The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Academic Excellence By Dan Nowak
Hillhouse boys, girls take home state titles
NEW HAVEN — While the Hillhouse boys literally ran away with the team title in the CIAC Class M indoor track and field championships at Floyd Little Athletic Center, it took a win in the final event by Hillhouse to claim the girls title after trailing Weston most of the meet on Saturday.
Deshaune Poole won the 55 hurdles (7.74 seconds), 300 (35.35) and ran a leg of the team’s win in the 4x400 (3:28.29, meet record) and Neal Eley won the 55 (6.53), high jump (6 feet) and long jump (22-3.75) to lead Hillhouse to the boys team title with 87 points. Suffield was second with 56 points and Weston third with 41.
In the girls meet, with one event left, Hillhouse and Weston were tied at 66 going into the 4x400 relay. The Academics won the event in 4:03.13 and Weston was second, giving Hillhouse the team title with 76 points. Weston was second with 74 points while Sheehan was third with 35.
Jada Boyd, who won the 600 (1:36.98) and the 300 (41.44), ran the first leg of the 4x400 and gave the Academics about a 10-meter lead to work with in the relay. Enyla Williams, De’Janay Davis, and Nyimah Ambrose completed the final three legs for the win and meet title.
“Winning the title and contributing to the team feels great,” Boyd said. “It’s always great to
win a state championship. We just go out and have fun.
“As an individual, getting three wins feels great. My game plan is always to go out fast and finish strong.”
The Hillhouse boys won their fifth straight title, while it was
the second straight for the girls.
“The ultimate goal is to always in both the boys and girls team titles,” Hillhouse coach Gary Moore said. “I don’t feel right when one team wins and the other doesn’t. When that happens you have one team excited about winning and then there is the sadness and disappointment of the team that doesn’t win.
“So winning both titles is great. The boys and girls worked hard for this. The girls made it a little tougher for themselves, but they all came through and battled hard today for the title.”
In the boys competition, Poole was enjoying himself and the Academics’ successful day.
“I’m definitely having a good time,” Poole said. “I had fun competing today, I just love competing. What’s been working for me is my strong finishes. Coach Moore has worked a lot with me to improve my finishes.
“Now we’re focusing on improving my starts. Having success in my events is great. But the main goal is get points for the team. We all came out here today to do our best and contribute to the team.”
In other events, Hillhouse’s Gary Moore Jr., coach Moore’s son, was second in the shot put (48-3.5) and teammate Talib McBride was second in the 600 (1:25.42). Nicholas Constantini of Foran was second in the pole vault (13-6), Michael Toppin of Lyman Hall was second in both the long jump (20-10.25) and 300 (35.77), Caleb Tondora of Foran was second in the high jump (5-10), and Marzio Mastroianni of Branford was second in the 1000 (2:32.92)
In the girls meet, Ayesha Nel-
son contributed to the Hillhouse title with wins in the 55 (7.31), 55 hurdles (8.48) and ran a leg of the winning sprint medley relay (4:19.11).
One of the standouts for
Weston was Elise Russell who dominated the pole vault to get the win with a vault of 11 feet.
“Last year I got 9 feet here, so I’m happy with 11 feet,” Russell said. “My focus is to keep improving with the goal of 11-7, the qualifying mark for nationals. I still need to work on
things but getting a win like this today is a step in the right direction. The big key is contributing to the team’s success.”
Sacred Heart Academy had an interesting event with three sisters competing in the 4x200 relay. Kayla Cameron, Aliya Cameron, Meaghan Cameron and
Bianca Kave led Sacred Heart Academy to a fourthplace finish in 1:51.72. Kave was also sixth in the 55 (7.76) and Aliya Cameron was second in the long jump (17-0.5) and third in the 55 hurdles (8.86).
“The girls really have great technique and work well together in the 4x400,”
Sacred Heart Academy coach Pat Redding said. “They’re gymnasts and that also contributes to their success. But hard work has been a big reason for their success and the team’s success.”
Sacred Heart Academy finished seventh with 21 points.
Others who had success include Olivia Johnson of St. Joseph who won the long jump (17-3.75), Kayla Clark of St. Joseph was second in the 55 hurdles (8.64), Kyra Connolly of Sheehan was second in the pole vault (9-0) and Johnae Jones of Career was second in the 300 (42.59).