Four state championship wins for Falcons at Class MM meet

Avon’s Carver Morgan takes the handoff from Jevonte Eaves in the 4×400 relay at the Class MM championship meet in New Britain. (Photo courtesy Peter Morgan)

NEW BRITAIN, June 1, 2022 – Avon High senior Carver Morgan continues to fill up his scholastic trophy case. Morgan earned three state championship medals Wednesday night at the Class MM championship meet at Willow Brook Park in New Britain.

Morgan won the 800 and 1,600 meter races while running as part of Avon’s winning 4×400 relay team to help the Falcons finish fifth in Class MM. Paul Netland won his first state championship in the 110 high hurdles. Morgan, Isaiah Adams, Adarsh Rajamanickam and Jevonte Eaves made up the 4×400 team.

Windsor won the state title with 91 points with Hand taking second with 70. Avon had 54 points also trailed Jonathan Law (65) and Wethersfield (59½).

“I was very pleased with our performance,” Avon High coach David Zlatin said. “We had four state champions, the most in a single day since 1991. We were hoping to compete for a runner up (trophy) but Hand just had too much depth, beating us out despite not winning a single event.”

With another three state championship medals, Morgan has won five this year and six in his career. He swept the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters at the Class MM indoor meet in February and was on Avon’s winning 4×800 team last spring at the Class MM outdoor championships.

Morgan won the 800 meters by 0.42 of a second with his time of 1:57.54 with E.O. Smith’s Jack Mattingly taking second in 1:57.96. Eaves was third with a time of 1:59.80, his first time under two minutes in the event.

In the 1,600 meters, Morgan had a more comfortable margin of victory, winning with a time of 4:23.22. Hand’s Daniel Hilmer was second in 4:25.79. Avon teammate Nicholas Bailey was ninth with a personal-best time of 4:38.26.

Avon’s 4×400 relay didn’t match the time they ran a week earlier at the CCC West championship meet but it was good enough to win a state championship. The Falcons won the race with a time of 3:27.55 with Guilford (3:29.14) and Branford (3:29.83) finishing second and third, respectively. Avon finished with a time of 3:26.8 at the CCC West meet, the second-best time in team history in the event.

Paul Netland III won the Class MM title in the 110 high hurdles on Wednesday.

Netland broke his own school record that he set at the CCC West championship meet with his winning time of 14.93 seconds in the 110 high hurdles. Netland beat Windsor’s Joshua Clarke, who finished second with a time of 15:38 seconds.

In the 300 hurdles, Adams finished fourth with a time of 41.45 seconds – an impressive performance for an athlete that ran the event competitively for just the fourth time.

Avon’s 4×800 relay team (Nick Bailey, Jack O’Donnell, Luke Hester, Eaves) was eighth in 8:35.29

In the 3,200 meters, freshman Will Lancaster was seventh with a time of 9:54.39, breaking the ten-minute mark for the first time and breaking his own freshman class record. Lucas Hester was ninth in 10:13.15.

The Avon High girls finished 17th with 10 points. Mareen Ek finished fourth in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter races. Ek had a personal-best time of 11:36.10 in the 3,200 meters and a time 5:16.01 in the 1,600 meters. She qualified for the State Open in both events.

Anna Loveless was ninth in the long jump with a leap of 15-6½ feet while Katrina Frez was ninth in the pole vault with a season-best vault of 8-foot-6.

Avon’s 4×400 relay will be participating in Monday’s State Open championships in New Britain along with Morgan, Netland, Adams and Eaves in the individual events.

More notes: Avon had four state championship victories in the boys meet with three individual winners (Morgan and Netland) and one relay victory – the most since the Falcons had four titlists in 1991.

In 1982, Avon won five state titles (five individual events) at the Class M championships where they finished second and in 1966, the Falcons won six titles (six individual events) at the Class C meet, which they won.

Morgan has won four state championships in outdoor track (two individual events, two relays). Brian Lenihan also won four state titles in outdoor track in 1983-85. Lenihan won the 3,200 meters in 1985 and captured the 5,000 meters three times (1983, 1984, 1985).

2022 Class MM championships
At New Britain
BOYS
Team Scores — 1. Windsor 91; 2. Daniel Hand 70; 3. Jonathan Law 65; 4. Wethersfield 59½; 5. Avon 54; 6. E.O. Smith 42; 7. Guilford 33; 8. Rockville 29; 9. East Lyme 28½; 10. Rham 28; 11. North Haven 27; 12. Woodstock Academy 22; 12. Platt 22; 14. Lyman Hall 20; 15. Branford 17; 16. Bristol Eastern 14; 16. Bethel 14; 18. Ellis Tech 12; 19. East Haven 10½; 20. Joel Barlow 9; 21. Torrington 8; 22. Bunnell 6; 23. Notre Dame-West Haven 5; 24. Stratford 3; 25. Berlin 2; 26. New London 0½
Individual results
100 meters: (w: -1.5) 1. Justin Dawkins, Windsor, 11.30; 2. Achillius White, Windsor, 11.41; 3. Gabe Garnett, Jonathan Law, 11.42; 4. Cameron Washington, Rockville, 11.44; 5. Maximus Fuller, Lyman Hall, 11.47; 6. Shane Pritchard, Jonathan Law, 11.48
200: 1. Justin Dawkins, Windsor, 22.54, w:-0.4; 2. Oswin Charlemagne, Windsor, 22.97, w:-0.4; 3. Cameron Washington, Rockville, 23.12, w:-0.4; 4. Gabe Garnett, Jonathan Law, 23.19, w:-0.4; 5. Zyair Coleman, Platt, 23.24, w:-0.4; 6. Patrick Bennett, Stratford, 23.25, w:-0.4.
400: 1. Thomas Bretthauer, Jonathan Law, 50.63; 2. Kyle Hoffman, Daniel Hand, 50.63; 3. Samuel Rebello, Ellis Tech, 51.10; 4. Joshua Chen, Guilford, 51.76; 5. Hunter Howard, Windsor, 52.16; 6. Carter Harris, Bristol East, 52.19.
800: 1. Carver Morgan, Avon, 1:57.54; 2. Jack Mattingly, E.O. Smith, 1:57.96; 3. Jevonte Eaves, Avon, 1:59.80; 4. Peyton Moriarty, Branford, 2:00.07; 5. Ian Hoffman, Woodstock Ac, 2:00.11; 6. Nicholas Montana, Daniel Hand, 2:00.14.
1,600: 1. Carver Morgan, Avon, 4:23.22; 2. Daniel Hilmer, Daniel Hand, 4:25.79; 3. Brendan Fant, East Lyme, 4:25.91; 4. Justin Shiffrin, Guilford, 4:26.77; 5. Evan Boland, E.O. Smith, 4:26.91; 6. Ryan Gagne, Wethersfield, 4:28.22.
3,200: 1. Liam Calhoun, RHAM, 9:32.81; 2. Harrison Grenier, Daniel Hand, 9:41.37; 3. John O’Keefe, Daniel Hand, 9:41.45; 4. Michael Masotti, Guilford, 9:43.62; 5. Logan Crowley, Bristol East, 9:49.48; 6. Sean McCauley, East Lyme, 9:51.75.
110 meter hurdles: (w: -1.3) 1. Paul Netland III, Avon, 14.93; 2. Joshua Clarke, Windsor, 15.38; 3. Blake Harris, East Lyme, 15.53; 4. Jackson Warters, Jonathan Law, 15.56; 5. Torronce Smith, Wethersfield, 15.69; 6. Jacob McGeary, Daniel Hand, 16.15.
300 meter hurdles: 1. Jackson Warters, Jonathan Law, 39.75; 2. Torronce Smith, Wethersfield, 41.21; 3. Joshua Clarke, Windsor, 41.36; 4. Isaiah Adams, Avon, 41.45; 5. Blake Harris, East Lyme, 42.41; 6. Jacob McGeary, Daniel Hand, 42.56.
4×100 meter relay: 1. Jonathan Law (Gabe Garnett, Thomas Bretthauer, Dimitri Barnes, Shane Pritchard), 43.50; 2. Windsor (Achillius White, Justin Dawkins, Maxim Copeland, Oswin Charlemagne), 43.53; 3. Rockville (Chase Carnevale, Amir Knighton, Hason Green, Cameron Washington), 44.55; 4. Daniel Hand (Morgan Veth, Brian Kranzler, Mario Mazzarella, Ethan O’Brien), 44.65; 5. Wethersfield (Jayson Burchell, Jova’n Hill, Benjamin Caulfield, Torronce Smith), 44.80; 6. Notre Dame-West Haven (Tremaine Barr, Connor Seabrooks, Jeriel Adopo, Ajay Bellamy), 45.11.
4×400 meter relay: 1. Avon (Isaiah Adams, Adarsh Rajamanickam, Jevonte Eaves, Carver Morgan), 3:27.55; 2. Guilford (Justin Shiffrin, Thomas Gregory, Cal Stephens, Joshua Chen), 3:29.14; 3. Branford (Patrick Zdunek, Cheng Wu, Cameron Meli, Peyton Moriarty), 3:29.83; 4. Lyman Hall (Michael Fisher, Thomas Conklin, Timothy Conklin, Yahya Kardad), 3:30.23; 5. Rockville (Hason Green, Diuferson Brevil, Weston LaBrecque, Brendan Fauteux), 3:30.29; 6. Daniel Hand (Paul Odyniec, Daniel Hilmer, Nicholas Montana, Kyle Hoffman), 3:33.34.
4×800 meter relay: 1. E.O. Smith (Jacob Robinson-Smey, Evan Boland, Matthew Enright, Jack Mattingly), 8:00.67#; 2. Joel Barlow (Jack Slavinsky, Jack Ciambra, Calvin Young, Alexander Czerkawski), 8:11.39; 3. Daniel Hand (Harrison Grenier, Christopher Bonavita, John O’Keefe, Nicholas Montana), 8:15.06; 4. Bristol Eastern (Logan Crowley, Jack Mulcunry, Dominic Tartarelli, Carter Harris), 8:20.35; 5. Guilford (Michael Masotti, Thomas Gregory, Coleman Love, Justin Shiffrin), 8:22.82; 6. Rockville (Diuferson Brevil, Weston LaBrecque, Cale Wilson, Brendan Fauteux), 8:27.67.
High Jump: 1. Dar Jankovic, E.O. Smith, 6-02; 2. Holden Speed, Wethersfield, J6-02; 3. Morgan Veth, Daniel Hand, J6-02; 4. Owen Reinhart, Ellis Tech, 6-00.
Pole Vault: 1. Aidan King, Jonathan Law, 13-00; 2. Nicholas Vogel, East Lyme, 12-00; 3. Ryder Kropiwnicki, Branford, 11-06; 4. Chance DeCrescenzo, Lyman Hall, 11-00; 5. Malcolm Francis, Torrington, J11-00; 6. Matthew O’Connell, North Haven, J11-00.
Long Jump: 1. Grant Harris, Windsor, 22-00.50, w:NWI; 2. Antwone Santiago, Platt, 21-11, w:NWI; 3. Holden Speed, Wethersfield, 20-10.50, w:NWI; 4. Mikeal Francis, Bunnell, 20-07.75, w:NWI; 5. Jayson Burchell, Wethersfield, 20-06.50, w:NWI; 6. Morgan Veth, Daniel Hand, 20-03.25, w:NWI.
Triple Jump: 1. Holden Speed, Wethersfield, 44-08.50, w:NWI; 2. Jayson Burchell, Wethersfield, 43-06.25, w:NWI; 3. Matthew Kasper, Daniel Hand, 41-09.50, w:NWI; 4. Grant Harris, Windsor, 40-08.50, w:NWI; 5. Andres Gutierrez, Guilford, 40-07.50, w:NWI; 6. Joseph Nelly, Jonathan Law, 40-03.50, w:NWI.
Shot Put: 1. Yousef Gebril, North Haven, 48-00; 2. Keenan Lamontagne, Woodstock Ac, 47-11; 3. Reggie Darkah, Platt, 47-06.50; 4. Quincy Davis, Windsor, 47-04.50; 5. Andre Prince, Windsor, 46-09.50; 6. Ethan Anderson, North Haven, 46-04.
Discus: 1. Keenan Lamontagne, Woodstock Ac, 162-04; 2. Payton Bell, Bethel, 147-08; 3. Cole DeCusati, North Haven, 143-08; 4. Greyson Golda, Bethel, 137-09; 5. Ethan Anderson, North Haven, 132-02; 6. Henry Tyus, Rockville, 129-04.
Javelin: 1. Dominic Salato, East Haven, 154-11; 2. Joseph Fahey, RHAM, 149-08; 3. James Chafouleas, E.O. Smith, 144-09; 4. Benjamin Weers, RHAM, 144-02; 5. Mason Stannard, Torrington, 139-05; 6. Michael Fisher, Lyman Hall, 138-11.

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GIRLS
Team results —  1. Windsor 106½; 2. Hillhouse 80; 3. Joel Barlow 75; 4. Bethel 74½; 5. East Lyme 61.75; 6. Berlin 49; 7. Woodstock Academy 28½; 8. Guilford 28; 9. Brookfield 25; 10. East Haven 22; 11. Rockville 21; 12. Killingly 20½; 13. Jonathan Law 14; 14. Rham 13; 15. Daniel Hand 12.75; 16. Suffield 11; 17. Stratford 10; 17. Avon 10; 19. Masuk 8½; 20. Fitch 7½; 21. Waterford 6; 21. Foran 6; 23. Hartford Public 4.75; 23. New London 4.75; 25. Platt 2
Individual results
100 meters: (w: -2.2) 1. Emily Mulhern, Joel Barlow, 12.62; 2. Leonaya Knox, Hillhouse, 12.87; 3. Aurelia Downes, Windsor, 13.07; 4. Shanaya Brown, Killingly, 13.20; 5. Talia Graham, Bethel, 13.21; 5. Amaris Johnson, Fitch, 13.21.
200: 1. Emily Mulhern, Joel Barlow, 25.82, w:-0.1; 2. Bailey Baclaski, Berlin, 26.47, w:-0.1; 3. Aurelia Downes, Windsor, 26.61, w:-0.1; 4. Jada McCown, Hillhouse, 26.62, w:0.6; 5. Lauren Haddad, Rockville, 26.73, w:-0.1; 6. Cyana Lindsay, Windsor, 26.79, w:0.1.
400: 1. Olivia Walters, Brookfield, 58.13; 2. Brittani Westberry, Windsor, 59.90; 3. Jenna Wenzel, Berlin, 1:00.34; 4. Ava Pitruzzelle, East Lyme, 1:01.26; 5. Macie Mietz, Bethel, 1:01.63; 6. Julia Coric, Daniel Hand, 1:01.95.
800: 1. Ava Graham, Bethel, 2:20.77; 2. Kayla Blackwell Blackwell, Hillhouse, 2:22.57; 3. Malia Alabre, Windsor, 2:22.91; 4. Rachel Bartolucci, RHAM, 2:24.67; 5. Linsey Arends, Woodstock Ac, 2:24.71; 6. Olivia Skapczynski, Guilford, 2:24.87.
1,600: 1. Ava Graham, Bethel, 5:11.57; 2. Natalia Kmita, Berlin, 5:13.65; 3. Yee-Ying Ng, Bethel, 5:14.98; 4. Marenn Ek, Avon, 5:16.01; 5. Julia Antony, Guilford, 5:19.71; 6. Meryl Sullivan, Daniel Hand, 5:29.53.
3,200: 1. Yee-Ying Ng, Bethel, 11:22.83; 2. Isabelle Mondo, RHAM, 11:30.76; 3. Alexa Suchy, Guilford, 11:32.41; 4. Marenn Ek, Avon, 11:36.10; 5. Natalia Kmita, Berlin, 11:40.89; 6. Olivia Kaisin, Guilford, 11:45.95.
100 meter hurdles: (w: -1.5) 1. Mariella Schweitzer, Joel Barlow, 14.96; 2. Leonaya Knox, Hillhouse, 15.04; 3. Alana Martin, Windsor, 15.35; 4. Rosa Volpintesta, Bethel, 15.38; 5. Kareema McKenzie, Windsor, 15.78; 5. Grace Stephens, Masuk, 15.78.
300 meter hurdles: 1. Mariella Schweitzer, Joel Barlow, 44.87; 2. Caden Simpson, Jonathan Law, 47.34; 3. Alana Martin, Windsor, 48.00; 4. Kareema McKenzie, Windsor, 48.87; 5. Taniyah Mabry, Hillhouse, 49.75; 6. KeArya Jackson, Windsor, 50.70.
4×100 meter relay: 1. Joel Barlow (Emma Borgeault, Sedonia Holub, Jenna Najjar, Emily Mulhern), 49.31; 2. Windsor (Aurelia Downes, Alana Martin, Cyana Lindsay, Shani Smith), 49.80; 3. Hillhouse (Taniyah Mabry, Ne’riah Townsend, Amaiya Ellis, Leonaya Knox), 50.53; 4. Brookfield (Ruby Cofone, Olivia Walters, Margaret McGuire, Hailey Morales), 51.18; 5. New London (Darielys Arnold, Annisah White, Jah’Nyah Maddox-Williams, Akheena Farrior-Parcak), 51.18; 6. East Lyme (Sydney Arustei, Lauren Hinckley, Aubrey Jorgensen, Grace Wadsworth), 52.07.
4×400 meter relay: 1. Brookfield (Margaret McGuire, Ruby Cofone, Hailey Morales, Olivia Walters), 4:05.94; 2. Windsor (Malia Alabre, Brittani Westberry, Alexis Agyei, Tahjae Daley), 4:07.48; 3. Joel Barlow (Emma Borgeault, Jenna Najjar, Sedonia Holub, Kat Czerkawski), 4:09.12; 4. Guilford (Daniella Selig, Julia Antony, Ella Heckler, Riley Hickey), 4:11.37; 5. Daniel Hand (Michelle Jiang, Vivian Glaser, Meryl Sullivan, Julia Coric), 4:15.77; 6. Rockville (Lauren Haddad, Madeline Montano, Gabriella Montano, Abigail Bajorek), 4:16.90.
4×800 meter relay: 1. Windsor (Malia Alabre, Brittani Westberry, Alexa Overstreet, Casey Krapalis), 9:43.30; 2. Bethel (Yee-Ying Ng, Abigail Correard, Macie Mietz, Ava Graham), 9:49.71; 3. Guilford (Clara Gahm, Ella Heckler, Olivia Skapczynski, Riley Hickey), 9:58.33; 4. Woodstock Academy (Linsey Arends, Leila MacKinnon, Leah Castle, Julia Coyle), 10:19.00; 5. Rockville (Maggie Dwire, Isabel Cintron, Gabriella Montano, Abigail Bajorek), 10:26.89; 6. Waterford (Colleen Corman, Aimee Girard, Erica Mugovero, Avery Maiese), 10:29.15.
High Jump: 1. Isabella Taccogna, Stratford, 5-00; 2. Rosa Volpintesta, Bethel, J5-00; 3. Kayla McCullough, Suffield, J5-00; 4. Ne’riah Townsend, Hillhouse, 4-10; 5. Katherine Poirier, Killingly, J4-10; 5. Jillian Edwards, Woodstock Ac, J4-10.
Pole Vault: 1. Talia Graham, Bethel, 11-06#; 2. Jordan Carr, Joel Barlow, 11-00#; 3. Ava Steigbigel, Foran, 10-00; 4. Grace Stephens, Masuk, J10-00; 5. Lacey-Lee Keramidas, East Lyme, 9-00; 6. MaKenna Sharpe, Jonathan Law, J9-00.
Long Jump: 1. Mariella Schweitzer, Joel Barlow, 17-02.25, w:NWI; 2. Kristen Kozlowski, Berlin, 16-09.75, w:NWI; 3. Shalisha Robertson, Hillhouse, 16-09.25, w:NWI; 4. Cyana Lindsay, Windsor, 16-02.50, w:NWI; 5. Givanni Perry, Hartford Pub, 16-01, w:NWI; 6. Jayla Washington, East Lyme, 15-09, w:NWI.
Triple Jump: 1. Kristen Kozlowski, Berlin, 34-03.50, w:NWI; 2. Lauren Hinckley, East Lyme, 34-02, w:NWI; 3. Sophia Seguin, East Lyme, 34-01.50, w:NWI; 4. Morgan D’Auria, East Haven, 33-10, w:NWI; 5. Shakila Campbell, Windsor, 32-10, w:NWI; 6. Reegan Reynolds, Woodstock Ac, 32-08.50, w:NWI.
Shot Put: 1. Olivia O’Connor, Hillhouse, 39-00; 2. Savannah Soleau, East Lyme, 38-05.25; 3. Shalisha Robertson, Hillhouse, 35-01.25; 4. Lauren Plummer, Windsor, 34-00.75; 5. Hannah Grudzien, Killingly, 33-08; 6. Destiny Rowland, Windsor, 33-00.25.
Discus: 1. Olivia O’Connor, Hillhouse, 129-10#; 2. Magdalena Myslenski, Woodstock Ac, 111-02; 3. Lauren Plummer, Windsor, J111-02; 4. Savannah Soleau, East Lyme, 103-09; 5. Alice Stettinger, East Haven, 95-09; 6. Hannah Grudzien, Killingly, 90-08.
Javelin: 1. Alice Stettinger, East Haven, 120-05; 2. Savannah Soleau, East Lyme, 110-03; 3. Sjodin Fedikovich, East Lyme, 98-07; 4. Hannah Grudzien, Killingly, J98-07; 5. Lily Hollworth, Rockville, 98-01; 6. Chloe Keane, Rockville, 94-01.