Conard’s Sherry shatters state record
NEW BRITAIN — The times kept improving through the spring and by the time the runners gathered at the starting line Thursday it was clear the 1,600 meters at the 2021 State Open would be a special one.
“It turned into a historic one,” Colin McLaughlin of Westhill said.
“I thought it was going to be the fastest race in Connecticut history,” Nick Bendtsen of Wolcott said. “And it was.”
… by a mile. Or at least 1,600 meters.
“Yeah, I’ve been hyping this race ever since the state class meets,” Gavin Sherry said.
Eric van der Els of Brien McMahon had held both the State Open and state record in the 1,600 for five years at 4:08.42. McLaughlin ran a sparkling 4:08.44. It would have been the second fastest time in Connecticut
history.
McLaughlin finished third Thursday.
Sherry said he woke up interested in pouring his efforts into the 1,600. When he took the lead with 900 meters still to go, it was clear the Conard junior was serious. Very serious. Sherry built on 400 splits of 60 and 62 with 59 and 60 to shatter the state record with a time of 4:01.88.
“To be honest (something like a 4:01) was what I was going for,” Sherry said. “All of yesterday and today, I’ve seen guys around the nation pulling some really fast miles and I’m thinking I’m up there with these guys. I can hang.
“I like to set the bar a little low sometimes, but once I saw that 2:02 at the 800 I said I might as well try to go for something crazy.” Something crazy? “I thought he might go sub-four minute,” McLaughlin said. “It was fun to race. It was fun to watch.”
“It was a tough final 100,” Sherry said. “I wasn’t able to increase my speed.”
Bendtsen, who had the
best seeding time of 4:08.44 going into the race, shaved more than two seconds off his PR, finished at 4:06.09, easily breaking the existing state records. He finished more than four seconds behind Sherry.
“I think I put myself in good position and took it out with the lead for 700, but Gavin is just a phenomenal runner,” Bendtsen said.
Sherry said he knew Bendtsen would keep the pace honest. Bendtsen said he thought Sherry would make a determined move with about 600 meters remaining, but Sherry burst past him on the second lap.
“It kind of threw me for a little bit of a loop,” Bendtsen said. “I tried to stick with him, but he just kept getting faster and faster. He dropped a sub-two minute last 800, which is ridiculous.
“I can’t be upset. I thought I could run 4:054:06. I accomplished that goal at least, so I’m happy. I’m speechless what Gavin did.”
Nate DeAngelo of Bristol Central shaved more than three seconds off his PR to finish fourth at 4:12.54. Patrick Gibbons of New Farfield, who started running in middle school in Dubai while his mom worked at PepsiCo, shaved more than three seconds off his PR to finish fifth at 4:14.5. Sherry pulled along a number of guys for significant personal bests.
“I came in knowing it was going to be fast, so I wasn’t even nervous when I was dead last for a while,” Gibbons said. “I wasn’t even focusing on Gavin Sherry. All I heard was a roar. I was focusing on catching Walker Beverly (of Hall) and Gavin’s brother Callum (who finished sixth and seventh).”
With no outdoor season last year and no state indoor meets this past season, the sport was waiting on some special moments. There were a number of things that left folks speechless at Willow Brook Park. Things like junior Alanna Smith of Danbury becoming the first competitor to win the 100, 200 and 400 Triple Crown since 2011. Things like junior Gary Moore Jr of Hillhouse., down to his final throw, breaking the 52year-old State Open record in the discus by more than six feet at 188-07. Moore and his sister Leah won four weight events in all.
Things like Gavin Sherry in the 1,600. And then digging deep for the double in the 3,200 in a State Open time of 8:59.8. Distance runners sometimes are like golfers. They play and replay things in their head and can drive themselves nutty. Sherry is chill, living in the moment as best he can.
So there he was talking about how he ran a 4:08.47 in the Class L meet and felt really good. He said the heat actually helped keep the lactic acid out of his legs. Good for running fast, but not so great for recovery. He tries not to overthink splits and stuff, but some of it is inevitable.
“No matter how much you think about it beforehand,” he said, “the second that gun goes off you’re just racing.”
So what was he thinking in the final lap when he was blowing away the field?
“Just don’t fall,” he said. “I did that in South Carolina, led the two mile for seven laps and last lap just blew up. We don’t talk about that anymore.” He laughed.
“The race was fun,” Sherry said. “It was really exciting.”
He was to asked to sign a few autographs. As he walked past, folks shouted how terrific he had been. Yes, exciting.
A number of runners with strong qualifying times decided to pass on the 1,600. Matthew Jennings of Haddam-Killingworth and Azaan Dawson of Fairfield Prep (4:12) decided to concentrate on the 800. They finished second and third behind Ryan Farrell of Cheshire, who won in a State Open record time of 1:50.58. Most notably, Manchester junior Aiden Puffer (4:11.01), one of the state’s best distance runners, decided to only run the 3,200.
Sherry went after both. “I’m just going to try to hang as best as I can,” Sherry said before the 3,200. “Puffer is going to be fresh. It’s going to be a very difficult race. I don’t really expect to win. I’m going to go with whatever I have left in these legs. If I end up collapsing so be it.”
The 1,600 was Sherry brilliance. The 3,200 was Sherry’s resilience.
Yes, he set a State Open record with a time of 8:59.80. Yes, he eclipsed the 9:00.2 by Adam Vess of Xavier. It’s also clear given a different dynamic and strategy Sherry and Puffer (second in 9:03.85) could have gone much faster. The state record in the 3,200 is 8:43.95 set by Darien’s Alex Ostberg in 2015.
“I wanted to focus on winning the State Open 3,200,” Puffer said. “I’m pretty disappointed. I missed out on a pretty fast mile. It’s a learning experience.
“It was a little embarrassing losing to a guy who just ran a 4:01 two hours ago. Besides my strategy, I don’t regret anything. I wish I took it out faster. We went through at like 70 and I really started panicking. We came through the 800 not much faster. I kind of fed up and took it. Making surges like that are always kind of detrimental to your races other than make the other guys hurt a lot more, too. It was a lot harder in the 82-degree heat, too.”
The CIAC did a good job moving the event a day and to early times to avoid extreme temperatures. But the 3,200 was left hanging out there around 2 p.m. It was hot on the track. Sherry hung with Puffer, who was doing the hard lifting up front.
“I really had no idea what I had left,” Sherry said. “I felt bad about running like I did. I generally like to take it. It’s like an honor thing for me. I like to make every race as honest as I can. I was already satisfied with what I did (in the mile), so I decided to run it tactically.”
And then, with maybe 125 meters left, boom. Sherry felt like he had something left. He also didn’t know how much Puffer had left.
“I was glancing back, and he was still on my tail,” Puffer said. “I was trying to hold him off as long as I could. With like 100 meters or so left, he just took off. It was demotivating for me.”
“(Puffer) is an incredible runner,” Sherry said. “I’m really lucky to have him so close. I don’t have to travel anywhere to get the best competition in the nation. He’s right here.”
Puffer said he was left not feeling satisfied. He plans to run a mile against some top competition this weekend at the Danbury Dream Invitational. Sherry, who has narrowed down his college choice to six or seven with an eye on Stanford and North Carolina, will not race competitively again until the Nike Outdoor Nationals June 30-July 3 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. There is no New England meet this year.
But there were a few autographs to sign.