Track and field
Avon relay team brings home a MM state title
By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Collinsville Press.com
AVON, June 3 – Winning a state championship in the 3,200 meter relay isn’t something new for the Avon High girls track and field team. The Falcons won the Class M title in the 4x800 relay three straight years from 1996-98.
Avon added another state championship in the 4x800 but this was a bit dramatic. Anchor runner Titi Vanriel grabbed the baton in third place and outran runners from E.O. Smith and Guilford to help Falcons win the relay race at the Class MM championships at Manchester High.
That win was the highlight of a seventh place finish by the Avon High girls in the meet – its best finish in a state meet since they finished eighth in 1996. Vanriel also took second in the 800 meters while teammate Alyssa Burton finished second in the high jump.
Vanriel, Burton and the relay team qualified to participate in the State Open by finishing among the top five in their respective events.
Vanriel caught E.O. Smith’s Rachel Smith also immediately after taking the handoff from teammate Emily Kelly. She made up ground and caught Guilford’s Kathleen Rooney with about 300 meters left in the race. Her coaches had her running her 800 meters in about 2:14. Her three teammates ran their 800 meters legs in the 2:28 to 2:30 range.
The relay finished with a third fastest time in school history of 9:42.11, about a second and a half ahead of Guilford. Claire Smith was the first Falcon runner in the race and she handed off to Jenna Donahue. “It was a pleasant surprise,” Avon coach Al Daddario said. “They did a great job.”
It wasn’t the first time that the 4x800 relay team came from behind to grab a win this year. The team came from behind at the Blue Devil Invitational at Platt High in May to win. The last Avon relay team to win a state title was a 4x800 squad in 1998 in Class M.
Vanriel came close to winning an individual title in the 800 meters with a school-record time of 2:19.15. Vanriel, who will attend Southern Connecticut State University next fall and participate in track, took the lead with about 400 meters to go but New Canaan’s Caroline Murray stuck right with Vanriel.
Vanriel held off several Murray attempts to take the lead but Murray slipped past her with about 100 meters left in the race. Vanriel surged in the last 50 meters but Murray was able to hang on for a 0.54 second victory.
In the high jump, Burton tied her career-high with a leap of five feet to finish second. Fermi’s Angelique Ross easily won the event with a leap of 5-feet, 4 inches. The rest of the field was close and it came down to who missed jumps at lower heights.
Burton, who has been bothered by shin splints much of the season, made her first four jumps and didn’t miss a jump until she attempted 5-foot-2. She had a 10-day break from the NCCC championship and the Class MM meet due to rain earlier in the week that delayed the meet another three days.
Because she didn’t have a miss at lower heights, Burton was able to finish ahead of two other jumpers that cleared 5-feet. Six other jumpers cleared 4-foot-10, including Avon’s Brianna Noonan, who finished seventh.
Avon’s 4x400 relay team finished sixth with a time of 4:12.30, less than a second out of fifth place, which would have been good enough for a berth at the State Open. Kelly, Donahue, Catherine Martin and Vanriel ran in the race.
The only other top 10 finish in the meet came from Claire Smith, who was ninth in the 3,200 meters and the 4x100 relay team (Stephanie Koo, Chloe Kryszpin, Martin, Kristina Shayler), which took ninth in 52.51, a time 0.34 seconds faster than its winning time at the NCCC championship meet.
On the boys side, Avon didn’t score a point for the first time since 2003. The top eight finishers in each event score points. Greg Rendeiro had a season-best leap of 41 feet to take ninth in the triple jump.
The Falcon 4x100 relay team had its best time of the season (45.74) and finished 12th. Ethan Buyse, Dave Doebler, Ross McDonald and Rob Carver made up the squad.
STATE OPEN: In New Britain, Titi Vanriel finished eighth in the 800 meters breaking her own school-record with a time of 2:19.09. ... The 4x800 meter relay was 12th with a time of 9:44.44.
Boys lacrosse
Falcons finally come out ahead in close game
AVON, June 5 – Close fought games were the norm for the Avon High boys lacrosse team in 2010. The Falcons were 1-6 in games decided by two goals or less, including one loss in overtime and another in double overtime.
But in a close contest in the Class M tournament, the Falcons came out ahead. Junior Kurtis Shelly scored with 40 seconds left in overtime to Avon to a 9-8 victory over Brookfield. The game was tied eight times before it went to overtime.
"We've played tight games all year," Avon head coach Scott Kossibiel told the Brookfield Patch. "We've won and lost games by one or two goals, we are used to situations like this."
New Canaan ended Avon’s season in the Class M quarterfinals with a 14-3 decision. The Falcons finished 10-8 overall and 5-3 in the NCCC, tied for second with Suffield. Granby won the league title with a 6-2 record. Suffield beat Avon in the semifinals of the league tournament, 11-9 before falling to Granby, 11-10 in the championship match.
Senior midfielder Connor Maniatty was named second team Class M All-State. Maniatty and senior midfielders Ryan Coyle and Nick Stanczyc each earned All-NCCC honors.
The Falcons lose 12 seniors but with 13 juniors and a junior varsity team that finished its regular season unbeaten, prospects are good for a solid season next spring.
Girls golf
Avon takes second in league, takes 9th in state
AVON, June 3 – In a long season, a single stroke can make a difference. In the final week of the season, the Avon High girls golf team dropped a 194-195 decision to Cheshire at Southington Country Club. That loss dropped Avon (17-7, 10-2 SCGGL) into a tie with Cheshire for first place in the Southern Connecticut Girls Golf League. Cheshire won the league title on criteria or a better scoring average.
Still, the Falcons had a strong finish to the season. Avon finished third in the 18-hole SCGGL tournament with a 381, led by senior Jackie Serruta with an 83 and Alexa Gentile with an 89. For the fifth straight year, the Falcons were one of 15 teams in the state to qualify for the CIAC tournament. Avon was seeded 13th but finished ninth with a team score of 409, led by Serruta and Gentile who each shot 94.
Serruta earned All-SCGGL honors and was medalist five times this season. Gentile, just a sophomore, earned second team All-SCGGL honors. Senior Lauren Starr earned honorable mention recognition.
Boys golf
Falcons second in Division II
AVON, June 10 – They began the year as a young team with only two returning players. The Falcons ended up the season with the runnerup trophy in the CIAC Division II tournament. New Canaan won the championship at Fairfview Farms in Harwinton with a 298 while the Falcons had an impressive 312 for its best finish since winning a Division II title in 1985. For New Canaan, it was their fifth straight championship and seventh in the last nine years.
June Shin led the way for Avon (12-3-1, 8-2-1 NCCC) with a 75 while teammate Jack O’Brien, Dom Nistal and Cameron Ricco each had 79. The Falcons finished tied for third in the league with Canton. Justin Fishler, O’Brien, Riccio, Shin and Nastal each were medalists at least once during the regular season for AHS coach Josh Glick.
Girls lacrosse
Falcons earn 10 wins, Gower scores 70 goals
AVON, June 5 – The Avon High girls lacrosse team won seven of its final 10 regular season games and finished second in the NCCC this season, one game behind league champion Granby, ending a four-year reign atop the league. The Falcons (10-7-1, 7-3 NCCC) beat Conard in the first round of the CIAC Division I tournament, 14-12 but were eliminated from the tournament by Hand-Madison, the four-time Southern Connecticut Conference champions, in a 17-5 decision.
Hand took a commanding 10-1 lead to seize control of the game. Emily Jablonski had six goals and three assists for Hand while seven other players scored goals. Maddie Wilson had four goals. "Avon has a couple of good players and is a pretty good team, but we just outmatched them," Hand coach Kevin Siedlecki told Shore Publishing. "They didn't have an answer for Jablonski. It was one of those games when it felt closer than the score indicates. Avon definitely had potential to cause some damage, as they showed in the last 10 minutes, outscoring us 4-2. We just did not let them get comfortable on offense."
Senior midfielder J.J. Gower earned All-State and All-NCCC honors for the second straight year. Gower, who scored 56 goals and had 38 assists as a junior, had a bigger impact on the scorebook this year with 70 goals and 23 assists. It helped her earn a spot on U.S. Lacrosse’s Academic All-American team.
Danielle Neagle had 53 goals and nine assists for the Falcons while Lauren Ostafin had 10 goals and 12 assists from her defensive midfield position. Gower, goalie Molly Burnett, Ostafin and Neagle each earned All-NCCC honors. Lauren Porter was named an All-State scholar athlete.
The win in the tournament over Conard erased a 18-11 loss to the Chieftains in April.
NCCC track and field championships
Every point counts as Avon grabs share of title
ENFIELD, May 25 -- Avon won two of three relays and had three athletes win individual championships to finish second and grab a share of its first league championship since the mid-1980s when they won the Northwest Conference. Suffield won the NCCC Tournament meet with 133 points with Avon second with 120½ points. Claire Smith (3,200), Brianna Noonan (high jump) and Titi Vanriel (400) won NCCC titles. Chloe Kryzpin was second in the 300 hurdles while Vanriel was second in the 200 and long jump. Avon and Suffield shared the league title.
Track and field
Falcons have a shot
to win a league title
By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Collinsville Press.com
AVON, May 3 -- The Avon High track and field team has the opportunity this spring to achieve something they haven’t been able to accomplish in decades – win a league championship.
The boys and girls teams haven’t won a league title since they entered the North Central Connecticut Conference 25 years ago in 1985. It’s been nearly 40 years since the boys won a league championship. That was in 1971 when the Falcons won the Northwest Conference.
The boys and girls teams are undefeated at 5-0 overall and in the NCCC. The girls haven’t really been tested yet this year. About 10 days ago, they swept a pair from Canton 117-28 and Suffield, 85-65. The boys were pressed a little harder but they still came up with a pair of victories with an 86-63 win over Suffield and a close 78-70 victory over Canton.
Both Avon teams had fine performances Saturday at the Blue Devil Invitational at Platt High in Meriden. Three girls and one relay team won events and the Falcons finished second behind East Hampton. On the boys side, there were nine individuals and one relay team that finished in the top six in their respective events.
The track and field teams at Avon have been getting stronger over the past few years. In the past three years, the girls have won 30 dual meets and finished in the top five in the NCCC. The boys have won 31 dual meets and have been getting stronger in the league.
The departure of Tolland to the Central Connecticut Conference opened up everything this year. On the girls side, Tolland had won the last five NCCC titles, winning last year’s title by 131 points. Avon was a distant third. Among the boys, Tolland had won the last NCCC titles and had finished in the top two in seven of the last eight seasons.
Avon coach Al Daddario said this could be the year for his girls squad. “With the senior leadership we have, this could be the year,” he said. “It’s up to them. It’s inside of them. They have the talent. If they want it, they have a shot to do it.”
The Falcons have three returning NCCC champions in senior Titi Vanriel (400 meters), junior Brianna Noonan (high jump) and two-time league champion senior Claire Smith (3,200), who won a state title in this event as a sophomore.
They also have depth that will help in their quest for a league title. Senior Chloe Kryspin and junior Kristina Shayler are top runners in the 100 with junior Catherine Martin in the 200 and sophomore Emily Kelly in the 800. Vanriel runs the 200, 400 and long jump. Smith runs in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.
In the field events, Avon has three top-notch high jumpers – Noonan, Alyssa Burton and Sarah deSimas with Heather Bowman and Kayleigh McGrath in the pole vault and Kelly O’Donnell in the discus.
Teams earn two points for every dual meet win in the NCCC and one point for each team they beat the league championship meet, placing a heavy emphasis on dual meets. Avon faces another challenge with Ellington on Wednesday and still has meets left with Granby (May 11). The league championship meet is Tuesday, May 25 at Enfield High.
Last week against Canton and Suffield, Vanriel won three events (200, 400 and long jump) and the Falcons captured the 4x1 and 4x8 relays.
At the Blue Devil Invitational, Kelly held off Montville’s Rachel Skinner for the second year in a row, winning with a sprint in the final 30 meters to win the 800 meters. Martin also won the 200 meters for the second year in row. Burton’s leap of five feet, 12 inches shy of the school record, won the high jump.
Avon also rallied to win the 4x800 relay for the second straight year. Leadoff runner Kalli Veldman was in fifth place about 50 meters back of the leaders when Smith took the handoff. After 600 meters, she moved into second place and handed off to Vanriel, who was still about 30 meters behind. But she caught the leader after about 600 meters and handed off to Kelly, who was able to give Avon a big win.
Vanriel was second in the 400 and Smith was second in the 3,200 meters. Danielle Evans had a personal best to take third in the 1,600 while Bowman took third in the pole vault.
The key for the Avon boys to capturing the league title is winning its dual meets. Granby (May 11) and Ellington loom as big challenge. Granby already handed Canton a loss with an 89-62 decision in April.
Dave Doebler and Ross McDonald are the top sprinters with Tim Buell, Jeff Wang, Jamieson Meserella and Bobbie Davies in the distance events. Rob Carver (javelin), Hunter Cowan (long jump), Issac Davis (shot), McDonald (shot) and Colin Smith (pole vault) are the top field athletes.
Buell took second in the 1,600 at the Blue Devil Invitational with Ethan Buyse third in the 100 meters and Doebler taking fifth. Carver took third in the javelin and the Falcons 4x800 relay team (Davies, Wang, Buell, Meserella) and 4x100 relay team each finished fourth (Zac Cesaro, Buyse, Carver, Doebler).
In the eight-point win over Canton, the Falcons swept the 4x100 and 4x800 relays and received two wins each from Doebler (100, 400) and McDonald (200, shot). The key was pole vaulting where Avon swept the top three spots since Canton doesn’t have any pole vaulters, since they don’t have a track facility.
