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

RESULTS 

RECORDS

MSR PHOTOS by Ron Knapp

Girls Championship Highlights

Windsor secured their 12th Class L team championship in 16 years with a commanding 118 points, significantly outscoring Naugatuck (83.5), who finished as runners-up. This victory was achieved through wins in all three relays, three individual titles, and consistent performances in both track and field events. New Canaan placed third with 75 points. Out of 26 teams, 25 managed to score in the competition. Lauren Kropo, the junior sprint sensation, contributed 30 points to Naugatuck's overall score. Similarly, senior Lauren Smith earned 30 points for New Canaan by winning all three throwing events.

According to Windsor long time coach, Kelvin Kearse, one of the biggest differences was that they implemented a new lifting program The Warriors stayed in the same hotel at New Balance Nationals Indoor as St. John’s Prep and they shared their entire program. 

“We made some adjustments to the lifting and plyo drills this year and you can see the difference. We graduated a monster team last year and I never thought we would be here. A lot of our better runners are younger, and they are stronger and more balanced.”

But Windsor had to overcome a tragedy to pull out the win. Last night a former classmate of theirs was  shot and killed in East Hartford. Some of the runners were not able to compete due to the emotional trauma but those that did stepped up to bring home another title. 

Photo courtesy of CIAC

This year’s 100m dash finals was an event dictated by mere milliseconds. Naugatuck’s Lauren Kropo snagged the first place title again by a hair at 12 seconds, while teammate Cynthia Singleton finished right behind at 12.5, and Jaya Pichay on her heels with a time of 12.52. Less than 10 minutes later, Kropo returned to win the 400m at 55.51, with Windor’s Paige Wilson following at 56.07. The final heat of the 200m provided another gold medal for Kropo winning in 25.14 just ahead of teammate Cynthia Singleton's time of 26.14 from the previous heat.

Maya Donzella of Windsor had multiple strong performances today, including a victory for her team in this competition’s 1600m with a time of 5:03.36. Donzella was also a member of the winning 4x800m relay team that dominated with a season best  9:38.58 (new CT#3), including teammates Evelyn Schwartz, Grayson Haris, and Hannah Donzella. Schwartz returned later in the 800m to win in her PR of 2:18.52 adding further to the Warrior’s point total..

Windsor’s girls rose to the occasion today with standout performances across the board that included another relay title in the single lap 4x100m in a time of 48.45 with the quartet of Jaida Murray, Paige Wilson, Syniah Harding and Tomari Gillespie.

Today’s 100m hurdle finals was claimed by Windsor’s Jordyn Williams, who sped to 14.83 for gold. She added to her team’s success with the only time that fell under 15 seconds in this event. 

E.O. Smith’s Jordan Stygar took this competition’s 3200m with an impressive time of 11:18.49, while Wilton’s Jenna Manusco followed at 11:24, with both runners pushing the pace until the final lap.

The Warriors capped their ride to successfully adding yet another team title by speeding to a win in the 4x400m in a time of 4:01.72 with the team of Paige Wilson, Grayson Harris, Maya Donzella and Evelyn Schwartz.

It is no surprise that Lauren Smith of New Canaan dominated the field with performances that  reminded spectators why they know her name. The senior claimed today’s discus at 123-10, javelin (120-08) and shot put with a toss of 37-05.5, asserting her absolute dominance in all 3 events, and establishing space between herself and competitors. As expected, Hall’s Madeline Peterson showed strength in the javelin today as well, taking second place with a strong throw of 114-01. 

Senior Ashni Shetty of Newtown outjumped her competition today at an impressive 16-11, taking a win for her team in the long jump. Sophomore Mijonia Hart of Naugatuck followed with a strong performance at 16-09.75, and suggests a very successful career in the event. 

This competition’s pole vault brought exciting new heights, with Liliana Quill of Amity setting a new class record at 11-08. Quill’s season best performance tied with Madeleine Schneider of Darien’s record that was set all the way back in 2014. Second place was earned by Wilton’s Melinda Pettit, who cleared 10-06, an entire foot higher than her following competition. 

Other winners in the girls championship included:

Triple Jump - Ava Rose, Amity - 34-11.75

High Jump - Aris Roane, EO Smith - 5-00

300m Hurdles - Folasade Danmola, Shelton, 46-10

Boys Championship Highlights

Xavier secured their third straight Class L team title, their sixth overall, adding to their five Class LL victories. This win was less dramatic than last year's narrow 1.5-point margin over Windsor, the repeat runner-up. The Falcons triumphed comfortably with 90 points to Windsor's 76 by scoring in 11 of the 18 events that included 60 in the 4 distance events . Bunnell of Stratford claimed third place with 57 points. Overall, 23 of the 25 participating teams scored points in the championship that started in 1933.

According to Xavier coach Chris Stonier, the senior class has won three consecutive outdoor titles and on top of that have won 11 out of 12 Class L titles since they were freshman in the three running sports of cross country, indoor and outdoor track. 

“Throughout that time we have seen the team make a shift” he explained. “Last year we had a lot more throws and sprints and hurdles, but this year we are back to our traditionally strong distance athletes. We still had great performances from Oliver Guzy but we got the bulk of points in the distance event.”

Photo courtesy of CIAC

Jack Ouelette of Xavier was predicted to put up a fight for first in this competition’s 1600, and his grit earned him first place with a time of 4:20.83, just ahead of teammate Owen Martin (4:21.30). The two athletes traded places in the 3200m with Martin taking the gold at 9:32.93, and Ouelette taking second place with a time of 9:33.13. Together, the duo demonstrated Xavier’s strength and dominance in distance events, pushing one another to reach their fullest potential. 

Senior Oliver Guzy of Xavier held tight to his winning streak in the long jump, clearing 22-03.25 as the only athlete to surpass 22 feet. Newtown’s Elias Brady secured the second place spot at 21-06.75 in a notable performance as well. Brady stepped up to first in the triple jump, earning a victory with an impressive leap of 44-09.5. Bristol Central’s Willam Postell (42-11.5) and Nathanyel Davis (42-04.5) also displayed strength in this event as predicted, claiming #2 and #3 respectively.

Today’s 100m finals gave Jayson Vanterpool of Bunnell the chance to uphold his wind-aided top seed at 10.38, and he did just that. The only runner to finish under 11 seconds in this event, Vanterpool claimed #1 with a time of 10.58. Not only this, but he also dominated the 200m at 22.04, with Windsor’s Sheldon Simpson II right behind (22.24) and Eliezer Pena of Naugatuck (22.90) rounding out the top three finishers.

Today’s 4x100 was a thrilling watch resulting in a victory for Bunnell with a season best time of 41.98, ahead of Windsor’s season best of 42.22. The winning team included athletes Diallo Cowan, Kaidyn Nalley, Alex Munoz, and anchor Jayson Vanterpool. The team is now ranked #1 in CT, having surpassed the previous best time of 42.50. 

Today’s shot put brought highly anticipated Marshall Potter of Simsbury to the field with expectations to fill and standards to meet. Pressure proved only to fuel him, as he not only obliterated competition with an outstanding toss of 61-05.75, but also shattered a record set back in 2001 by Andre Reid of South Windsor at 61-02.50. Potter set his new record during his last attempt in finals, demonstrating admirable composure, and the unique ability to thrive under the utmost pressure. Potter started the meet with an overwhelming performance in the discus with a toss of 175-06 to win easily by over 44 feet.

As promised, an excitingly close finish for the 400m brought Bunnell’s Kaiden Nalley to victory in 49.32 seconds. Jaiden Roach of Naugatuck finished a few tenths behind at 49.84, securing a hard fought second place in one of the meet’s tightest races. 

The hurdle events were owned by William Gibson of Hillhouse as he sped to a 14.39 in the finals of the 110m hurdles. Later in the meet, he followed with another wire to wire win with a near personal best of 38.74 in the 300m hurdles.

In another victorious moment for Bunnell, junior Ryan Gonzalez secured first place by almost a foot in today’s pole vault, soaring to 14 feet. He shows tremendous progress and promise as a vaulter who was clearing 10-6 only last year, and has yet another year to forge new heights. 

Today’s competition brought an abundance of exciting performances from athletes with big shoes to fill, and times to achieve that culminated in the 4x400m for the two teams. 

Naugatuck’s powerhouse team of Runner Anur, Ryan Deitelbaum, Jaiden Roach and Eliezer Pena took gold in a 4x400m race that secured them a new ranking as #3 in CT and #18 All Time best school record in CT history. Shelton followed close behind with a 3:22.18 finish and are now ranked 6th in the state, thanks to team members Sebastian Matei, Angel Inthapanhya, Eric Pacheco, and Charles Pereira.

“We’ve been building this team since last year when we just barely missed our school record,” explained coach Ralph Roper. We were just waiting for our last leg to catch up and that’s Pena. He’s my hero of the day.”

Other winners in the boys championship included:

4x800m relay - New Canaan, Ryan Boulanger, Ryan Monohan, Quinn Kilkenny, Spencer Paine - 7:59.04

800m - Mahkai Heyward, Hillhouse - 1:54.72 PR and CT#6

Javelin - Melvin Angel Sanchez - Platt - 157-05

High Jump - Jayden Compton, Windsor - 6-04

Triple Jump - Elias Brady, Newtown - 44-09.50

If you are not able to attend in person then you can view the any of the championship meets on a fee basis at the NFHS Network at https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/associations/ciac 

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