In a competitive contest, Conard outlasts Avon boys, 77-72

Avon’s Jack Martin finished second in the 800 meters in Tuesday’s meet with Conard and still set a new school record in the event.

AVON, May 11, 2021 – There were some tremendous races around the new Avon High track and field facility on Tuesday when Conard squared off with the host Falcons.

Thanks to the strength of their All-American Gavin Sherry and outstanding runners on the track, the Conard boys slipped past Avon, 77-72 while the Conard girls dominated the Falcons, 113-37.

Avon had the first big win on the track in the 4×800 relay – the first event of the afternoon. It was back-and-forth event with Avon’s Nick Alphonso and Lucas Hester racing well on the first two legs before Jevonte Eaves grabbed the lead on the third leg of race.

Eaves had the lead when it handed it off to Avon’s anchor runner Carver Morgan, who had just enough speed and a lead to fend off Sherry and give Avon the victory. Morgan ran his leg of the 800 meters in under two minutes — 1:58 — to secure the win.

Sherry, a junior, is a special runner. A two-time selection as the Gatorade State Runner of the Year in cross country, he also excels on the track. Sherry easily won the 1,600 meters with Avon’s Jack Martin in second place with a 4:31.78 and Conard’s Grant Walters third in 4:45.41.

It was a close race in the 800 meters with Sherry again holding off Martin. Sherry set a new track record with his winning time of 1:54.2 with Jack finishing second with a school-record time of 1:54.96, just a stride behind Sherry. Those are the two best times in the 800 this year in the state to date.

Carver had a personal best time of 1:58.00 in the 800 meters and finished fifth.

There was more great racing in the 3,200 meters as Callum Sherry, Gavin’s twin brother, set a new track record with his winning time of 9:52.50. Avon’s Lucas Hester finished strong in second place with a personal record time of 9:56.

Avon’s field athletes stood tall against Conard. Jack Leavens swept the shot and discus while Paul Netland won the javelin. Nils Jerger was second in the javelin and third in the shot and discus. Matt Marshall was second in the shot.

Netland scored the second-highest number of points for Avon with a win in the 110 hurdles, a second place in the 300 hurdles and a third place finish in the long jump.

Jack Grady was the top scorer for Avon (3-2) with victories in the 300 hurdles, triple jump and high jump along with a second place finish in the long jump (20-5), which is No. 8 on the all-time list in school history.

The Avon girls (1-4) were led by Tessa Hofheimer, who swept the javelin, shot and discus. Wren Worth finished second in the 300 hurdles and third in the 100 hurdles, long jump and triple jump.

Katrina Frez won the pole vault and was third in the jump while Mareen Ek was second in the 3,200 meters and third in the 1,600 meters with a personal-best time of 5:30.08. Sara Trautman was second in the 800 meters with a personal best time of 2:45.71.

Avon returns to action next Tuesday when they host Southington at home.

BOYS TRACK AND FIELD
Conard 77, Avon 72
At Avon
4×800: Avon (Carver Morgan, Lucas Hester, Nick Alphonso, Jevonte Eaves) 8:21.86, Conard 8:23.09
4×100: Conard (Giancarlo Fedolfi, Luke Boucher-Zazzaro, Landon Lagana, Declan Kutscher) 46.04, Avon 48.49
100: Brendon Hill (Co) 11.18, Landon Lagana (Co) 11.85, Luke Boucher-Zazzaro (Co) 12.00
200: Evan Belabe (Co) 23.11, Landon Lagana (Co) 24.31, Luke Boucher-Zazzaro (Co) 24.48
400: Evan Belabe (Co) 51.54, Brenden Hill (Co) 51.66, Carver Morgan (A) 54.05
800: Gavin Sherry (Co) 1:54.29, Jack Martin (A) 1:54.29, Carver Morgan (A) 2:07.37
1,600: Gavin Sherry (Co) 4:19.19, Jack Martin (A) 4:31.78, Grant Walters (Co) 4:45.41
3,200: Callum Sherry (Co) 9:52.50, Lucas Hester (A) 9:56.28, Nicholas Martin (Co) 10:53.21
110 hurdles: Paul Netland (A) 17.19, William Ladd (Co) 20.21, Joseph Palisi (Co) 21.21
300 hurdles: Jack Grady (A) 45.71, Paul Netland (A) 46.72, William Ladd (Co) 48.34
High jump: Jack Grady (A) 5-8, Israel Lopez (Co) 5-2
Long jump: Israel Lopez (Co) 21-7, Jack Grady (A) 20-5, Juan-Bautisa Ratti (Co) 17-2
Triple jump: Jack Grady (A) 38-5, Israel Lopez (Co) 38-4, Paul Netland (A) 35-6
Javelin: Paul Netland (A) 101-6, Nils Jeger (A) 100-3, Jack Noyes (A) 97-5
Shot: Jack Leavens (A) 40-3, Matt Marshall (A) 34-1, Nils Jerger (A) 33-0
Discus: Jack Leavens (A) 98-7, William Ball (Co) 94-7, Nils Jerger (A) 83-3
4×400: Avon (Nicholas Alphonso, Jack Martin, Carver Morgan, Jack O’Donnell) 3:36.24, Conard 3:42.34
Pole vault: Joshua Sirman (Co) 9-6, Ewan MacKinnon (Co) 8-0, Evan Ittleson (Co) 8-0
Record: Avon 3-2

GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD
Conard 113, Avon 37
At Avon
4×800: Conard (Katherine Flaherty, Avery Pollicita, Ella Tanis, Ava Johnson) 11:29.82
4×100: Conard (Maeve D’Arcy, Gianna Niman, Bridget Bronsdon, Clare Gillis), 52.44, Conard B 1:00.15
100: Maya Palanki (Co) 13.39, Gabrielle Niman (Co) 13.42, Gianna Niman (Co) 13.48
200: Clare Gillis (Co) 26.94, Gabrielle Niman (Co) 28.08, Maggie Gillis (Co) 28.39
400: Bridget Bronsdon (Co) 1:05.14, Maggie Gillis (Co) 1:05.99, Eleanor Schaefer (Co) 1:07.46
800: Emma Sasonov (Co) 2:26.48, Sara Trautman (A) 2:45.71, Ella Tanis (Co) 2:47.20
1,600: Chloe Scrimgeour (Co) 4:58.49, Ava Johnson (Co) 5:29.11, Mareen Ek (A) 5:30.08
3,200: Chloe Scrimgeour (Co) 10:36.89, Mareen Ek (A) 12:20.72, Katherine Flaherty (Co) 12:43.13
100 hurdles: Jillian DaCosta Pinto (Co) 17.93, Wren Worth (A) 18.61, Ava Peterson (Co) 19.04
300 hurdles: Jillian DaCosta-Pinto (Co) 54.11, Wren Worth (A) 54.62, Ava Peterson (Co) 56.58
Long jump: Audrey Kirkutis (Co) 15-11, Olivia Mello (Co) 14-11, Wren Worth (A) 14-7
Triple jump: Audrey Kirkutis (Co) 32-0, Eleanor Schaefer (Co) 30-7½, Wren Worth (A) 30-3
High jump: Cecilia Williams (Co) 4-8, Maya Palanki (Co) 4-6, Katrina Frez (A) 4-4
Javelin: Tessa Hofheimer (A) 82-7, Sasha Belabe (Co) 51-2, Beatrice Sierra (Co) 45-5
Shot: Tessa Hofheimer (A) 27-3, Sasha Belabe (Co) 25-8, Katrina Frez (A) 25-6
Discus: Tessa Hofheimer (A) 75-02, Sasha Belabe (Co) 72-5, Sienna Wynn (Co) 51-5
4×400: Conard (Maggie Gillis, Maya Planki, Clare Gillis, Maeve D’Arcy) 4:28.19
Pole vault: Katrina Frez (A) 8-0, Jillian DaCosta-Pinto (Co) 7-0, Angela Dulnuan (Co) 6-6
Record Avon 1-4