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

FCIAC East Division Championships

Zeoli Fieldhouse, Wilton HS, Wilton, CT

RESULTS

Both Darien boys and New Canaan girls won their 3rd straight FCIAC Division title at Wilton High School. The Blue Wave boys had an easier time of it defeating Fairfield Ludlowe by a score of 148-5 to 83.5 in the eight team meet. New Canaan had a much tougher challenge and won by a single point scoring 140 points to 139 for Fairfield Ludlowe. 

On a 150m flat gym floor surface, time might not be impressive, but the competition certainly was. Darien came away with six gold medals. Andrew Sharron is ranked top eight in CT in four distance events. He claimed gold in the 1000m (2:56.93) and 1600m (4:57.94) and was not needed to run the 3200m due to his team’s insurmountable lead. Chase Larsen also did his part with a win in the 45m dash (5.87) plus runner up finishes in both the 4x225m (4x1.5 laps) and the 300m. Additional key points in the field event from Rohail Maqsood (5-8) and Andrew Khouw (12-0) and another victory in the 4x375m (4x2.5 laps) and that right there gave Darien the bulk of their points. 

Fairfield Ludlowe hit hard in the relays and field events but couldn’t quite hold off New Canaan that simply dominated the distance events. The Rams started off the meet taking gold in the 4x800m relay with a time of 10:14.72. Georgina Harrington claimed the 600m with a time of 1:48.88, Gabby Savelli won the 1000m in 3:23.70 and Sienna deKanter claimed the 3200m title in 11:41.77. On top of that they scored multiple people behind them in those events.

Fairfield Ludlowe won the 1500m SMR (4:28.66) and 4x225m (2:16.43) but did the most damage in the field events. German exchange student Frieda Patzner cleared 5-0 in the high jump and led a 1-4 sweep of the event. Caroline Morris won the long jump (16-4.0) with two other Falcons scoring behind her. Lexi Lockwood continues her outstanding season, throwing 37-0.25 to claim the shot put with two teammates scoring as well. 

FCIAC West Division Championships

Staples HS, Westport CT

RESULTS

Staples boys continued their stranglehold on the FCIAC Western Division, claiming their 6th straight title by scoring 211 to Brien McMahon’s 127. Greenwich girls won their 4th straight title by outlasting Staples by a score of 179 to 117. The Cardinals swept the top four places in the 600m and 1000m events plus won all four relays in a display of middle distance dominance. 

The gymnasium floor track at Staples, a 160-meter, 10-lap-to-the-mile circuit, was the site of fierce competition among some of the state's top athletes. In the 600m Greenwich’s Eliana Daplyn led a 1-4 finish for the Cardinals, winning in a time of 1:40.32. She came back to claim a second victory in the 1000m (3:19.83) with three of her teammates not far behind. 

State Open cross country runner-up Sophie Passalacqua only ran one race, the 1600m winning in 5:11.52 with another All New England cross country runner Sarah Bogdan of Staples claiming second place. 

In the shot put, Theresa Knuth got closer to 40 feet, setting a PR of 39-5.0 to move up to #2 in the CT rankings this season. Orla Muir, normally a distance runner, cleared 4-4 in the high jump for the win followed by two of her teammates. 

Staples boys simply dominated the track events winning five individual events and two of four relays. Juniors Arthur Khisyamov and David Egege won their first championship races.  Khisyamov won the 55m in 7.03 with Egege just missing his PR with a time of 38.30. Senior Gray McGuinness moved up from 6th last year to take the 100m in 2:51.46. All FCIAC and All State cross country runner Harrison Sydor ran an indoor best of 4:49.96 to win the 1600m and Luke Cooker led a 1-4 sweep in the 3200m to earn the gold in a time of 11:10.40. The Wreckers’s depth was also on display as they won the 4x240m (4x1.5 laps) in 2:07.76 and the 4x400m crossing the line in 4:03.45.

Brien McMahon is developing some talent in the middle distance area.They started off the meet winning the 4x800m in 9:18.23 and also won the SMR in 4:06.86. In the 600m seniors Kevin Pennella (1:30.05) and James Cohen (1:31.03) took the top two spots. The Senators also picked up two wins in the field. Emmanuel Then Rojas won the high jump clearing 5-10 and Andres Reyes did the same in the pole vault with a height of 10-6. 

Next up for these athletes will be the much more important FCIAC Championships on Thursday at Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven. 

Bethel Invitational

Bethel HS - Track and Field Training Center, Bethel CT

RESULTS

Danbury’s Rysaiah Saunders has been on a tear this winter in the 55m hurdles. He didn’t even break 8 seconds last year and failed to score at Class LLs. By the spring he figured the hurdles out and took 4th at the Open and 8th at New Englands. He crushed his old PR the first meet of the season and has only gotten better all season long. On Saturday he crushed the competition and broke his school and the FCIAC records finishing in a time of 7.35. This performance puts him at CT #3, 13th nationally and 5th CT all time. With state leader Davian Johnson of East Hartford’s best of 7.27 within reach, this should make the Class LLs, State Open and New England championships a marque event to watch with national implications. 

Saunders’ teammate Tobeas Kelly also had an outstanding day in the long jump, making a leap of 22-9 to move up to CT #4 and #2 in Class LL. The pair should give the Hatters some big points in the upcoming championship meets.

Bethel junior Adrian Vasquez must be very comfortable on his home track. He broke 6.50 for the first time, winning with a time of 6.46 and is now ranked #4 in CT. This is making a deep event even deeper with six boys under 6.50. Vasquez’s teammate Kubrik Tarrant also had a great day earning two PRs in the pole vault. His best coming into Saturday was 12-6 and he cleared 13-0 and then 13-6 to earn the junior a 5th placing ranking in CT. This  gives the Wildcats two vaulters over that height. George Habshey didn’t clear his opening height but has already cleared that bar four times already this winter. 

Mackenzie Bray of Brookfield, just moved into the state’s elite sprinters. She set a .08 second PR, which broke her own school record with a time of 7.31, which moves her to CT #7 which is the top time in Class M. 

ECC Snowflake Invitational

Bacon Fieldhouse, Wesleyan University, Middletown CT

RESULTS

The Eastern Connecticut Conference held a last chance qualifying meet before their Division I and Division II Championship at the Coast Guard Academy on Saturday. 

The defending ECC DI champion Emma Weitknecht of Woodstock Academy improved her PR in the 55m hurdles to 8.57 which moves her up to the 2nd fastest time in Class M. There should be a real battle between Weitknecht and Phoebe Cora Smith for the state title in only two weeks. 

The top returner from last year’s State Open in the shot put is Bacon Academy’s Liam Sweeney who tossed a bomb and set a new PR of 58-5. Sweeney hit his mark the same day Bloomfield’s Khile Francis threw 57-10 to win at the CCC championships. The two are sure to make the shot put an exciting event to watch at the State Open. 

Towards the end of the season as athletes get ready for championships, the leader board starts getting more crowded. Teagan Czaja of East Lyme became the 8th girl to clear 10-6 in the pole vault which will mean athletes will have to bring their “A” game if they hope to score at the Open. 

Senior Abraham McGregor hasn’t competed in a championship meet yet, but he is now coming into the post season as one of the top ranked long jumpers in the state. The Woodstock Academy Centaur won on Saturday with a new PR of 22-2 and now has the state’s 5th best jump for the season. 

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118th Millrose Games

The Nike Track & Field Center at The Armory, NY

RESULTS

Just getting an invitation to compete in the Milrose Games is an honor and thrill. It is the oldest and most prestigious indoor meet in the world. Olympic athletes share the same track with college, high school and youth level runners, jumpers and throwers in the packed confines of The Armory. Several CT athletes earned the honor to compete in the high school sections on Friday and Sunday.

Only one day removed from his CT state record in the pole vault, Sean Arms of Daniel Hand made the drive to New York City on Friday and still managed to clear 14-9 to earn 8th place. He witnessed five boys clear 16 feet with two going over the 17 foot bar which should provide motivation for him over the next few weeks.

The boys and girls weight throw also took place on Friday with a pair of Bloomfield throwers earning a spot. Mason Gray finished 15th with a distance of 63-08.50. His classmate Payton Sirdine finished 10th tossing the weight 46-09.75.

On Sunday, a pair of national class Nutmeggers ran the mile against runners from all over the country. Lyme Old Lyme’s Chase Gilbert took 9th in 4:49.35 which is just over a second off her personal record. Nathan Lee of Brunswick, a private school in Greenwich, just drove a few miles away and earned a new PR of 4:10.56 to take 5th. This moves him up to #11 nationally. 

Guilford’s Kaylin Diglio took 8th in the girls pole vault with a clearance of 3.65 meters or 11-11.75.

In the professional 60m hurdles, Sacred Heart-Waterbury alum Edward Williams, currently running for the Central Park Track Club, took 7th in 7.81. In high school he simply dominated the hurdles winning the indoor and outdoor 55m hurdles and 110m hurdles and won New Englands in the event as well. In college at Central Connecticut he was a NEC and IC4A champion and has continued his career as a post graduate and has qualified for the USATF Senior Outdoor Championships. 

High School Record Alerts: Union Catholic, NJ took down the girls national record in the 4x800m relay with their time of 8:40.07. Their splits were Abigail Robisky - 2:11.53, Sophia Thompson - 2:09.02, Aubrey Devers - 2:15.47, Paige Sheppard - 2:04.06.

Cooper Lutkenhaus from Texas just keeps getting better each time he toes the start line, with the 17-year-old breaking the U20 world record in the 600m with a 1:14.15 victory. In addition to being a world junior record and U.S. high school record, he’s also now the fifth fastest American of all time in the event.

John Thomas Terrier Classic

Track & Tennis Center, Boston University, Boston MA

RESULTS

A few individuals traveled to Boston to compete on BU’s lightning fast track on Saturday. The biggest headline came from 16 year old New Zealand runner Sam Ruthe who not only out ran the professional runners to win the invitational mile, he set a new world record for the fastest mile run by an under–18 athlete crossing the finish line in an extraordinary 3:48.88. Ruthe's time also broke John Walker's outright New Zealand record of 3:49.08 from 1982.

Hamden’s Alex Medina ran unattached taking 17th in the 1000m against college runners. His time of 2:27.04 is the 3rd fastest time under all conditions in CT history and the 4th fastest in the nation. 

Aiden Nelson who normally competes for Ridgefield dropped a nearly five second PR in the mile taking 95th in the open race. His time of 4:14.68. This makes him the 16th fastest miler on the CT all time list. 

It’s not too early to think about your plans for summer training that could include attending the Foss Running Camp!