Central Connecticut Conference (CCC) Boys
By MARTY OGDEN
The largest conference in the state comprised of 30 teams is bound to be extremely competitive. Last year's champion Glastonbury is without the services of Randal Neish but don't expect them to drop back much. They have the top returner Chris Reeves leading the way and a solid pack behind him including Samuel Wilcox, who ran 4:40 for the 1,600 meters last spring as a freshman. They may also be helped by runners coming up from Smith Middle School who won the Connecticut Middle School State X-C Championships the day after the high school State Open at Wickham Park.
Glastonbury will face a serious challenge from Hall,who had four freshman run between 4:37- 4:52 during spring track. What they lack in star power, they will make up with depth that will be needed to compete this fall. Southington has six returners back, led by Mark Murdy who ran 9:49 for 3,200m and hope to improve upon their sixth-place finish last year. Last year's runner-up East Catholic, led by legendary coach and State Open meet director Bill Baron, returns three potential top 12 finishers and could make a challenge for the title if they are able to develop a couple of other runners to stay close to their top three. Finally, don't discount 2010 State Open Champion, Tolland, who returns a good young team from last year and may also be aided by its middle school team, which finished second to Glastonbury's middle school team.
Individually, Chris Reeves of Glastonbury, Josh Bedard of Tolland and Solomon Davis of Simsbury are the top three returners and all have credible track times to back up claim as preseason favorite. Bedard is the top returners in the 1,600m and 800m with a 4:27 and 1:56 to his credit. Davis has the fastest 3,200m time with a 9:35 and Reeves has run a 4:28. Heath Olivieri of East Catholic is the fourth returner and was the top ninth-grade finisher at last year's State Open.