By Senior Correspondent Marty Ogden, Editing and Graphics by Ron Knapp
Last year there were five solid boys teams who all thought they had a shot at winning the State Open title at the beginning of the season and four of the five have returned a significant chunk of their team from last year. How good was CT in 2023? Teams from the Nutmeg state claimed four of the top six spots at the New England Championship meet and all six were in the top ten. This year should be more of the same to make this one of the most exciting team battles in several years. A great deal can happen between now and then but MySportsResults.com has done our best to preview the top teams in the state based upon last year’s results and some insight. We have also added the divisions where they will compete.
Ridgefield Tigers (LL)
Nobody saw Ridgefield coming last year. They were a senior laden team that won the State Open two years ago and only returned two members of that outstanding squad. But a class of talented freshmen became sophomores and they were led by top returnee Steven Hergenrother last year and surprised everyone with a State Open runner-up finish and third place at New Englands. The Tigers return five of their top seven which includes Hergenrother, the defending State Open champion who popped off a 4:01 1600m split in the winning DMR at NBNO. Ridgefield has plenty of depth to support their front runner. In one dual meet they had eight returnees finish under 4:40 for the 1600m and four under 4:30. Rising juniors Charles Lovett, Magnus Manley and Sullivan Dunn have all run between 9:26- 9:31 for 3200m and their classmate Trevor Fuller has dipped under 9:50 for the distance. If they develop like they did last year, Ridgefield will be tough to beat and might have national aspirations.
Danbury Hatters (LL)
The Danbury- Ridgefield rivalry goes back to the mid 90s when current Ridgefield coach Brian Kolvalsky was in high school and current Danbury coach Rob Murray lived in Ridgefield and trained with the team in the summer. The two teams have battled for FCIACs and state titles several times over the past three decades and this year looks to be another battle of the FCIAC giants. Danbury was FCIAC champions and Class LL runners up behind Hall before Ridgefield nipped them at the State Open and New Englands. The Hatters did it with a tight pack that was right around 30-seconds between their top five runners. They return six of their top eight who all have big meet…
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