Collinsville Press

Track & field

Smith helps Avon to 3rd place at NCCC

Collinsville Press

AVON, May 26 – Junior Claire Smith broke open a tight race with a surge in the final two laps of the 3,200 meters at the NCCC championship meet to lead the Avon High girls track team to its best-ever finish.

Smith won the 3,200 for the second time in three years and set a new meet record with her winning time of 11:26.07, breaking the old record set in 2003 by over nine seconds.

Smith was one of three individual champions for Avon, which had six individuals in the top five and finished third overall, just two points behind second-place Suffield (96 points). Tolland ran away with the meet with a league-record 227½ points, winning the meet for the fifth straight year.

Titi VanRiel, who set a new school record in the 400 meters earlier this month, won the 400 meters in 60.34 seconds with teammate Catherine Martin taking fifth in 1:04.41. Brianna Noonan beat teammate Alyssa Burton in the high jump. Both jumped five feet but Noonan won because Burton had more misses at lower heights.

It was the first time since 2003 that Avon had three individual league champions.

Depth helped the Falcons (12-2, 11-2 NCCC) rise to the top of the league.

Sarah Kelly finished second in the 800 with a time of 2:26.87. Smith, who was seeded seventh in the 1,600 meters, sprinted the last 50 meters, to finish second. VanRiel took second in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet, 10 inches.

Kristina Shayler finished third in the 100 meters (13.76 seconds) while teammates Chloe Kryspin (sixth) and Sara Fink (eighth) each scored points. Kathleen Skcerniarz (fifth) scored in the javelin while Heather Bowman and Kara Peters were sixth and seventh in the pole vault.

Avon’s 1,600-meter relay team (VanRiel, Emily Kelly, Lindsay McNarmara, Martin) took fourth place in 4:23.31.

The Falcons will compete at the Class MM championships on Monday.

The Avon boys (10-4, 9-4 NCCC) finished sixth. Brandon Burciaga was second in the javelin and third in the shot (42-4). He lost the javelin on the final throw of the event by Tolland’s Parker Ashton-Young with a 159-4, beating Burciaga’s throw of 155 feet.

Avon’s John Drago set a new school record in the 3,200 meters with a time of 9:58.48 but he fell to Tolland’s Ryan King, who won by nearly six seconds.

Greg Rendeiro was third in the triple jump with a leap of 37 feet and sixth in the long jump (17-8). Dave Doebler was third in the 400 meters (53.16), just a 0.04 second out of second place. He also was eighth in the 200 meters.

Eric Stevens finished fifth in the high jump (5-8), Drago took seventh in the 800 meters and Rob Carver was sixth in the javelin.

Complete NCCC championship results

Avon sports, May 17-30

Four Falcon teams

bring home NCCC titles

AVON, May 30 – Three Avon High teams have earned league championships and a fourth needs only a win on Monday to join the banner-waving group. The Falcon baseball team won a share of its third straight title while the girls lacrosse team won its fourth straight NCCC championship. The girls tennis team went 20-0 to win the NCCC title for the second straight year and the boys golf team won a championship.

BOYS GOLF: A balanced effort helped the Falcons have Avon capture the NCCC championship. Avon (20-2-1, 10-1-1 NCCC) beat Bolton in its final NCCC bout.

Senior tri-captains Nick Martinez, Keegan Johnson and Alec Freling are the top three golfers with juniors Jack O’Brien and June Shin rounding out the top five. Johnson was medalist five times this spring. Freling, O’Brien and Martinez each earned medalist honors with O’Brien earning top honors four times. Martinez has done it twice.

In a big three-stroke win over Canton two weeks ago, Martinez led Avon with a 38 while O’Brien had a 39. Freiling had a 40 with Shin scoring a 43. After losing to Farmington by 12 strokes on May 13 at Blue Fox, the Falcons rallied to earn a win over the Indians six days later at Farmington Country Club. Avon had a 158 to Farmington’s 166 led by Martinez with a 37, O’Brien and Johnson with a 40 and Freling with a 41.

BASEBALL: Two spectacular pitching performances denied Avon (16-3, 11-2 NCCC) sole possession of the NCCC championship this spring. Avon shared the title with Ellington (16-3, 11-2). Still, it was Avon’s third straight NCCC title. The Falcons won it outright a year ago and shared it in 2007.

Stafford’s Matt Purnell limited Avon to just three hits in a 4-1 victory last week, striking out 10 and walking two. He also had two hits, scored two runs, had an RBI and stole a base. Ellington’s Brian Francolini struck out four and scattered four hits in a 3-2 Purple Knight victory on May 11 to hand Avon its first loss after 12 straight wins to open the season. Avon had four errors in the game.

GIRLS LACROSSE: Avon won its fourth straight NCCC championship with a perfect 8-0 record after beating Granby, 13-12. J.J. Gower had eight goals and two assists as the Falcons (13-1, 8-0 NCCC) won their 13th straight game.

The 13 wins in 14 games is the best season in team history. The 2006 team went 13-3 in the regular season finished at 15-4 after losing in the Division I quarterfinals.

BOYS LACROSSE: Junior Terence Olsen had five assists to increase his team-leading total to 32 and a goal to lead Avon (11-4, 7-3 NCCC) to a 13-10 victory over Newington in the regular season finale for the Falcons, who won two of its final four matches.

Avon dropped a 9-8 decision to Granby a day earlier when Christian O’Neil scored for the Bears (15-1) with 13 seconds left in regulation. Junior Connor Manniatty has a team-high 32 goals on the year.

TENNIS: The Avon girls tennis went undefeated (20-0) to win the NCCC championship and earn the top seed in the Class M tournament. The girls have won 40 straight regular season matches. The Avon boys tennis team was 10-4 with one doubleheader left to complete against lowly Ellington.

GIRLS GOLF: Avon (12-7-1, 5-3 SCGGL) tied mighty Simsbury with a 196 at Timberlin Golf Course in Berlin last week but this week, the Trojans flexed their muscles with an 18-stroke victory at Blue Fox, 160-178. Jackie Seruta has earned medalist honors three times for the Falcons while Demi Perry has been medalist four times.

CREW: In just its second season, the Avon High crew team finished ninth in the Connecticut Public School Rowing Association championships at Lake Waramaug in Washington, Conn., earlier this month.

Avon’s No. 3 girls eight boat was in second place until they slowed when an oar became stuck in the water and finished in fifth place in 6:30.3. The No. 2 girls eight finished fourth in 5:59.

The No. 2 boys eight was fourth in 5:13.7 while the No. 3 boys eight was sixth in 5:35.2. Avon didn’t enter boats in the first girls or first boys races.

SOFTBALL: The return of varsity softball at Avon (3-17, 3-10 NCCC) after an absence of one year was a success with three victories and many competitive ballgames. Steve Swanson’s Falcons dropped four 1-run ballgames and a two-run decision to Northwest Catholic.

Avon began the season with a 17-run loss in five innings to Suffield. In the final weeks of the season, Suffield, which shared the NCCC championship with Ellington, used a Stephanie Gulminiak double in the bottom of the seventh inning to earn a 5-4 victory over the Falcons.

Avon roundup, Week 6, May 11-15

Avon track improves to 9-2

AVON, May 18 -- Junior TiTi Vanriel won three individual events and ran on the winning 1,600 meter relay to lead the Avon girls track and field team to wins over Canton, East Granby and Granby in a four-team meet on a rainy Thursday afternoon last week. The Falcons improved to 9-2 on the season and 8-2 in the NCCC.

Vanriel swept the 200, 400 and long jump. The Falcons also received two wins each from Chloe Kryspin in the 100 and 110 hurdles and Claire Smith in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. Emily Kelly (800) and Brianna Noonan (long jump) also earned individual victories.

The Avon boys also improved to 9-2 with victories over Granby, Canton and East Granby. Brandon Burciaga won the javelin and shot while Eric Stevens ran to a two-second win in the 800 and a two-inch victory in the high jump to lead the Falcons (9-2, 8-2 NCCC). John Drago finished second in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.

“They’ve done well,” Avon coach Al Daddario said. “Morale has been good and the kids have stepped up.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Falcons, who had a challenging meet against Suffield and Ellington earlier this week. Avon will compete in the NCCC championship meet on Tuesday at Ellington High. Tolland, in its final NCCC championship meet, has won four straight NCCC meets on the girls side and two in a row on the boys side.

BASEBALL: Ellington P Brian Fancolini struck out four and scattered four hits to lead the Purple Knights to a thrilling 3-2 win to hand Avon its first loss of the season at Buckingham Field after 12 straight wins to open the season. Mitch Plourd had an RBI single for Ellington (10-3) while Matt Schiffino made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly. The Falcons had just five hits and committed four errors.

Avon (13-1, 9-1 NCCC) rebounded with a 9-6 win over Tolland and a 6-3 win over Enfield. John Cerrato hit a home run for the Falcons against Enfield.

SOFTBALL: Avon had just three hits in a 13-0 loss to Ellington. The Falcons (4-10) dropped a doubleheader on Friday to Enfield, losing 10-1 in five innings in game one and 9-1 in five innings in game two.

LACROSSE: The Avon High boys lacrosse team improved to 5-1 in the league with a 9-7 win over Tolland last week. Avon improved to 8-2 overall with a 13-6 non-league victory over Windsor. … J.J. Gower and Lindsay Horbatuck each had three goals as Avon won its eighth straight game with a 15-4 non-league victory over Guilford. The Falcons improved to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in the league.

TENNIS: The Avon High boys tennis team improved to 8-3 with an easy 7-0 win over the Windsor Locks/East Granby co-op and a 6-1 victory over Suffield. The Avon girls improved to 13-0 with a 7-0 win over Windsor Locks.

GOLF: The Avon boys went 4-1 last week by sweeping Fermi and Enfield at Cedar Knob in Somers and winning three of four bouts in a match at Blue Fox Run. Jack O’Brien was the medalist in a seven-stroke win over Fermi, 152-159 and a win over Enfield, 152-178. At Blue Fox, Avon lost to Farmington, 156-168 but was able to beat Ellington, 168-182 and Bristol Eastern, 168-204. … A 12-stroke win over Suffield lifted the Avon High girls golf team to a record of 5-5.

Avon roundup, Week 5, May 4-9

Avon '9' wins 11th straight

AVON, May 4 – The Avon High baseball team continues to roll on. The Falcons improved to 11-0 with a 10-2 win over Coventry in six innings on Tuesday. T.J. Stolzenberg was 4-for-4 with three triples and four RBI. Avon takes on Ellington, Tolland and Enfield this week with two of three games at home (Ellington on Monday and Enfield on Friday).

TRACK & FIELD: John Drago won three individual events and was part of the winning 4x800 relay team on a rainy Thursday afternoon but the Falcons boys track and field team suffered their first loss of the season, losing by 11 to Coventry, 76-65. The meet was delayed twice by lightning and was held despite steady rain that sometimes was very heavy.

Avon (5-1, 4-1 NCCC) did beat Stafford and Bolton. Drago won the 1,600 meters, the 800 meters and 3,200 meter race. He was part of Avon’s winning 4x800 relay team. Eric Stevens qualified for the Class M championships in the high jump

On the girls side, the Falcons (5-1, 4-1) beat Stafford and Bolton but also lost to Coventry, 80-69. TiTi VanRiel qualified for the Class M championship meet in June in her fifth individual event with a strong performance in the long jump.

SOFTBALL: Earlier in the season, the young Falcons were spanked by Northwest Catholic by a 15-1 score. Last week, the Falcons played the NWC tough in a 3-1 loss in West Hartford. Avon (4-8) limited Northwest to just three runs on five hits.

BOYS LACROSSE: A key NCCC contest with Granby was rained out on Friday and rescheduled for May 27. It could be the match that decides the league championship. The Bears beat the Falcons earlier this year, 10-3 but Avon (6-2, 4-1 NCCC) has won its last four NCCC matches.

GIRLS LACROSSE: J.J. Gower had three goals while Lindsay Horbatuck added three assists to lead Avon (7-1, 4-0 NCCC) to its fourth straight victory in a 11-4 decision over Suffield last week.

TENNIS: The Avon boys (5-3, 5-1 NCCC) split a pair of matches last week, shutting out Enfield, 7-0 and dropping a 7-0 decision to Glastonbury. The Avon girls tennis team (12-0, 12-0 NCCC) remained undefeated with a 6-1 win over Tolland and a 7-0 shutout over East Granby.

GOLF: Keegan Johnson and Jack O’Brien earned medalist honors in separate meets last week as Avon (6-1) beat Suffield and Windsor Locks in meets. Johnson had a 35 at the Ranch in Southwick, Mass., in Avon’s close one stroke win, 152-153, over Suffield. Later in the week, the Falcons beat Windsor Locks, 159-194 as O’Brien led all golfers with a 38 at Blue Fox Run.

The Avon girls (4-5) split a pair of matches last week. Demi Perry had a 45 at Blue Fox Run to lead all golfers in Avon’s 203-244 win over Hall. But a day later, Mercy outlasted the Falcons, 221-229 at Lyman Orchards in Middlefield.

FOOTBALL: Two-time All-State football player Michael D’Onofrio will be honored as a scholar athlete by the Northern Connecticut chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. D’Onofrio is the 12th Avon player to win the Scholar Athlete award from the chapter and first since 2004.

D’Onofrio, who rewrote the AHS record book, rushed for a career-high 1,201 yards and 20 touchdowns last fall. He set new school records by scoring 24 TDs and scoring 144 points in a single season. He also caught 20 passes for 278 yards and 4 TDs.

Avon’s Bill Brown is also being honored with an award from the chapter for his dedication and work to the advancement of youth football in town.