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Mitchell wins long jump at second Return to Track meet

Avon High track

The new Avon High track and field facility is still awaiting its first competition.

WEST HARTFORD, July 13, 2020 – Given another chance to compete, several area athletes competed at the Return to Track meet at Hall High hosted by 2-4-1 Sports and the Hartbeat Track Club on Monday night.

The spring high school season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and meet organizers are taking great pains to ensure that the athletes and fans are socially distant.

Canton High graduate Chelsea Mitchell continues to prepare for her freshman season at William and Mary. Mitchell won the long jump with a leap of 18-1½ feet with Bloomfield’s Adia Cavalier finishing second with a jump of 17-4.

Mitchell finished third in a very competitive 200-meter race with a time of 25.66 seconds. Sophia Gorriaran, who set a freshman indoor record in the 800 meters this winter running for Moses Brown in Providence, R.I., won the event in 25.40 seconds with Danbury’s Alanna Smith taking second in 25.42.

Avon’s Anish Rajamanickham took second in the 400 meters with a time of 52.12, trailing Bloomfield’s Sephton Reid, who won the race in 51.48. Rajamanickham was also third in the 200 meters with a time of 23.75, just behind second place finisher Oliver Kennon of Greenwich (23.72). Andre Marcano of Brooklyn, N.Y., won with a time of 22.36.

Avon’s Tyler Hinrichs was third in the 800 meters behind Justin O’Toole (Middlesex High in Massachusetts) and Ellington’s Jack Olender. Hinrich’s personal-best time of 1:58.57 was better than the time of 2:02.68 that earned him a bronze medal at last year’s State Open.

Avon’s Jack Martin finished fourth in the 1,600 meters with a time of 4:24.24. Darius Kipyego of Warwick, R.I., easily won the race in 4:12.16 with Weston’s Mac Hadden (4:19.11) finishing second. Avon’s Carver Morgan ran a personal-best 4:41.83 in the 1,600 meters and was 14th.

The next meet in the Return to Track series is set for Monday, July 27, at Hall.

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 New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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