It couldn't get any more exciting than this!
In a pair of down-to-the-wire finishes, Zakeer Ahmad of Staples and Morgan McCormick of Wilton emerged victorious at Friday's State Open at Wickham Park.
Ahmad held off Fairfield Prep's Drew Thompson to win the boys' race with a time of 15 minutes, 46 seconds for the five-kilometer course. The Staples senior was just a few strides ahead of Thompson, who took runner-up honors at 15:47. Shepaug Valley's Sean Parker was third in 16:03.
McCormick withstood a tight challenge with Tolland's Hayley Collins to win the girls title with a time of 18:43. Colliin finished second in 18:45 and senior teammate Katherine DeLoreto, the pre-race favorite, was third at 18:56.
Ridgefield put an end to Tolland's three-year reign as state champions with a narrow 122-130 victory over the Eagles.
MileSplit CT will have more coverage of the State Open coming soon, including race videos and more photos..
RESULTS
PHOTOS
INTERVIEWS
Elite performances from this session
Girls Highlights
- 5,000 Meter Run - Morgan Mccormick (Wilton High School) 18:43.00; Hayley Collins (Tolland High School) 18:45.00; Katherine Deloreto (Tolland High School) 18:56.00; Bridgid Selfors(Mercy High School) 19:12.00; Angela Saidman (Immaculate High School) 19:12.00; Emily Sienna (Nathan Hale-Ray High School) 19:16.00; Maeve Daily (Simsbury High School) 19:19.00; Katelynn Romanchick (Trumbull High School) 19:25.00; Ivy Walker (Pomperaug) 19:26.00; Michaela Caron (Tolland High School) 19:28.00; Susannah Martin (Staples High School) 19:36.00; Elise Symon (North Haven High School) 19:37.00; Zoe Harris (Greenwich High School) 19:38.00; Gabi Galetta (Fairfield Warde) 19:38.00; Gwendolyn Geisler (Conard) 19:39.00; Kaitlyn Stevens (Killingly High School) 19:39.00; Lauren Daddi (Cheshire High School) 19:39.00; Meredith Bloss (Guilford High School) 19:40.00; Sarah Leatherwood (Fairfield Ludlowe) 19:42.00; Tess Pisanelli (Ridgefield High School) 19:42.00; Olivia Hage (Newtown High School) 19:43.00;
Boys Highlights
- 5,000 Meter Run - Zakeer Ahmad (Staples High School) 15:46.00; Drew Thompson (Fairfield Prep High School) 15:47.00; Sean Parker (Shepaug Valley) 16:03.00; William Brisman(Fairfield Warde) 16:08.00; Robbie Cozean (Xavier High School) 16:10.00; Dan Nichols (Danbury High School) 16:16.00; Moetiz Shilleh (Masuk High School) 16:17.00; Christopher Reeves(Glastonbury High School) 16:18.00; Bradford Demassa (Ridgefield High School) 16:19.00; Joe Pearl (Manchester High School) 16:20.00; Eli Nahom (New Milford High School) 16:21.00; Sunil Green (Staples High School) 16:22.00; Tyler Granja (Danbury High School) 16:22.00; Benjamin Seiple (Staples High School) 16:23.00; Robert Dillon (Shelton High School) 16:23.00; Andrew Meredith (Haddam Killingworth High School) 16:24.00; Josh Bedard (Tolland High School) 16:24.00; Trevor Reed (Danbury High School) 16:27.00; Daniel Schumann(Haddam Killingworth High School) 16:27.00; Maximillian Sparks (Canton High School) 16:27.00; William Landowne (Staples High School) 16:28.00; Michael Bortolot (Joel Barlow High