NFA's Weir, Stonington's Whalen earn runnerup finishes at State Open
New Britain — Chris Weir cleared 14 feet, 2 inches earlier this season, one meet after achieving “no height” in the pole vault.
“That's an example of the pole vault for you,” said Weir, a Norwich Free Academy senior. “This sport isn't easy. It can be your best day ever or terrible … your best day or your worst.”
Weir had his best day, just about, Monday at the State Open track and field championship at Willow Brook Park, finishing second with a leap of 14-0. Weir cleared the same height as first-place finisher Nathaniel Llanos of Danbury, but Llanos had fewer misses at earlier heights.
Stonington's Joey Hinckley was third in the event at 13-6.
Weir, who will compete next year at Eastern Connecticut State University, called last week's fourth-place finish at the Class LL state meet a “disappointment.” Llanos won last week's meet at 14-8.
Weir cleared 14-0 on his final attempt Monday and both competitors missed all three tries at 14-6.
Weir jumps with a stone-faced demeanor, but loves the pole vault, among other reasons, for its camaraderie.
“He's a goofball in practice,” NFA coach Tom Teixeira said. “He'll do back flips and all kinds of crazy stuff.”
“It's such a close-knit group of people,” Weir said. “Everyone congratulates everyone. … There's a Stonington boys rivalry. I practice with Joey and Shane (Smith, the ECC champion at 13-0) occasionally and I love them. They all text me (jokingly), 'We will beat you; we're coming for you.' They hold up their end.'”
Hinckley, a junior, added a lighthearted note to the pole vault. When he first found out he would be in the top six, qualifying him for Saturday's New England championship for the first time in his career, he sprinted happily around the jumping area.
Hinckley then switched to a different pole for his attempts at 14-0, knowing he likely couldn't achieve the jump with the one he had been using. On one attempt he landed face-first in the pit, drawing laughter from a few teammates standing nearby.
“It was just a little too big for me,” Hinckley said, smiling.
Stonington's Cam Whalen also finished in a tie for second place in the 110-meter hurdles, not what he had hoped for as the top seed coming into the race. Whalen, however, bumped a hurdle mid-race and had to recover. Deshaune Poole of Hillhouse won with a time of 14.57, with Whalen and Nicholas Pronovost of Coventry in a dead heat for second at 14.60.
“At first, definitely, yeah,” Whalen said, asked if he was disappointed with the result.
“The first half of the race I was ahead; I was feeling pretty good. I hit one pretty good on my trail leg. After that, I had to gather myself. If not, those runners will catch up to you pretty quick. They all had a good race. … I was feeling it, to be honest, in the beginning.”
Whalen then came back to finish fourth in the 300 hurdles, placing despite not being in the fast heat. Whalen won the second-fastest heat in 39.61.
Other top boys' finishers were NFA's Chris Hebert, third in the javelin (171-9); Waterford's Shayne Beckloff, fourth in the 100 (11.11); NFA's Brenden Sholes, tied for fourth in the high jump (6-4); East Lyme's Dylan Hatajik, fifth in the 200 (22.40); Ledyard's Collin Wiltshire, fifth in the triple jump (45-1.25) and Stonington's Rhys Hammond, sixth in the 800 (1:53.96). East Lyme's 4x800 team of Sam Whittaker, Chris Abbey, Matthew Kung and Ryan McCauley was sixth in 8:05.45.
NFA's Allyson Lewis, among the favorites in the high jump after a meet-record leap of 5-8 to win Class LL a week ago, also faced a glitch in her plans. Lewis uncharacteristically missed her first attempt at 5-4 — she's jumped a season-best 5-9 this spring — shaking her confidence.
“Just a bad day,” Lewis said. “My goal was to make each jump. When I missed that one … I don't know what happened. I was just nervous today. I definitely let my head get to me today.”
Lewis cleared 5-4 on her second try, but later missed all three attempts at 5-6 and finished fifth.
Other top local girls' finishers were Waterford's Sophia Podeszwa, third in the 300 hurdles (45.30); NFA's Paige Martin, third in the pole vault (11-0) and Fitch's Colleen Duffy, fifth in the discus (114-3). Fitch's 4x100 team of Madison Powe, Lily Johnson, Janaya Burley and Abby Rogers was sixth (50.37).
Southington won the girls' team title, edging Bloomfield 35-32. Danbury won the boys' championship with 51 points, while Stonington was seventh with 21 and NFA was eighth with 20.5.
v.fulkerson@theday.com
CIAC STATE OPEN TRACK & FIELD MEET
At Willow Brook Park, New Britain
BOYS
Team results
1. Danbury, 51; 2. Derby, 46.50; 3. Staples, 36; 4. Bunnell, 35; 5. Hartford Public, 30.5; Local schools: 7. Stonington, 21; 8. NFA, 20.5; 32. East Lyme, 7; 44. (tie) Ledyard and Waterford, 5.
Individual results
100-meter dash — 1. Leon Campbell (Hartford Public), 10.93; 2. Elijah Henry (Bunnell); 3. Deante Anderson (NW Catholic); 4. Shayne Beckloff (Waterford), 11.11; 5. Christopher Pigatt (Hamden); 6. Christ N'Dabian (Bunnell); 7. Jamar Eaton (East Hartford).
200 — 1. Campbell (Hartford Public), 21.92; 2. Chris Colbert (Wilton); 3. Sean-Michael Parkinson (Danbury); 4. Nigel West (Bristol Central); 5. Dylan Hatajik (East Lyme), 22.40; 6. Alexander Halkias (Berlin); 7. Jalin Rivera (New Britain); 8. Samuel Agyei (Metro Learning).
400 — 1. Kymali Hay (University), 48.67; 2. Colbert (Wilton); 3. (tie) Jason Walton (Plainfield) and Andrew Valentine (Hartford Public); 5. Jevin Frett (Manchester); 6. Glenroy Ford (Danbury); 7. Warren Murphy (Notre Dame-WH); 8. Liam Killea (Cheshire); Local finisher: 21. Greg Clark (Montville), 52.37.
800 — 1. Ken Little (Derby), 1:52.05; 2. Miller Anderson (Hall); 3. Ian Bartlett (Ludlowe); 4. Joe Pearl (Manchester); 5. Malcolm Going (Danbury); 6. Rhys Hammond (Stonington), 1:53.96; 7. Manasseh Bekele (Hillhouse); 8. Tyler Rubush (Trumbull); Other local finishers: 11. Chase Flynn (Stonington), 1:58.72; 17. Teddy Nosiku (St. Bernard), 2:00.41.
1,600 — 1. William Landowne (Staples), 4:12.60; 2. Alexander Mocarski (Warde); 3. Trey Cormier (Hall); 4. Alex Korczynski (Windham); 5. Ben Seiple (Staples); 6. Tim Lautenbach (Weston); 7. Travis Martin (Wilbur Cross); 8. Andrew Meredith (Haddam-Killingworth); Local finisher: 17. Tom Readett (Fitch), 4:30.92.
3,200 — 1. Daniel Nichols (Danbury), 9:09.91; 2. Drew Thompson (Fairfield Prep); 3. Korczynski (Windham); 4. Brendan Murray (Cheshire); 5. Seiple (Staples); 6. Cormier (Hall); 7. Robert Dillon (Shelton); 8. Connor Visnic (Amity); Local finisher: 10. Sam Whittaker (East Lyme), 9:33.33.
110 hurdles — 1. Deshaune Poole (Hillhouse), 14.57; 2. (tie) Cam Whalen (Stonington) and Nick Pronovost (Coventry), 14.60; 4. Edward Williams (Sacred Heart); 5. Aren Seeger (Naugatuck); 6. Shemar Stewart (Bloomfield); 7. Osarentin Osagie (NFA), 15.21; 8. Ramsley Exantus (Bunnell).
300 hurdles — 1. Seeger (Naugatuck), 38.00; 2. Marcus Manson (Windsor); 3. Ja'Kwan Hale (Derby); 4. Whalen (Stonington), 39.61; 5. Stewart (Bloomfield); 6. Tylor Seamans (Lyman Hall); 7. Abdiel Tejada-Ruiz (E.O. Smith); 8. Bret Deri (Newtown); Other local finisher: 22. Shane Smith (Stonington), 43.05.
4x100 relay — 1. Bunnell, 42.59; 2. Bristol Central; 3. Danbury; 4. Hartford Public; 5. East Hartford; 6. Torrington; 7. Windsor; 8. Holy Cross; Local finisher: 20. Ledyard (James Smith, Travon Brown, Stanley Green, Jahmik Devone), 45.13.
4x400 relay — 1. Danbury, 3:20.87; 2. Manchester; 3. Derby; 4. New Milford; 5. Hillhouse; 6. Ridgefield; 7. Lyman Hall; 8. Hand; Local finisher: 11. Stonington (Joe Hinckley, Blake Edwards, Whalen, Hammond), 3:29.64.
4x800 relay — 1. Xavier, 7:56.28; 2. Staples; 3. Ridgfield; 4. Haddam-Killingworth; 5. Old Saybrook; 6. East Lyme (Whittaker, Matthew Kung, Chris Abbey, Ryan McCauley), 8:05.45; 7. Tolland; 8. Hand.
High jump — 1. Chet Ellis (Staples), 6 feet, 6 inches; 2. Justin Forde (McMahon); 3. Matt Santy (Enfield); 4. (tie) Hale (Derby) and Brenden Sholes NFA), 6-4; 6. (tie) Zach Crebbin (Newtown) and DeAndre Wallace (Holy Cross); 8. Pronovost (Coventry); Other local finisher: 12. Kayvon Negahban (Waterford), 5-10.
Long jump — 1. Dyshon Vaughn (Career), 23-9; 2. Dylan Myrie (Torrington); 3. Pronovost (Coventry); 4. Dathan Hickey (Bristol Central); 5. Jack Jones (Trumbull); 6. Davaughn Luty (Griswold); 7. Chris Cledera (Danbury); 8. Neal Eley (Hillhouse); Local finisher: 9. Jahiem Spruill (NFA), 21-4.
Triple jump — 1. Justin Forde (McMahon), 49-6.50; 2. Henry (Bunnell); 3. Sean Dixon-Bodie (Bloomfield); 4. Jonathan Cineus (Bunnell); 5. Collin Wiltshire (Ledyard), 45-1.25; 6. Jones (Trumbull), 7. Abdul Waldo (New Britain); 8. Kobe Stigler (E.O. Smith); Other local finisher: 16. Jahiem Spruill (NFA), 41-11.
Discus — 1. Bernardo Mbaya (Crosby), 157-10; 2. Michael Browning (RHAM); 3. Brian Jalowiec (Derby); 4. Jonathan Prell (Simsbury); 5. Kahled Elmady (Brookfield); 6. Ryan Williams (Newtown); 7. Kyle Maruca (North Haven); 8. Jacob Meadows (New Milford); Local finishers: 14. William Dentch (Fitch), 129-2; 17. Thomas Joyner (Fitch), 127-9.
Javelin — 1. Jalowiec (Derby), 180-6; 2. Tristan Garrick (East Windsor); 3. Chris Hebert (NFA), 171-9; 4. Joe Venables (Coginchaug); 5. Dylan Drescher (Middletown); 6. James Day (New Milford); 7. Cade Klarides-Ditria (Seymour); 8. Adam Crawford (Ledyard), 161-8; Other local finisher: 10. Grayson DelGrosso (Stonington), 160-5.
Shot put — 1. Browning (RHAM), 55-7.25; 2. Michael Burchell (Hand); 3. Nathan Quaye (Manchester); 4. Michael Neary (Darien); 5. Jalowiec (Derby); 6. Elmady (Brookfield); 7. Prell (Simsbury); 8. Natanael Barbosa Torres (Windham); Local finishers: 9. Adelino Daviega (NFA), 47-7; 16. Tyrone Mack (Montville), 45-6.50; 24. Cameron Belton (NFA), 43-1.50.
Pole vault — 1. Nathaniel Llanos (Danbury), 14-0; 2. Chris Weir (NFA), 14-0; 3. Hinckley (Stonington), 13-6; 4. Josh Appel (Westhill); 5. Aidan O'Connor (Lewis Mills); 6. Nick Petruzzelli (Notre Dame-WH); 7. Jared Hubler (Foran); 8. Hayden Rovelli (Coginchaug); Other local finisher: 10. Shane Smith (Stonington), 13-0.
GIRLS
Team results
1. Southington, 35; 2. Bloomfield, 32; 3. Danbury, 28; 4. Greenwich, 27; 5. Hamden, 26; Local schools: 20. NFA, 12; 40. Fitch, 7; 43. Waterford, 6; 59. Stonington, 2.
Individual results
100-meter dash — 1. Terry Miller (Bulkeley), 11.72 seconds (meet record, old mark 11.82 set by Shanea Calhoun of Wilbur Cross in 2004); 2. Andraya Yearwood (Cromwell); 3. Bridget Lalonde (RHAM); 4. Chelsea Mitchell (Canton); 5. Maya Mocarski (Ludlowe); 6. Selina Soule (Glastonbury); 7. Tia Marie Brown (Windsor); 8. Ayesha Nelson (Hillhouse).
200 — 1. Miller (Bulkeley), 24.17 (meet record, old mark 24.24 set by NW Catholic's Shayla Wallace in 1997); 2. Lalonde (RHAM); 3. Erica Marriott (North Haven); 4. Aisha Gay (Hamden); 5 Nikki Xiarhos (Berlin); 6. Carly Swierbut (Newtown); 7. Yearwood (Cromwell); 8. Jillian Mars (Bloomfield).
400 — 1. Swierbut (Newtown), 55.58; 2. Gay (Hamden); 3. Mars (Bloomfield); 4. Miller (Bulkeley); 5. Laura Turner (Norwalk); 6. Kate Carleson (Plainfield); 7. Dominique Valentine (Immaculate); 8. Jada Boyd (Hillhouse).
800 — 1. Emily Philippides (Greenwich), 2:11.78; 2. Erin McGill (Glastonbury); 3. Elsa Martin (Simsbury); 4. Cassandra Carleson (Plainfield); 5. Emma Connolly (Immaculate); 6. Ava Zielinski (Weston); 7. Alyssa Kraus (Ludlowe); 8. Emma Krebs (Shepaug Valley); Local finishers: 9. Kayla Park (NFA), 2:19.71; 18. Claire Mason (East Lyme), 2:25.54.
1,600 — 1. Elizabeth Stockman (Rocky Hill), 4:59.15; 2. Lauren Moore (Danbury); 3. Jacqueline Guerra (Guilford); 4. Angela Saidman (Immacualte); 5. Kate Hedlund (Manchester); 6. Kathleen Murphy (Weston); 7. Gabriella Viggiano (Ridgefield); 8. Kathryn Rodrigues (Wolcott).
3,200 — 1. Katherine Wiser (Pomperaug), 10:36.72; 2. Morgan McCormick (Wilton); 3. Stockman (Rocky Hill); 4. Kylie Raymond (Somers): 5. Meredith Bloss (Guilford); 6. Julia Caputo (Canton); 7. Angela Saidman (Immaculate); 8. Lauren Moore (Danbury).
100 hurdles — 1. Katherine Jacobs (NW Catholic), 14.50; 2. Kalli'Ana Botelho (Griswold); 3. Carly Carpino (Avon); 4. Savanna Macaluso (Ellington); 5. Ayseha Nelson (Hillhouse); 6. Nicole Szilagyi (Granby); 7. Tessa Kopec (Stafford); 8. Nasharie Davis (Middletown).
300 hurdles — 1. Emma Langis (Ridgefield), 44.38; 2. Botelho (Griswold), 3. Sophie Podeszwa (Waterford), 45.30; 4. Giselle Zumerchik (North Haven); 5. Emily Alexandru (Trumbull). 6. Darcy Cook (New Milford); 7. Carpino (Avon); 8. Isabela Glynn (Conard).
4x100 relay — 1. Windsor, 49.45; 2. East Hartford; 3. Bunnell; 4. RHAM; 5. Canton; 6. Fitch (Lily Johnson, Madison Powe, Janaya Burley, Abigail Rogers), 50.37; 7. Berlin; 8. Weston. Other local finisher: 21. Stonington (Lucille Sternberg, Gwen Anerson, Kaleigh Bolduc, Lila Rich), 52.93.
4x400 relay — 1. Hamden, 3:56.23; 2. Ridgefield; 3. Greenwich; 4. Bloomfield; 5. Glastonbury; 6. Windsor; 7. Simsbury; 8. NW Regional; Local finishers: 13. Waterford (Jennifer Keth, Podeszwa, Alica Sanders, Zora LaBonte), 4:05.68; 18. East Lyme (Saige Deveau, Megan McCauley, Katherine Harris, Mason), 4:10.25.
4x800 relay — 1. Greenwich, 9:13.58; 2. Immaculate; 3. Danbury; 4. Glastonbury; 5. Fairfield Ludlowe; 6. Hamden; 7. Hall; 8. Haddam-Killingworth: Local finishers: 11. Stonington (Emma Small, Elizabeth Gray, Lindsey Orr, Jessica Detwiler), 9:45.95; 18. St. Bernard (Sophia Duhig, Serena Britner, Brigid Kunka, Christina McCaffrey), 10:10.68.
High jump — 1. Patricia Mroczkowski (Berlin), 5 feet, 8 inches; 2. Monique Anderson (Bloomfield); 3. Tianna St. Louis (Tolland); 4. Megan Knowling (Ellington); 5. Allyson Lewis (NFA), 5-4; 6. Nia Christie (St. Joseph); 7. Hannah Greene (Weston); 8. Rachel Hultzman (Killingly).
Long jump — 1. Marriott (North Haven), 18-1.75; 2. Olivia Bowes (Hall); 3. Tess Stapleton (Ludlowe); 4. Selina Soule (Glastonbury); 5. Hanna Ceva (Barlow); 6. Erika Regus (Danbury); 7. Kisha Francoise (East Haven); 8. Mackenzie Glenn (North Branford); Local finishers: 12. Lewis (NFA), 16-4; 14. Rhema Phillips (Grasso Tech), 16-2.50.
Triple jump — 1. Rachel Fleischer (Derby), 38-4.75; 2. Kristen Washington (Hillhouse); 3. Megan Knowling (Ellington); 4. Olivia Johnson (St. Joseph); 5. Jahleah Harris (Bloomfield); 6. Veronica Chrzanowski (Haddam-Killingworth); 7. Anderson (Bloomfield); 8. Emily Souza (Danbury); Local finisher: 19. Aliyah Lacombe (NFA), 32-3.75.
Discus — 1. Amanda Howe (Southington), 132-3; 2. Veronica Meyer (Middletown); 3. Natalie Rolon-Issa (Bacon); 4. Danyelle Engels (Westbrook); 5. Colleen Duffy (Fitch), 114-3; 6. Susie Okoli (Wilbur Cross); 7. Amanda Brown (Sheehan); 8. Celyna Custodio (Danbury); Other local finisher: 21. Natalie Poulton (Ledyard), 86-8.
Javelin — 1. Ally Conde (Killingly), 118-0; 2; Sierrah Rich (Lyman Hall); 3. McLaughlin Hannah (Bunnell); 4. Janette Wadolowski (Southington); 5. Jacquelyn Simington (Shelton); 6. Allison Powers (Lyman Memorial); 7. Aliza Bell (Stonington), 108-2; 8. Kaleigh Boyle (Ludlowe); Other local finisher: 14. Jamie Foster (East Lyme), 113-5.
Shot put — 1. Howe (Southington), 40-4; 2. Custodio (Danbury); 3. Justyce Wilson (Bloomfield); 4. Marley Marston (Newtown); 5. Okoli (Wilbur Cross); 6. Wenesha Stewart (Hartford Public); 7. Sydney Mello (Lewis Mills); 8. Leah Moore (Hillhouse); Local finishers: 13. Jamie Foster (East Lyme), 34-5.50; 24. Emma Diamanti (Stonington), 31-1.50.
Pole vault — 1. Megan Biscoglio (Southington), 12-6 (ties meet record set by Emily Savage of Weston in 2013); 2. Tyra Finkeldey (Old Saybroo); 3. Paige Martin (NFA), 11-0; 4. (tie) Haley Jaquith (E.O. Smith) and Stephanie Phoenix (Sheehan); 6. Elise Russell (Weston); 7. Madison Martin (NFA), 10-0; 8. Lia Zavattaro (Greenwich).
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