Shelton boys finish in tie for second place

NEW HAVEN >> In the shot put world, where a win or a loss can come down to an inch or two, technique means everything.

On Monday at the CIAC State Open indoor track and field championships at the Floyd Athletic Center, it all came together perfectly for Ed Radzion of Shelton.

Radzion’s first throw of 50 feet, 10.5 inches held up to give him the shot put championship over Windham’s Travis Shashok by an inch. Shashok ended up second with 50-9.5.

“I’m pretty happy right now,” said Radzion, a junior competing in his first indoor season. “I came in here just hoping to get in the top six so I could qualify for the New Englands (New England championships on March 4 in Boston, Massachusetts).

“Everything just clicked for me on that first throw. Coach Snell, (Shelton field event coach Scott Snell) worked a lot with me to improve my technique coming into the postseason. He’s a big reason why I won the shot put at the SCC meet, Class LL meet and today.”

Radzion won the shot put at the SCC championships with a distance of 47-10 and won the Class LL shot put with 50-9.

Radzion and Shelton’s Patrick English, who was second in the 600 in 1:23.81 and fourth in the 300 (36.35), led the Gaels to a second place team finish. The Gaels and Staples tied for second with 28 points each. Danbury won the boys title with 55.25 points for its third State Open title in the last four seasons.

Bloomfield won the girls title with 83.50 points and Danbury was second with 30. Bloomfield was led by Cassidy Palmer who set the state indoor record in the 55 dash in 6.99. She is the first high school female under 7 seconds in the event. Hamden was the top local finisher in fifth place with 18 points, Hillhouse was sixth with 16 and Law was

seventh with 14.

Snell, who also doubles as the Shelton girls coach, said strength has never been a problem for Radzion competing in the shot put. Shelton also had success in the girls shot put with Samantha Stevens coming away with a second place finish with 39-9.25.

“Both Ed and Samantha came into the State Open seeded second,” Snell said. “Samantha finished where we thought she would and Ed took it a step further and threw for a first. We have been focusing on his technique, driving through the circle. He used to open up too soon and now he gets his legs under him.

“I never thought his first throw of 50-plus feet would hold up with so many good shot put throwers here, especially with the kid from Windham who is such a good thrower. Overall, this was a good meet for the Shelton boys and girls teams.”

Radzion and Stevens both confirmed they plan to compete at the New England meet.

Stevens was happy finishing second, but not with her distance.

“This wasn’t my best throw, I think I could have done a lot better technically,” Stevens said. “I need to be more aggressive at the New England meet. I need to start picking it up if I want to do better.”

The Hamden boys earned a win at the State Open with a first place in the 4x200 relay. Kevin Antoine, Stanley Arrington Jr., Virgil Harrell III and Camron Fowlin won in 1:31.95. Aisha Gay led the Hamden girls with a second in the 300 in 40.27.

In other boys events, Cooper Berry of Coginchaug was third in the pole vault in 12-0 and Cheshire’s Brendan Murray was third in the 3200 (9:24.80).

In other girls events, Kiara Smith of Law was second in the long jump (176) and third in the 55 dash (7.29), Bridgid Selfors of Mercy was second in the 3200 (10:59.36) and Alexandra Alsup of Coginchaug was third in the 1000 in 3:04.34. Caroline O’Neil of Hand was third in the 300 in 40.35 and sixth in the 55 dash (7.38).

In the final event of the meet, the Hillhouse girls were second in the 4x400 relay. Wynter Williams, Jada Boyd, Nyimah Ambrose and Sarai Black took the runner-up spot with a time of 4:03.76.