Niemiec, Wynne, and Windsor Take Down Records !

 
 
 
 
 
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Alex Niemiec was hoping to finish out his high school career by finally breaking the 24-foot barrier in the long jump.
 
He almost got 25.
 
The Chicopee Commonwealth (Mass.) senior broke the meet record by an inch at the 68th annual New England Interscholastic Championships on Saturday, winning his specialty with a distance of 24-11. That’s a distance that’s a foot further than his previous best and one that ranks him No. 6 nationally.
 
“I got a good mark on the board and got my legs out perfectly,” Niemiec said. “I was expecting it to be 24-1, 24-2. (24-11), it hasn’t hit me.”
 
The 5-foot-6 Niemiec, who won the state title in the high jump and long jump last weekend, had a previous best of 23-10 in the horizontal leap, a distance he attained in winning the New England indoor crown this past winter.
 
Considering he will not be competing in the New Balance National Outdoor (NBNO) Championships this coming weekend, Niemiec just wanted to finally crack 24 feet in the last meet of his high school career.  
 
“I wanted 24 (feet). That’s it, 24-flat, I would have been satisfied,” he said. “I only practiced twice (this week). We did not jump at all this week. I came in here nice and fresh. I knew (the winning jump) was going to be out there, but 24-11. I had no clue. It still hasn’t hit me.”
 
Niemiec was one of several athletes that etched their names into the record books at the New England meet, which was held at Willow Brook Park in New Britain, Connecticut.
 
The home state got a treat once again from Staples High senior Henry Wynne. Wynne blazed to the nation’s No. 2 clocking in the 800-meter run, winning convincingly with a time of 1 minute, 49.93 seconds.
 
The Connecticut standout made it obvious from the start that a meet record and sub-1:50 effort was on his mind. Wynne was well ahead of the pack by the time he hit the 400-mark at a suicidal 52 seconds.  
 
“I wanted to go out a little slower and save more for the end,” he said. “I was really set at going under 1:50 so I didn’t want to leave anything out there. At that pace, I am not sure how I can pace like that. I haven’t really been in that area too much for the 800. I am not sure what the pace feels like at all. I just kept trucking. I think I went through the 600 at 1:18. That wasn’t really what I had planned. I was trying to go a little slower so I could have more left for the last 100. It was pretty tough today, but I am still happy I went under 1:50.”
 
The race provided the perfect tune-up for Wynne, who will compete in the mile run and the 4x800 relay at the NBNO meet this coming weekend. The gifted runner won the mile and was a member of the first-place distance medley relay during the indoor nationals.
 
He has a 4:05 best for the mile, a time he ran to finish second in the Dream Mile of the adidas Grand Prix in N.Y., last month.
 
“There are a lot of good guys (in the mile). I am not really sure who is racing but I know there will be a lot of good competition,” Wynne said. “The 4x800, if I can run around1:49 or even faster that can really help the team out to get All American. In the mile, I am just going to go for it. It’s my last time, my last race in high school. I am just going to go hard and see how fast I can go.”
 
Based on what he did in the Dream Mile, Wynne feels he’s capable of a low four-minute time in the mile.
 
“(The Dream Mile) was before I even started peaking,” he said. “That was a race I was running for time and really put it all out there. Going into (the NBNO), I think I am in perfect shape right now. I know I can run a really fast time.”
 
Windsor (Conn.) set a meet record in the 4x100 relay with the senior quartet of Sherrod Peay, Kahlin Bolden, Brian Stapleton and Tikuan Johnson combining for a winning time of 41.61.Windsor also captured the 4x400 with a time of 3:18.10.
 
Matt Graziano, a senior from Canton (Conn.), came just about a foot from breaking a 34-year-old record in the discus. The top-seeded thrower won with a heave of 189-1, nearly eclipsing the mark of 190-2 by former Classical (R.I.) star Alan Baginski in 1979.  Bloomfield (Conn.) senior Isaiah Brooks was a distance second in the event at 173-3.
 
In an exciting race that went down to the final few meters, Oxford (Conn) won the 4x800 with a time of 7:52.14.  Ridgefield (Conn) was second at 7:52.18 and Billerica (Mass.) placed third with a time of 7:52.7. Comprising the winning team for the Wolverines was senior Brandon Alu, senior Christopher Faber, junior Ryan Flach and senior Cameron Swift.
 
Oxford was in third place after the first three legs and secured the win with Swift taking the lead the final straightaway and out-leaning Ridgefield junior Graeme Hewett at the line. It was a similar scenario as Monday when Oxford won the 4x800 at the State Open Championship with a then-best of 7:53.49.
 
“I’m a really good kicker, I close very well,” Swift said. “I did it to (Hewett) on Monday. He broke in the last 100. I just had to get on his shoulder and push.”
 
Fairfield Prep (Conn.) junior Christian Alvarado won a tight race in the 3,200, breaking the tape with a fast time of 9:07.0. Ridgefield junior Trevor Hopper was a close second with a time of 9:07.7. In the 1,600, Coe-Brown Academy (N.H.) junior Jeremy Brassard held off a fast-charging Bryce Kelley of Chariho Regional (R.I.) to take the top prize at 4:16.17. Kelley, a senior, was timed in 4:16.49.
 
“I felt really good until the last lap,” Brassard said. “The heat really got to me. It was a huge PR for me. My PR before this was 4:19. I was really just looking for a PR and I was just going to put myself in position to win and if it came down to it, just see what I could do with it.”
 
Joseph Fogarasi, a sophomore from Windham (Conn.), copped the pole vault with a height of 15-3. He had to withstand a heated competition that also included Connecticut rivals Bill Thibault of Westhill (second, 14-9) and Chandler Ives of Simsbury (third, 14-9).
 
Acton-Boxborough (Mass.) senior Brian Sommers, a runner-up at the state meet in the 400, copped the New England title with a personal best of 48.31. Sommers, who has leaped more than 23 feet in the long jumped, skipped the event on Saturday after placing eighth at the states. He felt that aided in his success for the one-lap race.
 
“Today was good. I didn’t have to jump because I didn’t jump well in the All-State (Meet) and kicked out of that and just focused on the 400,” he said. “I just felt good. I don’t know? I am just happy I didn’t die. It felt a lot easier (today).”
 
Other victories in the six-plus hour meet were from Amherst-Pelham Regional (Mass.) sophomore Taj-Amir Torres in the 100 (10.73), Nashua North (N.H.) sophomore Zakari Jenkins in the 200 (21.85), Boston College (Mass.) junior Jordan Samuels in the triple jump (47-7), Deering (Maine) senior Jared Bell in the shot put (58-10), Bloomfield (Conn.) junior Izaiah McEwen in the 110 hurdles (14.20), Northwest Catholic (Conn.) senior Jared Delane in the 300 hurdles (38.6), Longmeadow (Mass.) senior Tony White in the javelin (187-11) and Woodstock (Conn.) senior Jake Almquist in the high jump (6-7).