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

It’s been a long time coming, but under the direction of 5th year head coach Peter Watson and with the help of captains Eliana Daplyn, Nina Silver, Theresa Knuth and Sophia Riche, the Greenwich girls won their first Class title since 1983. They held off defending champions Glastonbury who was going for their 4th title in five years, by a score of 105-95 with Southington scoring 60 points, four points in front of Manchester at the CIAC Class LL Championship at Willowbrook Park on Monday night.

Photo courtesy of CIAC

“This is huge. We knew it was going to be a really tough battle with Glastonbury, and it was”, said Coach Watson. “There were things that went our way, things that didn’t go our way, the same as Glastonbury. It really came down to the last two events, the 3200m and the 4x400m. This meant so much to our team, winning this title. It is something we have been looking forward to all year. We knew we had the capability to do it, but to actually do it and have all the pieces come together at one meet is really big for us.”

He credited some unexpected points in the 400m and 800m, plus Riche living up to expectations, winning both hurdle events and taking 2nd in the triple jump as the keys to their success. The Cardinals are a well rounded team scoring in 13 of the 18 events, including all three relays. 

As aforementioned, Cardinal Sophia Riche winning performances in the 100m hurdle and 300m hurdle were invaluable contributions to her team’s success. She ran impressive times of 15.39 and 45.73 respectively to snag the two golds. 

The Cardinals started their scoring by dominating the 4x800m through the combined speed of Gemma Hardwick, Margaret McCooe, Orla Muir and Eliana Daplyn who took gold medals in a season best time of 9:25.33, which is a new CT#1 this season.

Greenwich finished the meet under the lights similar to how they started with a CT#2 time of 3:58.92 for a 2 second win over Glastonbury to seal the deal. Hardwick was joined by Nina Silver, McCooe and Daplyn to add the finishing touch to a memorable night.

Star sprinter Samiya Eady of Manchester made her mark in yesterday's competition as expected. She took the 100m at a quick 12.11, with Hamden’s Shanez De Roche on her heels at 12.27. Also a top seeded athlete, McKenzyi Bell of Trumbull secured 3rd place at 12.47. 

Eady also claimed the 200m in race that set a new class record and bumped her up to #3 in CT with a personal best of 24.46. De Roche followed again at 25.13, while sophomore Myah-Nicole Johnson (Manchester) took third with 25.76, establishing herself as CT’s new #19 in a season best sprint. 

UConn-commit Brooke Strauss of Glastonbury claimed yesterday’s 1600m, but not without a fight. She ran a 4:54.4 that was challenged by Conard’s Georgetown-commit Liv Sherry who remained on Strauss’s shoulder throughout the race. Sherry secured second in a gritty, season best performance that made her CT’s new #3 at 4:54.98. Both girls share the glory as the only two athletes to finish in under 5 minutes. Junior Alexandra Morgan of Fairfield Warde had a notable race as well, showing exceptional promise with another personal best of 5:03.11 that moved her up to CT’s new #6.

The Strauss and Sherry duel continued in the 800m…the two stayed together for the majority of the race and ended in a close finish with Strauss at 2:12.77 and Sherry at 2:13.17.

Strauss finished her grueling day as she took the 3200m with a time of 10:55.54, with teammate Lauren Parrett finishing at 10:56.59. The two Glastonbury girls were the only two to break 11 minutes in this event. 

In the field, East Hartford’s Bryanna Boroze was crowned winner of this competition’s shot put with an impressive toss at 37-09.25. Ridgefeild’s Elizabeth Campbell also showed strength in this event as expected, securing second at 35-10.5. Theresa Knuth of Greenwich was not far behind, and earned her spot on the podium as third with a solid toss at 35-04. 

Continuing her success, Campbell took yesterday’s discus with a throw of 117-08, making her CT’s new #11. With another year ahead, she is poised to keep pushing her own limits as she continues to rise and perfect her craft in the ring.

Southington girls certainly made their mark on yesterday’s javelin runway, claiming the top 3 spots in the event. Erika Davies took gold with a throw of 108-06, while Reese Marek threw 98-05 to take second, with teammate Isabelle Leggett at 97-11 to give the Knights 24 huge points in the single event. 

Adding to Southington’s strength, star pole vaulter Megan Kasica soared to clear 11-06 in a personal best performance that newly ranked her as 4th in CT. Only a sophomore, Kasica promises staggering new heights as she progresses throughout her career in the event. Norwich Free Academy’s Elya Anor and Fairfield Ludlowe’s Sydney Dzilinski tied for silver at 9-06, also in PR performances that moved up their state rankings.Yesterday was an undeniably special day for the pole vault, as personal bests were collected and a plethora of new rankings were established across the board. 

Top seeded Eloise Mulready of Glastonbury earned her spot as #1 in this competition’s high jump as the only athlete to clear 5 feet. A three-way tie took place for second at 4-10, marking personal bests for Katelyn Au (Darien) Megan Kasica (Southington) and Ela Sehic (Glastonbury).

Other winners in the girls championship included:

4x100m - Hamden, Megan Stallworth, Shanez De Roche, Soibhan Diggs, Chyle Bond - 47.96 season best

Long Jump - Riley Davis, Norwich Free Academy, 17-00.5 personal record

Triple Jump - Iyanna Sheets, Manchester, 36-08

Boys Championship Highlights

Class LL meet director Bill Baron was the last East Hartford coach to win a state championship which happened in 1990. Now a new generation of coaches, Mark Brown, Adrian Nelson and Jared Delane are coaching on the track named for Baron. Brown took over as head coach five years ago and brought in fellow Weaver alum Adrian Nelson, who also ran under Hall of Fame coach Tom Butterfield to be the co- head coach. Then they found hurdle coach Jared Delane, a New England champion 300m hurdles for Northwest Catholic and all the pieces were put in place to develop the athletes to win the Class LL title on Monday night. The Hornets held off Norwich Free Academy by a score of 79 to 66 with Hamden, the indoor Class LL champions only two points away from a plaque. 

Photo courtesy of CIAC

They were led by their hurdlers who went 1-2-7 in both events to bring in 40 points. Davian Johnson crushed Myles Bradley 20-year old Class LL 110m hurdle meet record 13.87 with Jaylen Estrella coming in 2nd in 14.45, the 4th best time in CT this season. Both are juniors.Taking 7th place was senior Emmanuel Frimpong who ran 15.00. 

In the longer hurdle race, Johnson missed another 40-year old meet record by less than sixth tenths of a second, crossing the line in 38.11. This is the exact same time Coginchaug’s Charles Dalles ran earlier in the day to set the Class S record in the event. Both are tied at #15 all time in CT history.  Emmanuel Frimpong took 2nd in 38.39, the 21st best time in CT history and both ran faster than their coach did to win New Englands in 2012. Estrella ran 41.07 to grab another two points in 7th place. Johnson almost became a triple winner, but he still added another eight points to his team’s total when he finished 2nd in the triple with a jump of 42-0.75. 

When asked what the secret to the hurdlers success, Delane, a 2017 graduate of UConn said “I just ask for consistency and when you come to practice, give it your all and they build that comradery and build that culture and it just grows.”

Also contributing big points for the Hornets was 3rd Isaiah Tripp who took 3rd in the 100m (10.98) and 4th in the 200m (22.47). Tyrell Cunningham was 2nd in the discus (145-02) and Joshua Keaton was 4th in the shot (51-10.0). Mathias Baidoo was 4th in the long jump (21-00.0) and the 4x100m and 4x400m relays also contributed with their 6th and 8th place finishes. 

Next up on their to-do list according to Brown is “we want to dance around this track one more time at the State Open. We have been knocking on the door for a while.”

The oldest record in the meet books was obliterated by Chris Amy of Norwich Free Academy as he dominated the shot put with an outstanding toss of 62-02.25 that eclipsed the former mark of 60-04.75 set by Melmoth Taylor of Hartford Public way back in 1969! His standout performance also brought him up to #49 in the nation while just a few inches behind ECC rival Tom Matlock. Amy also took the discus with a throw of 164-04, while East Hartford’s Tyrell Cunningham claimed the second place spot, aiding his team’s success as mentioned.

The meet was closed by another meet record as the talented speedsters from Hamden, Richard Nartey, Isaiah Lefers, Vill-Andre Harris and Alexander Medina combined to win the 4x400 in 3:19.28 that erased the previous record by Danbury set in 2018. Earlier in the 800m race Medina used a furious 200m kick to win in a personal best time of 1:52.58 to claim the win and a new spot as CT’s #2 in the event. 

The meet began with two new rankings as CT’s #2 with victories by Norwich Free Academy in the 4x800m relay and Greenwich in the 4x100m relay. Jesse Croteau, Michael Fusaro, Patrick Croughwell, Kyle Kornacki of Norwich Free Academy ran their season best of 7:53.75 for their gold medals while Greenwich’s powerhouse team of Caleb You, Daniel Silver, Jack Hannafin, William Tulloch ran a season best of 42.14 for their new ranking.

Jack Davis of Fairfield Prep took both the 100m (10.83) and the 200m at 21.76 in lightning fast races that proved his strength as a sprinter.

Three personal bests were established for this competition’s top 400m runners. Greenwich’s Cameron Williams took gold at 49.11, while Isaiah Lefers of Hamden took second at 49.27, and Mitchell Dinkins of Wilbur Cross in third at 49.48. All three athletes moved up in their state rankings with these performances. 

Yesterday’s pole vault reached staggering heights, with Nate Elsner of Westhill clearing 14 feet and establishing a new personal best, also moving up to 7th in the state . 

This competition's javelin title was taken by Ridgefield’s Carson Bloechle, who dominated with a throw of 160-07. The junior established a gap between himself and competitors, with 14 feet separating the gold from silver performers.

South Windsor’s Shawn Baidoo claimed yesterday’s long jump at a victorious 21-09.5, while Tobeas Kelly of Danbury took a close second at 21-07.75. The triple jump brought about new personal bests, with junior Rashidi Newton (Bridgeport Central) in first with a leap of 42-07.5 that earned him the gold medal late in the evening. Right behind was New Britain’s Zacharie Boisrond at another personal record of 42-07, securing the silver medal and a spot in Saturday’s State Open Championship. 

With history made, personal records shattered, and new rankings across the board, the Class LL Championship meet was a competition that marked a multitude of breakthrough moments and athletic excellence that set the bar even higher than before. 

Other winners in the boys championship included:

1600m - Magnus Manley, Ridgefeild, - 4:19.59 season best

3200m - Luke Cushing, Amity, - 9:18.12

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