Girls take 11th straight

NEW HAVEN — The girls 55 dash shaped up as an interesting event and it proved to be one of the most exciting events at the CIAC Class S track and field championships at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Friday.

Andraya Yearwood of Cromwell entered the 55 event as the top seed, Chelsea Mitchell of Canton was the second seed and Terry Miller of Bloomfield was the third seed.

Mitchell ended up with an emotional finish. Mitchell won her first 55 indoor track title with a time of 7.18 seconds and Miller was second in 7.20. Yearwood had a false start in the preliminary heat and did not qualify for the final.

On Wednesday, Mitchell was one of three Connecticut female track and field athletes and their parents who filed a federal lawsuit to try and prevent transgender athletes, like Yearwood and Miller, from competing in girls sports in Connecticut. The three girls are represented by the conservative nonprofit organization Alliance Defending Freedom.

“I was just pushing as hard as I could,” Mitchell said. “When I finished, I looked up at the board and said to myself ‘oh my gosh.’ The way the race went I thought I had an edge. I never won an indoor 55 before, so this is big for me. It’s the first time I ever beat Terry Miller.

“I tried not to think about the lawsuit. My focus was entirely on running the race and winning. At the end, with the strong finish and the lean at the end, I

thought I had it.”

Yearwood admitted the publicity surrounding the recent lawsuit was in the back of her mind.

“At the start of my heat I was too anxious, and that contributed to my false start,” Yearwood said. “The lawsuit was definitely in the back of my mind and it probably will be when I continue to compete here.”

Mitchell, committed to William & Mary, has newfound confidence with the win.

“Winning the 55 now gives me more confidence in my ability,” Mitchell said. “I know what I can do and this proves I can win.”

Mitchell kept that winning momentum going in two other events to make it a three-win day for her in the individual events.

Mitchell won the 300 in

40.98 and the long jump in

18 feet, 8.5 inches. Miller was unavailable after the race and Bloomfield coach Anne Burrows said about Miller,” she was prepared and ran a good race in the 55. It was an exciting finish.”

BLOOMFIELD WINS...AGAIN

Bloomfield’s depth proves too hard to overcome and wins the girls team title with 83 points, Old Saybrook is second

with 60.25 and Immaculate third with 50.

The Warhawks win their

11th CIAC Class S title in a row and have 18 class titles overall (16 Class S, two Class M).

Bloomfield had wins in the 4x200 relay, 4x400 relay and 55 hurdles. Miller ran the last leg of the 4x200 that the Warhawks won in

1:47.14. Elicia Colon won the

55 hurdles in 8.89. Bloomfield won the 4x400 in

4:10.12.

“To win again, this is definitely a great feeling,” Bloomfield girls coach Anne Burrows said. “Nobody on this team wants to lose (team title). Hopefully I’m not here when the day comes and we do lose. We didn’t have as much depth as we have had in the past. But everyone worked hard and stepped up.

“Throwing events were key for us. But a lot of girls stepped up. Elicia Colon got us points in the 55 hurdles,

300 and 4x400. Johniece Jones was second in the high jump (4-10) and Jadyn Gibson was second in the

600 (1:41.61) and got us points we didn’t expect.”

Alliyah Boothe won the shot put with a throw of

41-3.

HANRATTY EXPERIMENTS IN 1,000

Grace Hanratty of Old Saybrook, one of the top girls long distance runners in the state, tried something different in the 1000 and came away with a win.

Hanratty led start to finish and won in 2:59.85. Jaden Young of Woodland was second in 3:03.58.

“My coach and I talked before the race and we decided the best strategy today would be to go out front from the start of the gun,” Hanratty said. “I usually stay back a little and then push hard at the end. But I went to the front to see if anyone would stay with me to push me.

“A couple of girls stayed with me most of the race and I was a bit concerned. But going into the final lap I decided to pull away and finish hard.”

SOLID 600 FOR COYLE

Molly Coyle of Immaculate took a short lead the first two laps in the 600 and then pulled away in lap three for the win in 1:39.98.

“My only thought for the

600 was to go out hard, run as hard I could and hold on,” Coyle said. “I stayed in front. But going around the final turn I used my kick to pull away just to be sure.”

Coyle also ran the last leg of the Mustangs’ win in the

4x800 relay in 9:40.63 and she ran the last leg of the Sprint medley Relay that won in 4:30.80.

OTHER NOTABLE FINISHES

Olivia Lombardi of Oxford won the high jump with a height of 5-10. Cate Coppes of Old Saybrook won the pole vault with a height of 10-6.