In a reverse of the David and Goliath story, the giants took down the little guys. Class LL schools Danbury and Southington won the boys and girls CIAC State Open titles but not without a strong showing from Derby and Bloomfield, two Class S school, who finished 2nd.
"We gave it everything we had" said Derby boys coach Nick DiLuggo. And they did give it. With only 202 boys in grades 9-12 versus Danbury's 1586, overcame the odds to finish in the runner up spot and almost defeat Danbury- a perennial power in Connecticut track and field.
Danbury did it with sprints, relays, distance and jumps. Nathaniel Llanos won the pole vault in 14'0, Dan Nichols had another upset win the 3200m and their 4 x 400m team of Phillip Melo, Glenroy Ford, Malcolm Going and Sean-Michael Parkinson clinched the team championship by finishing ahead of rival Manchester in a time of 3:20.87
Derby's Ken Little took the 800m with the 31st best time nationally, 1:52.05 and his teammate Brian Jalowiec took the javelin in 180'6, just two feet off his best. The junior also set all time best throws in the shot with a 51'2 to take 5th and the discus with 150'8 to earn 3rd.
On the girls side, Southington was able to win without scoring in a single track event. Amanda Howe repeated as State Open champion in the discus with a 132'3 and took the shot in 40'4 to lay claim to the title of best female thrower in the state.
Tying the State Open record was Megan Biscoglio, who tied the State Open record of 12'6 held by New Balance Nationals champion Emily Savage of Weston. Her performance qualifies her for the NBON championship section in the event.
Check back later for highlights and notes of the individual performances from the 2018 CIAC State Open championship.
Girls New Balance Outdoor Championship Qualifiers
- 100m -
- Terry Miller - Bulkeley High School 11.75 p
- Terry Miller - Bulkeley High School 11.72
- 200m -
- Terry Miller - Bulkeley High School 24.17
- 400m -
- Carly Swierbut - Newtown High School 55.48
- 800m -
- Emily Philippides - Greenwich High School 2:11.78
- 4x400m -
- Hamden High School 3:57.23
- 4x800m -
- Greenwich High School 9:13.58
- Immaculate High School 9:19.76
- Danbury High School 9:24.02
- Glastonbury High School 9:25.87
Boys New Balance Outdoor Championship Qualifiers
- 800m -
- Ian Bartlett - Fairfield Ludlowe 1:52.98
- Ken Little - Derby High School 1:52.05
- 4x100m -
- Bunnell High School 42.59
- Bristol Central High School 42.64
- 3200m-
- Dan Nichols - Danbury High School 9:09.91
- 4x400m -
- Danbury High School 3:20.87
300H -
- Aren Seeger - Naugatuck High School 38.00
Girls New Balance Outdoor Emerging Elite Qualifiers
- D -
- Amanda Howe - Southington High School 132-03
- HJ -
- Monique Anderson - Bloomfield High School 5-06.00
- Megan Knowling - Ellington High School 5-04.00
- Ally Lewis - Norwich Free Academy 5-04.00
- Patricia Mroczkowski - Berlin High School 5-08.00
- Tianna St. Louis - Tolland High School 5-06.00
- J -
- Aliza Bell - Stonington High School 108-02
- Ally Conde - Killingly High School 118-00
- Hannah Mclaughlin - Bunnell High School 110-10
- Allison Powers - Lyman Memorial High School 108-02
- Sierrah Rich - Lyman Hall High School 111-11
- Jacquelyn Simington - Shelton High School 110-03
- Janette Wadolowski - Southington High School 110-08
- TJ -
- Rachel Fleischer - Derby High School 38-04.75
- 100H -
- 1600m -
- Lauren Moore - Danbury High School 4:59.19
- Elizabeth Stockman - Rocky Hill High School 4:59.15
- 200m -
- Bridget Lalondie - Rham High School 24.80
- 300H -
- Kalli'ana Botelho - Griswold High School 44.41
- Emma Langis - Ridgefield High School 44.38
- 3200m -
- Morgan Mccormick - Wilton High School 10:45.76
- Kylie Raymond - Somers High School 10:55.43
- Elizabeth Stockman - Rocky Hill High School 10:49.38
- Kate Wiser - Pomperaug 10:36.72
- 400m -
- Aisha Gay - Hamden High School 56.20
- 4x400m -
- Ridgefield High School 3:58.85
- Greenwich High School 3:59.01
- 4x800m -
- Fairfield Ludlowe 9:32.34
- Hamden High School 9:32.94
Boys New Balance Outdoor Emerging Elite Qualifiers
- HJ -
- Chet Ellis - Staples High School 6-06.00
- J -
- Tristan Garrick - East Windsor High School 176-06
- Chris Hebert - Norwich Free Academy 171-09
- Brian Jalowiec - Derby High School 180-06
- Joseph Venables - Coginchaug Regional High School 167-07
- LJ -
- Dathan Hickey - Bristol Central High School 22-04.25
- Jack Jones - Trumbull High School 22-03.25
- Dylan Myrie - Torrington High School 22-11.25
- Nicholas Pronovost - Coventry High School 22-07.75
- Dyshon Vaughn - Career High School 23-09.00
- S -
- Michael Browning - Rham High School 55-07.25
- Mike Burchell - Daniel Hand High School 54-01.75
- TJ -
- Jonathan Cineus - Bunnell High School 45-02.75
- Sean Dixon-bodie - Bloomfield High School 47-00.75
- Justin Forde - Brien McMahon High School 49-06.50
- Elijah Henry - Bunnell High School 47-02.00
- Jack Jones - Trumbull High School 45-00.25
- Collin Wiltshire - Ledyard High School 45-01.25
- 1600m -
- Trey Cormier - William Hall High School 4:13.96
- Alexander Korczynski - Windham High School 4:14.30
- William Landowne - Staples High School 4:12.60
- Timothy Lautenbach - Weston High School 4:16.12
- Alex Mocarski - Fairfield Warde 4:12.87
- Benjamin Seiple - Staples High School 4:15.12
- 300IH -
- Ja'kwan Hale - Derby High School 38.91
- Marcus Manson - Windsor High School 38.25
- 3200m -
- Trey Cormier - William Hall High School 9:20.86
- Alexander Korczynski - Windham High School 9:16.25
- Brendan Murray - Cheshire High School 9:16.76
- Benjamin Seiple - Staples High School 9:19.05
- Drew Thompson - Fairfield Prep High School 9:10.75
- 400m -
- Kymali Hay - University High School 48.67
- 800m -
- Miller Anderson - William Hall High School 1:52.93
- Malcolm Going - Danbury High School 1:53.85
- Rhys Hammond - Stonington High School 1:53.96
4x100m -
- Danbury High School 42.81
- Hartford Public High School 42.86
- East Hartford High School 42.94
- Windsor High School 43.24
- 4x400m -
- Manchester High School 3:21.40
- Derby High School 3:23.46
- 4x800m -
- Xavier High School 7:56.28
- Staples High School 7:57.14