STAFFORD, May 24 — Outstanding individual performances sparked Avon at the NCCC track and field championships at Stafford High. Freshman Rachael Rosow outsprinted Ellington’s Jennifer Hulstein in the final 50 meters to win the 3,200 meter race while senior Alyssa Burton won her first league championship in the high jump to spark the Falcons to a fourth place finish.
Granby’s Megan Almagro leads Avon’s Rachael Rosow and Ellington’s Jennifer Hulstein in the 3,200 meters. Rosow won the race with a sprint at the finish.
Senior Stephanie Koo finished second in the 100 meters and two Avon relay teams finished second in the 4×800 and 4×100 races.
On the boys side, Avon’s Greg Rendeiro finished second in the long jump and triple jump while the Falcon 4×100 relay also finished second as Avon finished fifth.
In the girls race for the league title, Avon, Ellington and Suffield each entered the meet with dual meet records of 11-1 in the league. The winner among the three teams would win the league championship. Teams earn one point for each team they beat in the dual meet season and at the league championship meet.
Suffield used its depth in the running events to slip past Ellington, 141-134 to win its second straight league championship. The Wildcats had five runners among the top eight in the 800 meters to pick up 27 points in that one event.
Avon coach Al Dadario was pleased with the performances from both of his teams.
Koo ran a personal best 13.1 seconds in the 100 meters and took second. She had another personal best in the 200 meters (27.56) where she finished fourth.
Koo also ran on Avon’s 4×100 meter relay team that set a new school record of 51.96, breaking a record set in 1995. She ran with Catherine Jordan, Kelsey Burton and Kristina Shayler. Enfield nipped Avon by 0.36 of a second to win the race.
Rosow turned in an impressive performance in the 3,200 after a tough race in the 1,600 meters. In the 1,600, Rosow took the lead on the final lap only to see three other girls get by her before the finish.
In the 3,200, Rosow was determined to get a victory. She ran with the lead pack the entire way and outsprinted Hulstein in the final 50 meters to win her first league championship. Rosow also beat Hulstein in similar fashion in a dual meet in April.
Alyssa Burton won her first league championship, leaping 4-foot-10 in the high jump, beating her younger sister Kelsey, who was second with a leap of 4-10. Caroline Rendeiro took third at 4-8.
Avon’s 4×800 meter relay team (Cassie Sahl, Maeve Reiss, Emily Kelly, Sara Stokesbury) finished second. The girls finished 12-1 and 11-1 in the league.
On the boys side, Greg Rendeiro grabbed two silver medals. He leaped 19-8.5 meters in the long jump but was an inch and a half behind Canton’s Kyle Hall. In the triple jump, Rendeiro was two inches shy of Somers’ Corey Gneiding.
Avon’s 4×100 relay team (Ethan Buyse, Ross McDonald, Kyle Brady, Mitch Gauthier) also finished second in 46.02. The Falcons finished 10-3 and 9-3 in the league.
Avon’s Rachael Rosow gets past Ellington’s Jennifer Hulstein to win the 3,200 meters.
NCCC girls championship meet
Recent winners of the NCCC championship meet, which isn’t necessarily the league champion, determined by dual meet wins and teams beaten at the league meet
1. Canton 24, 2. Coventry 21½, 3. Enfield 19, 4. Avon 17, 5. Ellington 16, 6. Suffield 15, 7. Granby 14½, 8. Somers 11, 9. East Windsor 9. Teams get 1 point for each dual meet win and one point for each team they beat at the league championship meet.
1. Adam Seften, Bolton 4:29.29; 2. Dan Moroney, Suffield 4:34.36; 3. Kevin Kurnat, Canton 4:40.80; 4. Jon Cahill, Canton 4:42.83; 5. D.J. Labarre, Suffield 4:44.51; 6. Nick Chekas, Canton 4:44.80
1. Jon Cahill, Canton 2:04.01; 2. Taylor VanN, Coventry 2:04.48; 3. David Bergeron, Ellington 2:04.80; 4. Tyler Fitzpatrick, Canton 2:05.06; 5. Dan Moroney, Suffield 2:05.44; 6. Kevin Kurnat, Canton 2:07.25;
1. Adam Seften, Bolton 10:17.35; 2. Dj Labarre, Suffield 10:17.71; 3. Alex Smith, Ellington 10:19.23; 4. Nick Chekas, Canton 10:26.25; 5. Neal Hulstein, Ellington 10:27.60; 6. Jimmy Clark, Suffield 10:37.17;
1. Matt Graham, East Windsor 11-6”; 2. Chris Mitta, Stafford 11-0”; 3. Matt Marchand, Coventry 10-6”; 4. Nick Alcutt, Ellington 10-6”; 5. Bumjoon Park, Suffield 10-0”; 6. Nick Bevilacqua, ENFIELD 10-0”
1. Dylan Smith, Canton 128-3”; 2. Matt Graziano, Canton 125-6”; 3. Chris Gonzalez, Coventry 125-2”; 4. Brandon Stinson, Somers 125-0”; 5. Luke Sotil, East Granby 116-0”; 6. Ryan Sadosky, ENFIELD 112-0”
1. Tommy Myers, Coventry 164-1”; 2. Nick Alcutt, Ellington 144-4”; 3. Mike Benoit, Somers 132-6”; 4. Tim Gavin, Canton 132-2”; 5. Ryan Sadosky, ENFIELD 131-1”; 6. Matt Graziano, Canton 126-1”
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2025 and the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.
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