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

It’s funny how Connecticut is such a small state but the weather can be vastly different only an hour away. While the Middletown Varsity Invitational had to be cancelled just as the fast heat of the boys 800m was about to step on the track, the Fast Times at Ridgefield High went off with an 80-minute delay. Other meets such as the Marty Roberts Invitational in Durham and the Org-Jake Invitational that started earlier in the day and were able to finish their programs before the thunder approached the center of the state.

Middletown Varsity Invitational

RESULTS

PHOTOS by Ron Knapp

While there was some disappointment from athletes who were not able to compete in their events, there was still plenty to celebrate at the Middletown Varsity Invitational as the state leader board was vastly changed in one afternoon. The hurdles took center stage with East Hartford’s Davian Johnson obliterating the meet record and became the 2nd fastest hurdler in state history with his winning time of 13.75. He surpassed Myles Bradley on the CT all time list and is now tied for #26 in the nation according to AthleticNet. With a year left in high school, next on his to-do list is New Balance National Champion Josh Mooney’s state record of 13.48. Johnson broke the Middletown Freshman/ Sophomore meet record in the event last year with his time of 14.82. He also came away with another gold medal in the 300m hurdles. His time in the longer race was 38.37 which is now the 21st fastest time in state history. 

Six of the top ten fastest 110m hurdle times for 2025 were set in the race with Windsor’s Marvin Escalera (14.63), Hagen Drake of Stonington (14.66) and Hand’s John Daniels (14:82) all finished under 15 seconds. Just outside the 15 second barrier were Johnson’s teammates Jaylen Estrella and Emmanuel Frimpong which should provide plenty of points for the Hornets once the championship season rolls around. 

Two other boys joined Johnson in the sub-40 second club for the 300m hurdles. Seniors Javon Stigler of Stafford ran 39.20 and Drake of Stonington (39.67) became the 4th and 7th fastest long hurdlers in the state. 

The boy hurdlers weren’t the only ones to show off on Saturday. Bloomfield’s D’Asia Duncan also swept both hurdle races against incredibly talented fields. Her time in the short 100m hurdle race of 14.15 not only breaks her own meet record, it is also the #2 time in New England. And her time in the longer 300m race of 43.40 also slides her into the number-two spot in New England. 

Duncan’s teammate Vanessa Agyemang provided a 1-2 finish for the WarHawks as the junior ran a PR of 14.39, the #4 time in New England. Joel Barlow sophomore Phoebe Cora Smith is fast approaching the SWC record of 14.35 with her 3rd place time of 14.69.

It should be noted that there was a fall in the 100HH finals that took out two runners, plus one that was DQed for not staying in her lane. Windsor senior Jordyn Williams ran 14.88 in the prelims before being forced out of her lane and falling. While she still finished her race, it was about seven seconds behind what she was capable of but she is still among the top three or four hurdlers in CT. 

Duncan and Agyemang came back to go 1-2 in the 300m hurdles with the defending New England champion Duncan running a season best of 43.40 and Agyemang finishing in her PR of 45.38. 

Anytime Bloomfield and Windsor match up, they bring out the best in each other. The CCC sprint rivals went at it in the 4x100m with the Warriors’ team of Jaida Murray, Paige Wilson, Syniah Harding and Tomari Gillespie taking over the state lead with their time of 47.92. Bloomfield finished a step behind in 48.08 which should give both teams plenty to get excited about in the coming weeks. 

In the boys sprints, we have a new player in town. Elijah Fraser transferred from Harding in Bridgeport to Windsor this year. At Harding, he was 8th in the Class L 100m but with a more established program he has greatly improved. Even though there wasn’t wind reading for any events, he still popped off two big PRs. He ran a 10.72 in the prelims before coming back to win the finals in 10.78, going under 11 for the first time and becoming  the fastest runner in CT in this mid-season meet. He also teamed up with Jaden Langford, Jaylen Wesley and Shelldon Simpson II to run the state’s leading time in the 4x100m with their 42.38 performance. 

Another incredibly deep field was the girls 400m where the top six girls broke 59 seconds. It was another Windsor- Bloomfield battle as All New England 400m runner Paige Wilson of Windsor held off defending State Open champion Jahniya Barclay of Bloomfield with times of 57.14 to 57.61 in a very mild upset. All New England 600m runner Sultana Ali of New Britain ran 57.78, her fastest time in a major meet. 

It’s great to see multi-sport athletes come out for spring track and contribute to the team’s success. Alexandra Golder is a sophomore on the Hall basketball team but has found quite a bit of success in her secondary sport. She was a member of the State Open and New England runner-up 4x400m team last year but is beginning to receive some individual recognition as a sophomore. She broke her school record in a dual meet two weeks ago and on Saturday against the best competition she has ever faced, she ran 58.36 to finish in 4th place which is the 6th fastest time in the state. We wonder how fast she could run dribbling a basketball? 

Class LL 300m champion this indoor season Audrey O'Hare of Glastonbury took 5th in a PR of 58.66 and Soleigh Dixon who was a member of those great 4x400m relays last year for Bloomfield closed out the scoring in 58.85. While Bloomfield looks like they have the talent to repeat as Open and New England 4x400m champions again, Glastonbury has three other girls beside O’Hare in the 1:01 range and should at least push the WahHawk to a fast time. 

While it’s still mid-season, the girls 1600m added a third state athlete under the 5:00 mark for the 1600/mile in addition to Brooke Strauss’s 4:39.88 mile state record and Chase Gilbert’s PR 4:48.59 mile in Trials of Miles mile in NY on Friday. Senior Liv Sherry of Conard bided her time for the first three laps as she closely followed soph Maya Donzella of Windsor and Glastonbury frosh Lauren Parrett. Sherry then unleashed a furious kick with 300m to go to win in 4:55.05 ahead of Donzella (PR 5:01.40) and Parrett (PR 5:03.45).

While some of the field events were not able to finish their competition due to the weather, the boys shot put continued to put up impressive results. Indoor state record holder in the event, Chris Amy of NFA broke his outdoor PR with a 62 foot, 2 inch throw which is the 6th best throw all time in CT history but short of his 65-7 lifetime best from the Indoor Class LL championships. He was pushed by indoor All American Marshall Potter of Simsbury who came within only three inches of his outdoor best to take 2nd. East Lyme’s Thomas Matlock, another 60 foot thrower, entered in the meet but did not complete. 

While Potter couldn’t take the gold in the shot, he came away with a win in the discus throw. The UConn bound senior set a PR of 171-8 to take over the state lead among CIAC athletes. 

Nevaeh Dailey of Plainfield made New Englands last year as a freshman and she reset her own school record in the discus with a throw of 129-0. The soccer and basketball star has taken over the CT and New England lead in the event and will be trying to move up on her 20th place finish at the regional meet last year. 

Eloise Mulready tied Glastonbury’s 33 year-old school record in the high jump with her clearance of 5’6. She then made three solid attempts at 5’7 which could be coming soon. The senior is no stranger to big time competition as she was 3rd at the Open last spring and 5th during Indoors. But now she moves into a three way tie for the state lead and is only an inch off the New England lead. 

The pole vault was expected to be a big event at Middletown and it didn’t disappoint. Normally by the time Jordan Carr comes in the competition, all the other vaulters are out of the competition. But on Saturday, the Joel Barlow senior was pushed by freshman Kaylin Diglio of Guilford with both going for Carr’s meet record of 12-6. The Falcon soared over the height which the freshman failed to clear. But the pair are now 1-2 in New England. 

Fast Times at Ridgefield High Lives up to Its Name

RESULTS

“Hey Bud, let’s party. The immortal words of Jeff Spicolli from the namesake movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” set the tone for this single event meet. A gathering of distance runners allows for athletes from all over the region to get to know each other off of Strava and warm-up and cool down together after their incredibly hard efforts.

We all know records are meant to be broken, but no one thought Steven Hergenrother’s school record would last for only a year. With Danbury’s Kyle Jeffers acting as a rabbit he set the field up for a 4:30 first half. Oxford’s Joseph DeLuise and Andy Condon of John Jay, who was 2nd in the 3200m at the NYPHSAA Indoor State Championships hung with the hot early pace. Magnus Manley, using his usual come from behind strategy lurked only a couple of yards behind for the first half. With two laps to go, Manley got right on Condon’s shoulder and used a 61-second last lap to give Condon his first loss of the season. 

Manley’s time of 8:54.47 broke the meet and school record by two seconds and moved him in front of recent Penn Relays 10,000m champion Robbie Cozean as the 7th fastest time in state history. Condon (8:55.76) also set a PR along with the first 19 finishers. Ryan Sykes of Horace Greley ran 8:56.49, for 4th and became the 5th fastest sophomore in the nation.

Charles Lovett broke 9-minutes by finishing in 8:59.79 to become the first pair of runners from a CT school to break 9 minutes in the same race. This gave Ridgefield three runners under 9-minutes in two years. 

State Open runner up in cross country, Luke Cushing of Amity finished 6th in 9:09.03 and Staples’ Samuel Zwick-Lavinsky was a place behind in 9:11.62. All New England cross country runners Trevor Fuller and Sullivan Dunn became the 3rd and 4th Ridgefield runners across the line taking 8th and 9th places in 9:17.32 and 9:26.16. New England 1000m champion  Alex Medina of Hamden rounded out the top ten, finishing in 9:26.18.

In an unusual meet set up, Fast Times runs combine gender heats. John Jay’s Sloan Wasserman of John Jay finished 73rd overall but had the fastest time of the evening. While New York girls usually run the 3000m, her time of 10:25.50 converts to a few seconds faster than her best 3k time of 9:45. 

A trio of local western Connecticut girls has strong races. Staples’ Sarah Bogdan had the best time among CT girls running a 15-second PR of 11:01.44. This moves her up to the 3rd fastest CT runner this year. All New England 1000m runner Alexandra Morgan of Fairfield Warde ran a big 3200m PR of 11:12.83 and New Fairfield’s Katie McMorrow had a season best. The CIAC 2k steeplechase champion finished in 11:21.45

Check back tomorrow as we recap the Marty Roberts and Org-Jake Invitationals.

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.