Connecticut middle school athletes delivered impressive marks at the Hillhouse Youth Open Masters Meet, the 10th Froshmore Invitational, and several local middle school dual competitions. Let's dig into some of the top marks from athletes across the state.
Sprints & Hurdles
The boys sprints were led by Amari Shakir (Central CT Jaguars), who clocked 13.06 to win the 100 meters at the Hillhouse Youth Open Masters Meet. Aiden Golding (New Haven Age Group TC) followed closely in 13.33, while Caleb Schand (Central CT Jaguars) chipped in a 13.38 performance before returning to win the 400 meters in 1:02.79.
Several athletes also posted major improvements during the week. Ogaga Kayoma (Ellington Middle School) delivered one of the biggest breakthroughs in the state, dropping from 16.70 to 13.11 in the 100 meters. Sohan Gouda (Timothy Edwards) also made a significant leap, improving more than two and a half seconds to 14.21.
In the 400 meters, Golding continued his strong week with a 1:03.72 runner-up finish, while Brennan Sedgwick (Thomaston Middle School) ran 1:05.41 to win the 10th Froshmore Invitational and lower his personal best by over seven seconds.
The hurdles saw strong development marks as well. Diptanshu Rout (Timothy Edwards) improved to 9.86 in the 55-meter hurdles, while Jeremiah Lopes (Ellington Middle School) dropped under 9.20 with a 9.19 performance.
On the girls side, Vera McDonald (Capital City Track Club) led the 100 meters with a 13.83 victory at Hillhouse, narrowly ahead of Camille Downes (Stamford Track Club) at 13.86. Downes later returned to dominate the 400 meters in 1:05.15, posting the top middle school girls mark of the week statewide.
Several girls also posted notable breakthroughs. Callie Boyajian (Vernon Center Middle School) improved from 17.55 to 16.18 in the 100 meters, while Julia Bryson (Timothy Edwards) lowered her best to 14.43. In the 200 meters, Mishika Dixit (Timothy Edwards) dropped more than four seconds to 31.79.
The hurdles featured another strong all-around effort from Laura Yeboah (Timothy Edwards), who improved to 10.71 in the 55-meter hurdles before also clearing a personal-best 4-4 in the high jump.
Distance
On the boys side, Henry Laurans (Greenwich Country Day School) ran an impressive 5:03.10 to win the 1600 meters at the Froshmore Invitational, one of the strongest middle school distance performances in Connecticut this spring. Sedgwick followed in 5:18.76 after previously dropping more than 18 seconds from his best earlier in the week.
The biggest boys breakthrough came from Mason Luginbuhl (Ellington Middle School), who improved nearly 19 seconds in the 800 meters with a 2:39.51 performance. Logan Cardillo (Ellington Middle School) also dipped under 2:45 after a substantial personal-best drop.
At the younger youth level, Jason L'Italien (CT Storm) cut nearly a minute from his previous best in the 1600 meters, running 7:03.53 at the Hillhouse Youth Open Masters Meet.
The girls distance races were especially strong. Farah Santiago (New Haven Age Group TC) led the 800 meters with an excellent 2:27.41 performance, improving more than nine seconds from her previous best. Reagan Balint (Danbury Hatters HCYS Track & XC Club) followed closely in 2:27.86 before later adding a 5:44.04 mark in the 1600 meters to win the event at Hillhouse.
The top girls distance mark of the week came from Ashley Brining (Stride Running Club), who won the 1600 meters in 5:18.92 at the Froshmore Invitational. Madeline Staib (Greenwich Country Day School) also impressed with a 5:35.00 effort after running 1:07.52 in the 400 to win at the same meet.
Among the biggest breakthroughs, Katelyn Eichler (Timothy Edwards) dropped nearly 39 seconds in the 800 meters with a 2:58.10 performance, while Briana Felizardo (CT Storm) lowered her 1600-meter best by more than 53 seconds to hit 6:40.13.
Field Events
AJ Oneto V (CT Storm) led the boys discus rankings for the week with a winning throw of 75-0 at the Hillhouse Youth Open Masters Meet, while Andres Morocho Santos (Dayo Lightning) captured the shot put at 29-7.
Zachary DeGuire (Vernon Center Middle School) cleared a personal-best 4-8 in the high jump, while several athletes continued to make steady progress across the vertical events.
On the girls side, Alexa Adgers (Central CT Jaguars) turned in one of the best all-around field event performances of the week. Adgers won the discus with a throw of 68-9, added a 27-6 shot put mark, and also captured the high jump at 4-6.
Ivory Browne (Dayo Lightning) won the girls shot put with a new PR of 28-4. Sophia Luangpraseuth (Timothy Edwards) also recorded strong breakthrough performances in both throwing events, improving to 15-8 in the shot put and 37-11 in the discus.