Angel Dominguez 10.84 Wolcott

Boys 200m Angel Dominguez 21.84 Wolcott

Boys 110HH Davian Johnson 14.43 East Hartford

Boys 300IH Davian Johnson 38.85 East Hartford

Boys 4 x 100m Windsor 42.64

Boys 4 x 800m Norwich Free Academy 8:10

Boys Discus Marshall Potter Simsbury 166' 3

Boys Javelin Stone Leckey Hand 162' 3

Boys Pole Vault Sean Arms Hand 15' 0.5

Boys Long Jump Mason Sweeney Trumbull 23' 3.25

Boys Triple Jump Davian Johnson East Hartford 44' 8

Girls 400m Sultana Ali New Britain 57.54

Girls 1600m Liv Sherry Conard 4:56.30

Girls 3200m Lauren Parrett Glastonbury 10:56.24

Girls 4 x 100m Bloomfield 48.48

Girls 4 x 400m Bloomfield 3:57.44

Girls 4 x 800m New Canaan 9:36.80

Girls Discus Nevaeh Dailey Plainfield 128' 0

Girls Javelin Isabel D'Alleva-Bochain Woodstock 118' 5 

Girls High Jump Eloise Mulready Glastonbury 5' 2.5 and Kaitlyn Titus NFA 5' 2.5

Girls Triple Jump April Nathaniel Bloomfield 36' 10.5

Foss Running Camp

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.