Madison Birney and Shaana Bishop Place in 55 Dash at States for Branford Hornets' Indoor Track

Freshman Shaana Bishop took fifth place in the 55-meter dash and sixth in the long jump to lead the Branford girls' indoor track squad at last week's Class M State Championship. Bishop first ran 7.73 to take fifth in the 55-an event which saw teammate Madison Birney finish fourth at 7.71-followed by Bishop coming in sixth in the long jump with a distance of 16-1. She then placed 15th at the State Open at 15-6½.

Additionally at states for the Hornets, who placed 19th, Hunter Carden took seventh in the pole vault with a height of 7-6, the 4x200 relay of Birney, Bryanna Willaby, Bishop, and Carden took 11th (1:55.03); Tracy Crookston ran 3:33.20 in the 1,000 with Sharon Bian running 3:34.03, and Alex Tracy posted a mark of 1:52.94 in the 600.

"We have had some individual runners make the finals of the 55 meters, but never two runners. Madison and Shaana really showed they are among the top sprinters in the state and them finishing fourth and fifth was very exciting," Coach Kevin Connell said. "Shaana is one of the fastest girls in the SCC and among the top long jumpers. She made an immediate impact in the 4x200 relay and is certainly one of the top freshmen athletes in the state."

On the boys' side, Jaryd Hobbs broke Branford's school record in the 55 hurdles by placing sixth with a time of 8.27, after which he competed in the preliminaries at the Open. Also at states, Denis Daley took fifth in the pole vault at 11 feet to aid the boys, who finished 30th.

"Prior to the meet, the coaches spoke to the kids about finishing the season on a high note in preparation for spring track, and for whatever reasons, we did not experience a lot of success at the meet and so I was disappointed with our results from this meet, but not from the season; we had a great season," Coach Rich Biondi said. "I was especially proud of Jayrd for establishing a new school record in the 55 high hurdles, breaking Joe Flynn's record set in 2011. Joe acted as a friend and mentor to Jayrd. They have a close friendship and I know that Joe was excited for Jayrd."

-Chris Piccirillo