Canton’s Berning wins CIAC heptathlon, Avon’s Murray 2nd in decathlon
Left, Canton’s Kayla Berning, left, beat Lakeview’s Greyson Thomas to win the CIAC heptathlon Tuesday. Right photo, Fitch’s Jacob Smith, left, beat Avon’s Logan Murray to win the CIAC decathlon. (Photos courtesy CIAC)
Sophomore Kayla Berning had personal best efforts in five of six events to become the first Canton High girl to win the CIAC heptathlon on Tuesday at Willow Brook Park in New Britain.
Avon High junior Logan Murray had personal best scores in four events and finished second in the CIAC decathlon, the best finish ever by an Avon High athlete in the event. Murray finished behind Fitch’s Jacob Smith, who had personal best times in six of 10 events.
Berning was one of three Canton girls in the heptathlon. Lucy O’Connor finished second in the high jump and 14th overall while Charlotte Davis earned a top 25 finish by taking 23rd place. Avon’s Amelia Turken finished 16th in the event.
Berning had top 10 finishes in all six events. She won the 800 meters with a personal-best time of 2:25.17 and was second in the 100 hurdles with a personal-best time of 15.43 seconds. She was third in the high jump with a career-best leap of 5-2¼ feet.
She was seventh in the long jump (16-0¼), eighth in the shot (27-3¼) and javelin (81-1) and ninth in the 200 meters (27.01). Her throws in the shot and javelin were career-best efforts.
Berning finished with a school-record score of 4,287 points with Lakeview’s Greyson Thomas finishing second in 3949 and Ellington’s Jenna Thomas taking third with 3894.
The previous best finish by a Canton athlete in the heptathlon was from Madeline Archangelo, who was fourth in 2019 with a score of 3,965.
Canton’s Dustin Van Kirk won the CIAC decathlon in 2017 with 5,598 points. The school record in that event is held by Cam Daley, who finished third at the CIAC decathlon in 2015 with 5,725 points.
Murray had seven top 10 finishes and won the 400 meters with 50.35 but finished second with 5,222 points behind Smith, who finished first in three events – 100 meters, high jump and 110 hurdles. Smith won with 5,646 points.
Smith beat Murray earlier this year in the decathlon at the Greater Hartford Invitational in May with 5,949 points. Murray finished second with a school-record 5,745 points, eclipsing the mark set of 5327 in 1980 by Greg Geyer at the CIAC decathlon.
Murray finished third in the 100 meters (11.42), second in the 110 hurdles (15.07), fourth in the 1,500 meters (4:47.46), sixth in the pole valut (10-11¾ ), seventh in the high jump (5-8), seventh in the discus (92-7), eleventh in the shot (33-7¼), 14th in the long jump (18-5) and 15th in the javelin (113-10).
Murray had personal best performances in the high jump, pole vault, discus and 1,500 meters. The previous best finish in the decathlon by an Avon athlete came from Geyer, who was seventh in 1980.
Canton’s Warren Pelletier was sixth in the hammer throw with a personal-best time of 54.46 meters while Ally Chickos was fifth in the hammer throw with a personal-best throw of 36.30 meters.
Results 2026 CIAC decathlon, heptathlon and field day (Athletic.net)