It's here!
On Monday, the best athletes in the state will congregate at Willowbrook Park in New Britian for the CIAC State Open Championships, the granddaddy of all meets for the outdoor season.
Take a good glance at the performance list. It appears several meet marks are in jeopardy.
Last week at the Class L meet, Wilbur Cross junior Danae Rivers clocked an all-time best of 2 minutes, 8.66 seconds (US #21) in the 800-meter run. That time is a little more than a second from the 1992 record of 2:07.19, set by former Waterford great Liz Mueller. Rivers is also entered in the 1,600m where she owns the current mark of 4:47.45.
She'll be toeing the line in that race with multiple all-stater and All American Hannah DeBalsi of Staples, who is the top seed with a season best of 4:53.51 DeBalsi is also in the 3,200m where she has run 10:31.63, a time that is more than 11 seconds from the Open record of 10:20.03 by ex-Westhill standout Claire Howlett in 2013.
On the boys' side, look for a possible double-winning effort from sophomore Mark Doyley of Weaver in the sprints. He owns the top seeds in the 100m (10.84) and the 200m (21.52).
Can Spencer Brown crack the 1:50 mark in the 800m and break the record of 1:50.63 by Henry Wynne of Staples in 2013. Last week at the Class L Championship, Brown clocked a personal best of 1:50.88, a time that ranks No. 12 nationally. Brown is also entered in the 1,600m and has the No. 1 seed at 4:13.29.
One record that appears ready to go down on Monday is the pole vault where Windham's Joseph Fogarasi will be chasing the meet record of 15 feet, 6 inches. Last week at the Class M meet, Fogarasi won with a season best of 15-9. He has a best of 15-10, which he did this past March to finish eighth at the New Balance Nationals.
The State Open starts at 1:30 p.m. with field events. The running events are scheduled to begin at 2.
MileSplit CT will be on site, providing all the coverage.
Schedule of Events:
1:30 pm
Boys Javelin followed by Girls Javelin
Girls Discus followed by Boys Discus
Boys Shot followed by Girls Shot
Boys High Jump followed by Girls High Jump
Girls Long Jump followed by Triple Jump
Boys Long Jump followed by Triple Jump
Girls Pole Vault
Boys Pole Vault
2:00 p.m.
Boys 4x800 FINAL (2 heats)
Girls 4x800 FINAL (2heats)
Boys 4x100 FINAL (4 heats)
Girls 4x100 FINAL (4 heats)
Boys 100H - Trials (top 8 times to finals) (3 heats)
Girls 110HH - Trials (top 8 times to finals) (3 heats)
Boys 100m - Trials (top 8 times to finals) (3 heats)
Girls 100m - Trials (top 8 times to finals) (3 heats)
Boys 1600 FINAL (2 heats)
Girls 1600 FINAL (2 heats)
Girls 110HH FINAL (1 heat)
Boys 100H FINAL (1 heat)
Girls 100m FINAL (1 heat)
Boys 100m FINAL (1heat)
Boys 400 FINAL (4 heats)
Girls 400 FINAL (4 heats)
Boys 300H FINAL (4 heats)
Girls 300H FINAL (4 heats)
Boys 800 FINAL (3 heats)
Girls 800 FINAL (3 heats)
Boys 200 FINAL (4 heats)
Girls 200 FINAL (4 heats)
Boys 3200 FINAL (2 heats)
Girls 3200 FINAL (2 heats)
Boys 4x400 FINAL (4 heats)
Girls 4x400 FINAL (4 heats)
