Connecticut Future Stars: April 27th-May 3rd Standout Underclassmen Performers
Connecticut's underclassmen continued to shine during the April 27-May 3 competition window, producing elite sprint performances, nationally competitive distance marks, and major personal-best breakthroughs as championship season approaches.
Sprints & Hurdles
The boys sprint events were once again led by a standout freshman duo at the GHC Meet #4. Hanief Jones (Hartford Public) won the 100 meters in 10.83 and later finished second in the 200 meters at 22.39, while Ajani Walker (Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy) placed runner-up in the 100m at 10.86 before returning to win the 200m in 22.27. Sophomore Kimari Eady (Cheney Tech) continued his breakout season at the CTC Ellis Meet #2, winning the 100 meters in 11.00 while setting a school record and moving to No. 3 among Connecticut sophomores.
At the Middletown Frosh & Soph Invite, Dorian Greene (Ledyard) delivered one of the top breakthroughs of the week, winning the 400 meters in a personal-best 50.42 after entering the week at 52.13. Wyatt Trefry (Daniel Hand) followed closely with a 50.66 runner-up finish at the Hamden-Daniel Hand-Mercy-Xavier meet, while Kyle Wiebke (Pomperaug) won the 400m at SWC @ Pomperaug in 51.16. Sophomore Rodney Crockett (Middletown) also impressed with a 22.44 victory in the 200 meters against Plainville.
On the girls side, Cynthia Singleton (Naugatuck) had one of the strongest all-around weeks in the state at the Org-Jake Spartan Invitational, placing second in the 100 meters with a wind-legal 12.35 before winning the 300m hurdles in 45.18. Amaira Traynham (Wilbur Cross) added another elite sprint series at the same meet, placing sixth overall in the 100m at 12.45, third in the 200m at 25.38, and winning the 400m in 58.37. Meanwhile, Kyra McLean (Stratford) swept the short sprint events at SWC @ Newtown with victories in both the 100m (12.47) and 200m (25.61).
The hurdle events continued to show impressive underclass depth. Kaylin Diglio (Guilford) won the 100m hurdles in 15.66 at the Guilford-Career-East Haven meet before placing second in the 300m hurdles at the Org-Jake Spartan Invitational in 46.89. Kayla Berning (Canton) won the 100m hurdles at Canton vs. Granby, East Granby in 15.90, while C.J. Fowler (East Haven) placed third overall in a loaded 300m hurdles field at the Org-Jake Spartan Invitational with a 41.49 performance that led all underclassmen statewide. Freshman Zander Laudati (Xavier) added another standout effort by winning the 300m hurdles at the Hamden-Daniel Hand-Mercy-Xavier meet in 42.36.
Distance
The boys distance events featured several elite performances at major invitationals. At Fast Times at Ridgefield High, Holden Hines (Xavier) ran 9:23.27 in the 3200m to place seventh overall while leading all Connecticut underclassmen during the week. Teammate Nolan O'Connor (Xavier) followed closely in ninth at 9:28.56, while Jack Dempsey (Norwich Free Academy) ran 9:37.66 to finish fourth at the Middletown Varsity T&F Invitational after also winning the 1600 meters against Woodstock earlier in the week in 4:37.10.
The middle-distance events also produced major performances. At the Middletown Varsity T&F Invitational, Jackson Gould (Xavier) placed second overall in the 800 meters with a 1:56.26 performance, while Nico Cardello (East Lyme) ran 1:59.78 for second place in the East Lyme vs. Fitch dual meet before later clocking 4:26.10 at Track Night NYC to finish ninth overall in the mile. Eric Gamble (Bloomfield) added a 2:01.62 performance at the Org-Jake Spartan Invitational to place fifth overall.
Several breakthrough performances helped define the week. Sophomore Nathan Fisher (Shepaug Valley) won the 3200 meters in a dual meet against Housatonic with a huge personal-best 10:04.20, improving by nearly a full minute from his previous best. Teammate Elijah Tendler (Shepaug Valley) also broke through at the Marty Roberts Invitational, running 4:37.90 to place fifth in a 68-runner 1600m field while also lowering his 800m best to 2:11.17.
On the girls side, sophomore Lauren Parrett (Glastonbury) delivered one of the top performances in Connecticut this season regardless of class. After winning the 800 meters in 2:18.32 during Glastonbury @ Windsor earlier in the week, Parrett returned at Fast Times at Ridgefield High to win the 3200 meters in 10:22.82 against one of the deepest fields in the Northeast.
The 1600 meters featured another strong underclass group at the Middletown Varsity T&F Invitational, where Oriana Pescatello (Norwich Free Academy) placed second overall in 5:00.98 and Gabrielle Savelli (New Canaan) followed in third at 5:11.31. Madeline Garguillo (Nonnewaug) won the 1600 meters at the Marty Roberts Invitational in 5:05.81.
The girls distance events also featured several major breakthroughs. Freshman Kate Duggan (Joel Barlow) first set a school record with a 2:21.10 victory at SWC @ Newtown before returning to run 2:19.35 for second place at the Middletown Varsity T&F Invitational, moving to No. 2 among Connecticut freshmen. Freshman Madeleine Canner-O'Mealy (Southington) delivered a major improvement at Fast Times at Ridgefield High, running 11:34.85 in the 3200m to place 11th in an 87-runner field and move to No. 4 among Connecticut freshmen.
Additional breakthrough performances came from Grace Flamino (Manchester), who dropped from 14:44 to 12:06.97 in the 3200m at the East Catholic meet, and freshman Lyla Lopez (Valley Regional), who placed third in the 3200m at the Marty Roberts Invitational in 11:54.82 after entering the week at 12:33.81. Lopez also improved to 5:41.81 in the 1600m. Sophomore Adelina Tycz (Mercy) added another major drop at Fast Times at Ridgefield High, running 11:56.65 in the 3200m.
Jumps
The jumps featured strong performances across multiple invitationals and dual meets. At the Marty Roberts Invitational, Luke Haslam (Cromwell) won both the long jump and triple jump with marks of 21-4.5 and 42-9, establishing himself as one of the state's most versatile sophomore field athletes. Jeremiah Riddick (Windsor) and Eric Graves (Windsor) both surpassed 20 feet in the long jump during Glastonbury @ Windsor, while freshman Marc Bennett (Hamden) won the triple jump at the Hamden-Daniel Hand-Mercy-Xavier meet with a 43-0 performance.
The boys high jump featured a three-way share of the top underclass mark at 6-0. Justice Antunez (Platt) cleared the height to win at Platt vs. Wethersfield, while freshman Braylen Chaney (Windsor) won the Middletown Frosh & Soph Invite, and Keith Schmidt (Rockville) placed second at Rockville/Suffield/Ellington with the same clearance.
In the pole vault, freshman Valentin Graf (Hotchkiss School) won the Hotchkiss Invitational Meet at 13-0, matching sophomore Aaron Lin (East Lyme), who cleared the same height during the East Lyme vs. Fitch dual meet.
On the girls side, Kaitlyn Ashworth (Cheshire) produced one of the strongest all-around field-event weeks in the state during West Haven-Cheshire-Sheehan competition, winning the long jump at 17-10 and placing second in the triple jump at 34-3.5. Jaida Lathrop (Hamden) added a long jump victory at the Hamden-Daniel Hand-Mercy-Xavier meet with a 17-7.5 mark, while Gabriella McDermott (North Branford) placed second at the Marty Roberts Invitational.
The girls high jump saw Greysen Thomas (Litchfield) win at Gilbert and Terryville at Lakeview with a 5-0 clearance, while Amanda Muench (Norwich Free Academy) won the Middletown Frosh & Soph Invite at the same height. Freshman Faye Fisher (Amity) also cleared 5-0 to place second during the Shelton-Amity dual meet.
In the pole vault, Kaylin Diglio (Guilford) added another event victory to her outstanding week by clearing 11-0 to win the Org-Jake Spartan Invitational. Freshmen Kendall Cunningham (Fairfield Warde) and Ella Van Tonder (Amity) both cleared 9-6 during strong performances in dual-meet and invitational competition.
Throws
The throws group continued to feature strong emerging talent across all disciplines. Freshman Dorian Koziol (Shelton) led the boys shot put during the week with a winning throw of 45-6 at Shelton-Amity before returning to place first in the discus at 121-5. Sophomores Aiden Nosol (North Haven) and Ryan Augustin (Cromwell) both won shot put competitions during the week with throws over 43 feet.
In the discus, Luke DePiano (Lyman Memorial) threw 122-1 to win the Lyman vs. Killingly meet, narrowly ahead of Koziol and Malakai Martell (Manchester), who threw 120-10 to win at East Catholic @ Manchester. The javelin featured another strong week from Logan Davis (Lyman Memorial), who won the Marty Roberts Invitational with a 163-6 throw, while Titus Streckfuss (Ledyard) won the Ledyard vs. Bacon Academy dual meet at 161-2.
On the girls side, Zoe Bailey (South Windsor) won the shot put at East Hartford @ South Windsor with a 35-2 throw, while Elliana Rexinger-McConne (Plainville) captured the discus title at the Middletown Frosh & Soph Invite with a mark of 106-7. Sophomore Hailey Mayo (Coventry) remained one of the state's top multi-event throwers, winning the javelin during Coventry vs. Stafford and HMTCA at 107-7 while also placing among the top underclass shot putters.
Freshman Alexa Pesarik (Choate Rosemary Hall Prep) led all underclass athletes in the javelin during the week with a 113-2 victory at the Deerfield vs. St. Paul's and Choate meet, while Hadley Fazekas (East Hampton) surpassed 100 feet to win the Shoreline Mega Meet #1.
Connecticut Future Stars: April 27th-May 3rd Standout Underclassmen Performers
Connecticut's underclassmen continued to shine during the April 27-May 3 competition window, producing elite sprint performances, nationally competitive distance marks, and major personal-best breakthroughs as championship season approaches.
Sprints & Hurdles
The boys sprint events were once again led by a standout freshman duo at the GHC Meet #4. Hanief Jones (Hartford Public) won the 100 meters in 10.83 and later finished second in the 200 meters at 22.39, while Ajani Walker (Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy) placed runner-up in the 100m at 10.86 before returning to win the 200m in 22.27. Sophomore Kimari Eady (Cheney Tech) continued his breakout season at the CTC Ellis Meet #2, winning the 100 meters in 11.00 while setting a school record and moving to No. 3 among Connecticut sophomores.