New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Acs’ Knox repeats as hurdles champion
NEW HAVEN — Hillhouse’s Leonaya Knox said she had some anxiety heading into the CIAC State Open Indoor Championships at Floyd Athletic Center in New Haven on Saturday.
It’s her senior season, which meant it was time to close another chapter of her illustrious hurdling career at Hillhouse.
“I knew that it was going to be my last meet running here at the Floyd Athletic Center,” Knox said. “So, I wanted to put down something to remember.”
She repeated as the girls 55-meter hurdles champion with her second best time of the season at 8.06, to outpace the field by .19 seconds. Cheshire’s Squirrel Lanz finished second in 8.25.
Knox will compete at the New England Indoor Championships and at the Nike Indoor Nationals on March 8-10 at the Armory in New York.
Manchester’s Samiya Eady is already signed up for the New Balance Nationals Indoor in Boston on March 7-10 and plans to race at the New England Championships where she will seek her first regional title.
She had already proven herself to be Connecticut’s fastest sprinter outdoors last spring, and solidified her role by winning the girls 55 meters with a time of 7.15 seconds Saturday. Eady, only a sophomore, won the 100 meters title at the 2023 CIAC Outdoor State Open. It’s her first State Open title for indoor.
She finished 14th in the 55 meters at the State Open last indoor season. In this year’s State Open, Eady said she ran the best race of her career. The 7.15 time is her personal record.
She couldn’t help but thank her tough competition who finished a few seconds behind her.
“I like ones [races] like that because it pushes me more to PR and win,” Eady said.
Eady needed to stretch her arm out to win by a millisecond over Kennedy’s Erica Austin in her Class LL victory. Not so much this time.
Glastonbury back on top
Glastonbury has dominated at the divisional level, winning its fourth-straight Class LL title last week.
The competition at the State Open, though, has been getting tougher, coach Brian Collins said, making it harder to win at the state level. Glastonbury, prevailed at the Open, though, winning the event by holding off E.O. Smith 52-36.
Glastonbury won the 1,600 sprint medley relay with a time of 4:14.39. Standout distance runner Brooke Strauss led the way by winning the 1,000 meters (2:53.22) and picking up 12 extra points for the Guardians by placing third in both the 1,600 meters (4:59.39) and the 3,200 meters (11:01.10).
Glastonbury coach Brian Collins credited the toughness of the CCC as part of what has made his team so successful. The victory was Glastonbury’s third State Open Indoor title and 13th indoor track crown.
“The CCC Conference meet prepares us for the past and then beyond,” Collins said.
CCC teams placed in the next five spots behind Glastonbury at the meet. After E.O. Smith was Conard, Hall, Bloomfield and Windsor, which finished third through sixth, respectively.
The Guardians last won a State Open Indoor title in 2020. They were the runner-up last indoor season behind Bloomfield.