Two Avon relay teams earn top 10 finishes at State Open

NEW HAVEN Feb. 17, 2024 – Avon High freshman Abigail Van Hoof finished 11th in the 1,600 meters Saturday at the CIAC indoor track and field State Open championship meet at the Floyd Little Athletic Center on the campus of Hillhouse High.

Van Hoof finished the race in 5:28.55, topping the time she ran a week earlier at the Class M championships (5:31.67) when she finished fourth.

The Falcons had three relay teams compete at the Open.

Avon’s state championship team in the sprint medley relay (Natalie Ith, Lauren Edge, Kathryn Martin and Ying Ying Cheng) finished eighth with a time of 4:26.83. The team won the Class M title with the time of 4:22.41. The sprint medley consists of two legs of 200 meters, one 400 meter leg and one 800 meter leg.

Avon’s 4×200 relay (Ith, Edge, Julia Freeman, and Martin) finished ninth with a time of 1:50.30, just tad slower than their time of 1:49.87 at the Class M meet that gave them third place.

Avon’s 4×800 relay (Van Hoof, Laura Funderburk, Ava Keleher, and Ying Cheng) finished 16^th with a time of 10:29.96.

While a majority of the indoor season is complete, Van Hoof, the 4×200 relay and sprint medley relay team have qualified for the Nike Indoor track and field national championship meet and plan to compete in New York on March 8.