Avon’s Carver Morgan (1), left, beats Lewis Mills’ Justin Cascio (3) to the line in the 3,200 meters in Thursday’s Class M championship meet in New Haven. (Photo courtesy Peter Morgan)
Avon High senior Carver Morgan was annoyed Thursday night at the CIAC’s Class M indoor track championship meet at the Floyd Little Athletic Center on the campus of Hillhouse High.
Morgan had already won a state championship with a 0.84-second victory in a one-on-one battle with RHAM’s Liam Calhoun in the 1,600 meters. But now he was suppressing waves of frustration and disappointment.
Morgan and a Weston competitor were both disqualified along with their respective teams in the sprint medley relay because the two athletes were getting too physical with arms and elbows flying as they jostled for position on the track in the final meters of the race.
The Falcons were hoping for a medal in the sprint medley considering they ran a school-record time of 3:42.26 in last week’s Central Connecticut Conference championship meet. Hartford’s Prince Tech won the race with a time of 3:46.57.
Morgan had a way to get rid of the tension – race in the 3,200 meters. Morgan beat Lewis Mills’ Justin Cascio and Tolland’s Luke Stoeffler in the final 100 meters to win the 3,200 meters and become the first Avon High athlete to win a pair of state titles in indoor track in the same day.
Morgan’s sweep helped Avon finished fourth in Thursday’s Class M meet, their best finish since taking fourth in the Class S championship meet in 1982.
“Carver is exactly the mold of athlete that every coach wants on their team,” Avon High coach Courtney Fusco said. “He wants to be the best and he’s willing to put in the work to do it. But he still recognizes the importance of putting the team’s priorities above his own.”
Avon teammate Paul Netland finished third in the 55 hurdles with a time of 8.17 seconds.
Jevone Eaves (600 meters) and Lucas Hester (3,200) each finished fifth the Falcons, who finished with 30 points, one point ahead of Lewis Mills. The Spartans were sparked by Michael Johnson, who won a pair of state titles by sweeping the 300 meters and 55 hurdles.
It was tight racing in the 3,200 meters at Thursday’s Class M championship meet in New Haven. Lewis Mills’ Justin Cascio (3) leads the pack with Carver Morgan (1) and Lucas Hester (5) in the mix. (Photo courtesy Peter Morgan)
Morgan knew he would be running in three races on Thursday, including the anchor leg (800 meters) of the sprint medley relay. But he had a plan.
“Although every athlete wants a PR (personal record) in every race, Carver’s strategy was to run the 1,600 (meters) strategically — just hard enough to win so that he had enough left to run the anchor leg of the (sprint medley relay),” Fusco said. “He held back and ran in second for most of the race, only putting on pressure in the last 300 meters or so in order to take the victory there.”
Morgan said he tried to go as slow as possible in the 1,600 meters. “I paced off Calhoun,” Morgan said. “I tried to save as much (energy) as I could for the SMR (sprint medley relay. We were trying to get a national (championship race) qualifying time. I tried to stay on (Calhoun) and in the last 200 meters, go for the win.”
In the sprint medley relay, Morgan was battling the runner from Weston for third place and both were jostling for position near the finish line. The disqualification in the sprint medley relay was disappointing but Morgan had little time to stew about it. The 3,200 meters was up shortly after the conclusion of the 300 meter sprint.
“Carver just used that as fuel for motivation in the 3200,” Fusco said. “He was already feeling thrashed going into that race, and the best we were hoping for was top 3 or 4 considering how tired he was.
“But he’s a competitor,” Fusco said. “He just made sure that he was within contact of Cascio and Stoeffler the whole time, and then it ended up being a three-man battle in the final 200 meters with Carver just edging out Cascio. Credit to Justin (Cascio) and Luke (Stoeffler) for running a great race and really competing. Those three guys battled down the stretch, which is exactly what you want to see in competition.”
Morgan was thrilled with the slower pace of the race at the beginning of the 3,200 meters and he stayed close as Cascio and Stoeffler battled for the lead. When Cascio tried to break away with 100 meters remaining, Morgan went with him.
“I really had no choice and I got past him in the final five meters,” Morgan said for a 0.07 of a second victory.
Morgan beat Stoeffler by 0.17 of a second to win the 3,200 meters at the CCC championship meet on Sunday — just four days earlier. All three (Morgan, Cascio, Stoeffler) will probably have another opportunity to race each other at the State Open championships on Saturday, Feb. 19, at noon in New Haven.
Winners of each event advance to the State Open along with the 14 best times from the four CIAC championship meets (LL, L, M and S).
In the girls race, Avon finished 16th with 10 points. Marenn Ek earned a pair of medals taking third in the 3,200 meters with a time of 11:52.32 and fourth in the 1,600 meters with a time of 5:26.19.
2022 Class M championship meet
At New Haven
BOYS RESULTS:
Team Scores: 1. Lyman Hall 44; 2. Jonathan Law 42; 3. Ellington 35; 4. Avon 30; 5. Lewis Mills 29; 6. Prince Tech 28; 6. Tolland 28; 8. E.O. Smith 26; 8. Bethel 26; 10. St. Joseph 24; 11. Joel Barlow 23; 12. North Haven 19; 13. Weston 14; 14. RHAM 13; 14. Sheehan 13; 16. Masuk 10; 16. Watertown 10; 18. Branford 9; 19. Foran 8; 19. Ellis Tech 8; 21. Ledyard 7; 21. Notre Dame-West Haven 7; 23. Brookfield 6; 24. Rockville 4; 25. Waterford 2
Individual results
55 meters: 1. Maxwell Warren, St. Joseph, 6.64; 2. Roberto DaCosta, St. Joseph, 6.69; 3. Dimitri Barnes, Jonathan Law, 6.70; 4. Jalil Pena, Prince Tech, 6.80; 5. Luke Richardson, Bethel, 6.82; 6. Paul Burkett, Sheehan, 6.84.
300 meters: 1. Michael Johnson, Lewis Mills, 36.14; 2. Thomas Bretthauer, Jonathan Law, 36.73; 3. Paul Burkett, Sheehan, 36.79; 4. Cameron Reynolds, Ledyard, 37.51; 5. Jake Dellapiano, Masuk, 37.86; 6. Luke Vecchiarelli, Joel Barlow, 38.02.
600 meters: 1. Jeremy Rivera, Prince Tech, 1:25.43; 2. Basit Iddriss, Foran, 1:25.48; 3. Jack Mattingly, E.O. Smith, 1:25.72; 4. Vincent Sivo, Ellington, 1:26.26; 5. Jevonte Eaves, Avon, 1:26.32; 6. Peyton Moriarty, Branford, 1:27.49.
1,000 Meters: 1. Evan Boland, E.O. Smith, 2:43.32; 2. Cooper Capola, Weston, 2:43.58; 3. Alexander Czerkawski, Joel Barlow, 2:44.73; 4. Ian Foster, Brookfield, 2:50.03; 5. Theo Joseph, Waterford, 2:51.44; 6. Trem Ampeloquio, Brookfield, 2:51.92.
1,600 meters: 1. Carver Morgan, Avon, 4:25.04; 2. Liam Calhoun, RHAM, 4:25.88; 3. Liam Fedigan, Jonathan Law, 4:39.64; 4. Matthias Galban, Joel Barlow, 4:40.00; 5. Calvin Young, Joel Barlow, 4:41.15; 6. Devin Rodriguez, Notre Dame-W, 4:42.94.
3,200 meters: 1. Carver Morgan, Avon, 9:50.47; 2. Justin Cascio, Lewis Mills, 9:50.54; 3. Luke Stoeffler, Tolland, 9:54.01; 4. Liam Calhoun, RHAM, 10:05.02; 5. Lucas Hester, Avon, 10:15.25; 6. Anthony Galicia, Sheehan, 10:25.25.
55 Meter hurdles: 1. Michael Johnson, Lewis Mills, 7.58; 2. Joshua Wilkie, Ellington, 8.04; 3. Paul Netland III, Avon, 8.17; 4. Jacob Seamans, Lyman Hall, 8.25; 5. Jackson Warters, Jonathan Law, 8.30; 6. Jake McCreven, North Haven, 8.67.
4×200 Meter relay: 1. Bethel (Nolan Flynn, Jackson Sorbello, Luke Richardson, Jaden Hayles), 1:35.72; 2. Lyman Hall (Michael Fisher, Maximus Fuller, Yahya Kardad, Owen Rich), 1:35.95; 3. Jonathan Law (Gabe Garnett, Jackson Warters, Dimitri Barnes, Thomas Bretthauer), 1:36.56; 4. Sheehan (Jelan Kollie, Lucas Leon-Barreiro, Christopher Barkasy, Paul Burkett), 1:36.94; 5. Weston (Ari Escandon, Tyler Schiffer, Rex Kaplan, Jack Haythorn), 1:38.20; 6. Ellington (Riley Giordano, Vincent Sivo, Nicholas Martino, Divyesh Paladugu), 1:38.22.
4×400 Meter Relay: 1. Ellington (Riley Giordano, Vincent Sivo, Divyesh Paladugu, Joshua Wilkie), 3:37.14; 2. Tolland (Noah Hill, Noah Perryman, Junaid Shah, Cole Robertson), 3:38.43; 3. Lyman Hall (Timothy Conklin, Maximus Fuller, Yahya Kardad, Thomas Conklin), 3:38.52; 4. Prince Tech (Charles Cannon, Jalil Pena, Kaven Lester, Jeremy Rivera), 3:38.62; 5. Joel Barlow (Jack Slavinsky, Alexander Czerkawski, Aidan Emanuelson, Luke Vecchiarelli), 3:40.15; 6. Bethel (Daniel Cruz, Caden Fitzgerald, Jackson Sorbello, Nolan Flynn), 3:40.71.
4×800 Meter Relay: 1. E.O. Smith (Alexander Semenza, Jack Mattingly, Matthew Enright, Evan Boland), 8:23.58; 2. Joel Barlow (Jack Slavinsky, Jack Ciambra, Calvin Young, Alexander Czerkawski), 8:25.49; 3. Tolland (Junaid Shah, Noah Perryman, Temoor Shah, Luke Stoeffler), 8:30.33; 4. Weston (Luke Rubin, Cooper Clemens, Cameron Miles, Blake Braun), 8:49.63; 5. Ellington (Aidan Ladr, Damian Smith, Kieran Foster, Nicholas Elsass), 8:54.34; 6. Rham (Ryan Russo, Josh Gauthier, Benjamin Risley, Cameron Rhodes), 9:06.94.
1600 Sprint Medley: 1. Prince Tech (Charles Cannon, Jalil Pena, Kaven Lester, Jeremy Rivera), 3:46.57; 2. Tolland (Luke Macaluso, Noah Hill, Cole Robertson, Junaid Shah), 3:48.03; 3. Notre Dame-West Haven (Jamie Fonseca Lll, Malcolm Benton, Chevintha Edirisinghe, Erik Kuselias), 3:51.25; 4. Lyman Hall (Michael Fisher, Thomas Conklin, Timothy Conklin, Yahya Kardad), 3:54.85; 5. Watertown (Percy Dozier, Alexander Mercer, Ty Phelan, Alex Cole), 3:56.26; 6. Brookfield (Jake DeFeo, Logan Hovdestad, Ian Foster, Trem Ampeloquio), 3:59.10.
High Jump: 1. Joshua Wilkie, Ellington, 5-10; 2. Owen Reinhart, Ellis Tech, J5-10; 3. Jacob Seamans, Lyman Hall, 5-08; 4. Enaji Muhammad, Branford, J5-08; 5. Daniel Hyde, Masuk, J5-08; 6. Jelan Kollie, Sheehan, J5-08.
Pole Vault: 1. Chance DeCrescenzo, Lyman Hall, 11-06; 2. Aidan King, Jonathan Law, 11-00; 3. AJ Cricco, Lyman Hall, J11-00; 4. Evan Bouley, Branford, 10-06; 5. Ryan Tomis, Ledyard, 10-00; 6. Kyle Kurtz, Bethel, J10-00.
Long Jump: 1. Luke Richardson, Bethel, 20-07.25; 2. Ty Phelan, Watertown, 20-03.75; 3. Roberto DaCosta, St. Joseph, 19-09; 4. Hason Green, Rockville, 19-04.50; 5. JT Nelly, Jonathan Law, 19-02; 6. Jackson Poulton, Ledyard, 18-10.
Shot Put: 1. Cole DeCusati, North Haven, 46-04.75; 2. Ethan Anderson, North Haven, 43-11; 3. Maxwell Pizzolato, Masuk, 43-10; 4. Solomon Mercado, Jonathan Law, 43-09.25; 5. Greyson Golda, Bethel, 42-07.25; 6. Matthew Smith, Lewis Mills, 41-09.75.
GIRLS RESULTS
Team Scores: 1. Sheehan 68.75; 2. Weston 63; 3. Bethel 42; 4. Joel Barlow 40; 5. Lauralton Hall 31; 6. Ledyard 23; 7. Tolland 21.75; 8. Mercy 18; 9. Sacred Heart Academy 17; 10. Bacon Academy 16; 10. Ellington 16; 10. Branford 16; 13. Berlin 12; 13. Daniel Hand 12; 15. East Haven 10.75; 16. Brookfield 10; 16. Rocky Hill 10; 16. Avon 10; 19. Career Magnet 8; 20. Jonathan Law 6; 21. Suffield 4.75; 22. Hartford Public 4; 23. Foran 2; 24. New London 1; 24. Waterford 1; 24. Rockville 1
Individual results
55 meters: 1. Jalena Martin, Ellington, 7.39; 2. Amanda Castaldi, Sheehan, 7.40; 3. Emily Mulhern, Joel Barlow, 7.43; 4. Avery Winters, Sheehan, 7.48; 5. Patrice Mansfield, Sheehan, 7.55; 6. Talia Graham, Bethel, 7.58.
300 meters: 1. Mariella Schweitzer, Joel Barlow, 41.67; 2. Avery Winters, Sheehan, 42.09; 3. Olivia Walters, Brookfield, 42.55; 4. Hawaye Adam, Hartford Pub, 43.74; 5. Emily Mulhern, Joel Barlow, 44.17; 6. Akheena Farrior-Parcak, New London, 44.32.
600 meters: 1. Kate Littler, Ledyard, 1:41.55; 2. Olvia Platt, Sheehan, 1:41.97; 3. Abigail Miles, Weston, 1:43.26; 4. Allie Epright, Mercy, 1:44.88; 5. Julia Lelko, Mercy, 1:45.40; 6. Amelia Rudolph, Weston, 1:45.95.
1,000 meters: 1. Ava Graham, Bethel, 3:03.05; 2. Tess Wasiolek, Branford, 3:05.74; 3. Calista Mayer, Tolland, 3:05.99; 4. Meryl Sullivan, Daniel Hand, 3:14.42; 5. Meghan Guilbeault, Brookfield, 3:15.81; 6. Avery Maiese, Waterford, 3:16.13.
1,600 meters: 1. Kelly Jones, Lauralton Ha, 5:15.82; 2. Jordan Malloy, Bacon Academ, 5:19.90; 3. Natalia Kmita, Berlin, 5:23.96; 4. Marenn Ek, Avon, 5:26.19; 5. Adelyn Arroyo, Daniel Hand, 5:28.32; 6. Amanda Umbricht, Lauralton Ha, 5:51.53.
3,200 meters: 1. Peyton Bornstein, Tolland, 11:24.91; 2. Kelly Jones, Lauralton Ha, 11:34.69; 3. Marenn Ek, Avon, 11:52.32; 4. Jane Smith, Weston, 11:58.31; 5. Emily Brydges, Suffield, 12:09.22; 6. Meghan Guilbeault, Brookfield, 12:16.11.
55 Meter hurdles: 1. Mariella Schweitzer, Joel Barlow, 8.52; 2. Amanda Castaldi, Sheehan, 8.62; 3. Caden Simpson, Jonathan Law, 8.75; 4. Katherine Baisley, Lauralton Ha, 8.87; 5. Maddie McLeod, Ledyard, 8.88; 6. Rosa Linda Volpintesta, Bethel, 9.01.
4×200 Meter Relay: 1. Sheehan (Erin Brennan, Patrice Mansfield, Amanda Castaldi, Avery Winters), 1:46.84; 2. Career Magnet (Imani Bryan, Sarah Murray, Aniya Rivera, Shania Jackson), 1:52.62; 3. Lauralton Hall (Bria Colangelo, Emma Hoffman, Emma Kelly, Katherine Baisley), 1:53.12; 4. Weston (Sophia Taylor, Brooke Wagner, Abigail Miles, Ellison Weiner), 1:53.34; 5. Joel Barlow (Melina Viani, Emma Borgeault, Jenna Najjar, Emily Mulhern), 1:53.71; 6. Brookfield (Sofia Maldonado, Ruby Cofone, Olivia Walters, Hailey Morales), 1:54.39.
4×400 Meter Relay: 1. Weston (Sophia Taylor, Amelia Rudolph, Abigail Miles, Ellison Weiner), 4:13.11; 2. Branford (Katherine Laska, Tess Wasiolek, Catherine Duffy, Joelle Budz), 4:20.09; 3. Daniel Hand (Adelyn Arroyo, Meryl Sullivan, Maya Howard, Amanda Coric), 4:21.83; 4. Bethel (llana Flynn, Ava Graham, Macie Mietz, Lia Kantor), 4:25.74; 5. Mercy (Kaylee Benson, Julia Lelko, Julia Salley, Allie Epright), 4:26.16; 6. Tolland (Calista Mayer, Isabelle McNamee, Amelia Luetjen, Elizabeth Vaitses), 4:27.03.
4×800 Meter Relay: 1. Ledyard (Victoria Schweitzer, Ella Stephenson, Avery Widlicka, Kate Littler), 10:11.26; 2. Weston (Kathleen Saussy, Campbell Clemens, Sadie August, Charlotte Carter), 10:11.59; 3. Berlin (Nadia Malec, Nina Garofalo, Taylor Desmarais, Natalia Kmita), 10:25.86; 4. Mercy (Kayla Johnson, Megan Menard, Megan Kasperowski, Julia Nadolski), 10:34.16; 5. Suffield (Emma Conway, Brynna Tinnirella, Emily Brydges, Abby Schulz), 10:39.75; 6. Sacred Heart Academy (Juliette Forstrom, Hailey Spooner, Maisie Moreland, Avery Stewart), 10:54.20.
1600 Sprint Medley: 1. Bethel (llana Flynn, Talia Graham, Abigail Correard, Ava Graham), 4:23.06; 2. Weston (Brooke Wagner, Sophia Taylor, Keira Seibert, Charlotte Carter), 4:31.77; 3. Mercy (Ava Noviello, Julia Salley, Kaylee Benson, Allie Epright), 4:33.41; 4. Tolland (Lillian Brody, Elizabeth Vaitses, Isabelle McNamee, Calista Mayer), 4:35.10; 5. Sheehan (Natalie Swierczynski, Talia Crispino, Maya Wresien, Olvia Platt), 4:35.15; 6. Ledyard (Megan Armstrong, Jessica Vajdos, Ella Stephenson, Victoria Schweitzer), 4:40.76.
High Jump: 1. Rosa Linda Volpintesta, Bethel, 4-10; 2. Victoria Baker, Sacred Heart Academy, J4-10; 3. Elise Whelan, Ellington, J4-10; 4. Hayden Solecki, Sacred Heart Academy, 4-08; 5. Jessica Urban, East Haven, 4-06; 5. Kayla McCullough, Suffield, 4-06; 5. Abigale Luetjen, Tolland, 4-06; 5. Maya Wresien, Sheehan, 4-06.
Pole Vault: 1. Ellison Weiner, Weston, 11-06; 2. Erin Brennan, Sheehan, 10-00; 3. Talia Graham, Bethel, J10-00; 4. Jianna Blunschi, Weston, 9-06; 5. Ava Steigbigel, Foran, 9-00; 6. Savanna Bauman, Sheehan, 8-06.
Long Jump: 1. Mariella Schweitzer, Joel Barlow, 18-04; 2. Erin Brennan, Sheehan, 17-01.75; 3. Emily Mazzucco, East Haven, 16-05; 4. Morgan D’Auria, East Haven, 16-04; 5. Brooke Wagner, Weston, 15-08.75; 6. Savanna Bauman, Sheehan, 15-08.50.
Shot Put: 1. Marina Perry, Rocky Hill, 37-11.25; 2. Jennifer Whipple, Bacon Academ, 36-03; 3. Sofia Zharyy, Weston, 31-08; 4. Adrianna Ramos, Sacred Heart Academy, 31-00.75; 5. Anna Varholak, Lauralton Hall, 30-11.25; 6. Lily Hollworth, Rockville, 30-08.75.
