DANBURY – Incredible, simply incredible.
Championship track and field meets cannot end in any more incredible and dramatic fashion.
It is most incredible and perhaps unbelievable that a team can win a conference championship by 1/100th of a second.
But such was the case, in essence, when the host Hatters of Danbury won the boys’ team title at the 2014 FCIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Wednesday, May 28.
The Hatters won by just one point over runner-up Ridgefield when they nipped Ridgefield by just 1/100th of a second and won by a photo finish in the meet’s final event – the 4×400 relay.
Danbury won a conference record 15th team championship while Darien captured a record 10th girls’ championship in the meet that was extended through to two days after thunder and lightning halted action toward the end of the meet on May 22.
The Staples boys’ and girls’ teams were both defending team champions.
Nick Lombardo of Darien pulled off the rare feat of winning three individual events as he swept all three jumping events in the boys’ meet for the second consecutive year.
Lombardo’s teammate, Alex Ostberg, won the two longest distances races as Lombardo and Ostberg were two of the seven athletes who won at least two individual events.
Brien McMahon’s Shnyden Pierre won two events in the boys’ meet.
Anna Sulger sped to two victories to lead Darien to its championship, Sarah Boyd of Brien McMahon racked up 28 individual points with two victories and a runner-up finish, Westhill senior Claire Howlett swept the two longest distance races and Greenwich junior Sarah Cicchetti won two field events in the girls’ meet.
It was the final event that copped Danbury the boys’ championship that made this a most memorable finish.
The situation was this: Ridgefield had rallied hard late in the meet to take a one-point lead going into that final event – the 4×400 relay. The scoring format calls for 10 team points to be given to the winner of each event and eight points for a second-place finish.
Danbury’s 4×400 relay team of Tyrice O’Connor, Jonathan Bartley, Jeremy Price and Chazz Winter teamed up to win with a time of 3:25.21 and the Ridgefield quartet was clocked in 3:25.22. Consequently, Danbury picked up two more points than Ridgefield in the event and that enabled the Hatters to finish with 141 team points, one more than Ridgefield’s 140.
Ridgefield’s Johnathan Keating, who had previously placed second in the 200-meter dash (23.49) and 400 (49.69), ran a strong anchor leg in the 4×400 to just about catch up to Winter. But Winter toughed it out to maintain the lead by the slightest of margins as both runners dove through the finish line. Meet officials viewed a photo of the finish to confirm that Winter had indeed held on for the relay victory that gave Danbury the team victory.
The Hatters did it with balance and depth as they had just one individual champion in Devonte Clarke, who scored 18 individual points by winning the 200 in 22.94 and finishing second in the 100 (11.21).
Danbury also received individual runner-up finishes from O’Connor (300 intermediate hurdles with a 40.37), C.J. White (high jump, 6 feet, 2 inches), Akin Moffett (110-meter high hurdles, 15.03) and Leland Roberts (pole vault, 13-6).
Ridgefield utilized many high finishes in individual events.
Lucas Goff won the discus with a throw of 137 feet, six inches and placed second in the javelin (152-4) to teammate Chris Rossini (167-1) to lead Ridgefield. Also for the Tigers, James Barile placed second in the long jump (20-8) and third in the triple jump, Will Bordash placed second in the 1,600 (4:19.15) and third in the 3,200 (9:30.53) and Austin Gilbert was runner-up in the 3,200.
Lombardo scored 30 individual points with his three victories in the high jump (6-4), long jump (21-9.25) and triple jump (44-0) to lead Darien to third place in team scoring with 89 points. He was the defending champion in all three events.
Ostberg won the 1,600 in 4:14.66 and then won the 3,200 with a meet record time of 9:04.64. Ostberg also ran a strong 1:57.46 anchor leg on the victorious 4×800 relay team that included Armstrong Noonan, Brian Davey and Arthur Cassidy. Also for Darien, Spencer McKeough won the shot put (52-9).
Pierre set a new meet record time of 47.78 when he defended his 400 title after he had already won the 100 dash in 10.96. Pierre won both races in convincing fashion while leading McMahon to fourth place with 62 team points. Also for McMahon’s Senators, Tavon Kinder, Yvens Borno, Justin Frederick and Niko Petridis teamed up to win the 4×100 relay in 43.54.
Franklin Bartley won the 110-meter high hurdles (14.97), Evan Adams was runner-up in both the discus (135-4) and shot put (51-3), while Lester Harris placed second in the triple jump (43-4.75) to lead Norwalk to fifth place with 56 points.
Robert Jacowleff won the 300 intermediate hurdles (39.35) and placed third in the 110 high hurdles while James Lewis was runner-up in the 800 (1:54.89) to lead Staples to sixth place with 54 points
Wilton’s Spencer Brown beat Lewis by a half of a second to win the 800 (1:54.39). Wilton placed seventh in team scoring with 30 points.
Westhill’s Chris Rough won the pole vault with a vault of 14 feet, 6 inches.
Darien’s girls scored 118 points to finish 15 points ahead of runner-up Staples (103). Those two teams were well ahead of the rest of the field. Greenwich placed third with 58 points. Ridgefield (48) placed fourth while Fairfield Ludlowe and Danbury tied for fifth with 45 points apiece.
Sulger won the 200 dash (25.23) and 400 (25.23). Catherine Lacy won the long jump (17-9.25) and combined with Sulger to give Darien a 1-2 finish in the 200 with her runner-up time of 25.86, and the two of them teamed up with Maddie Schneider and Brittany Henry for a convincing win in the 4×100 relay (48.95). Schneider also won the pole vault (12-0).
Boyd swept the 100 hurdles (15.18) and 300 hurdles (46.64) and came close to being a triple individual champion as she was runner-up in the long jump with a 17-6 that was just 3.25 inches less than Lacy’s winning jump.
Howlett began the homestretch of her outstanding career in spectacular fashion as she set a new meet record of 4:48.19 while winning the 1,600 and she then won the 3,200 in 10:32.76. Howlett and Staples sophomore Hannah DeBalsi went 1-2 in both events, the reverse order of last year when DeBalsi set meet records and Howlett was runner-up in both events. DeBalsi had a time of 4:49.27 in 1,600 and a 10:39.19 in the 3,200 this year. Howlett and DeBalsi both ran faster than DeBalsi’s previous record time of 4:56.59 in the 1,600. DeBalsi’s 3,200 time of 10:25.18 last year is still the meet record.
DeBalsi, Bridget Van Dorsten and Olivia Wiener each scored 16 individual points to lead Staples to second place. Van Dorsten won the high jump (5-4) and placed third in the triple jump. Wiener was runner-up in both the 300 hurdles (47.58) and javelin (121-8) and she was on the winning 4×400 relay team (4:00.5) with Erica Hefnawy, Katherine Lieder and Tyler Scanlin. The Lady Wreckers also received individual runner-up finishes from Hefnawy in the 800 (2:16.72) and Elizabeth Knoll in the high jump (5-4).
Westhill also got a victory from Stephanie Roones in the javelin (128-8) and a second place from Danielle Leland in the discus (101-5).
Cicchetti won the shot put (35-3.5) and discus (109-0).
Kanajzae Brown of Bridgeport Central won the 100 dash (12.37) and placed third in the 200 (25.9).
The other two individual winners in the girls’ meet were Stamford’s Thessiana Mesilus (triple jump, 34-9) and Wilton’s Annika Sheehan (800, 2:14.5).
Ridgefield’s foursome of Hannah Fleming, Katherine Jasminski, Hannah Mercorella and Laura Hergenrother won the 4×800 relay (9:32.8). Rachel Moroknek placed second in trhe pole vault (11-0) for the Tigers.
The other girls who placed second in their respective individual events included Jada Harris (100 hurdles, 15.46) and Andrea Galeano (shot put, 31-6) of St. Joseph, Fairfield Ludlowe’s Emma Koether (400, 58.21) and Danbury’s Niema Riley (100, 12.47), and
NOTES: Danbury has won the boys’ championship 11 times in the last 14 years en route to extending its record to 15 championships after having won for the first time in 1993. Staples has the second most boys’ championships, eight. Stamford, which won the first conference championship meet in 1961, and the former Rippowam High School in Stamford each have six championships. The Rippowam Warriors won all six of their titles from 1963-72. The Darien girls have finished among the top two in this meet in each of the last eight years and this was Darien’s third title in that stretch since 2007 while extending its record to 10 FCIAC championships. Danbury, which finished ahead of runner-up Darien three straight years from 2009-11, is second with seven conference crowns. New Canaan has five championships. Staples, which won the first girls’ FCIAC championship meet in 1975, Stamford and Ridgefield each have four.