By Senior Correspondent Marty Ogden, Editing and Graphics by Ron Knapp
As we near the conclusion of our 25th year of CT Indoor T&F coverage that includes news, photos, results and records of our state athletes and teams, MySportsResults kicks off the 2024-2025 Indoor Track & Field season with our previews.
An enjoyable and diverting task each preseason for MySportsResults is taking out the crystal ball to predict which individuals will make a difference for their teams as they work towards qualifying for the Class and Open Championships in February.
In our first preview, MySportsResults will do our best to highlight some of the top returnees from last year in the sprint and hurdle events. The girls return four of the eleven individual champions from 2024 so we will obviously see some new names at the top of the podium.
One of the four defending State Open champions is Manchester’s Samiya Eady who is now a junior. She had already won the Yale Invitation, CCCs and Class LL, but saved her best race for the State Open final which she won over a highly competitive field in a time of 7.15. In the long sprints, she also won the CCCs and Class LL in the 300m with a best time of 40.62 at her conference meet. She still has two more years to build on this impressive resume.
The NVL was hot last year in the sprints. Lauren Kropo of Naugatuck was 2nd in the Open in the 55m with a PR of 7.18 and won the 300m. She also won the SCC Coaches Invitation in the shorter race along with the Class L title. While she was short of her freshman PR of 39.85, she shows tremendous potential in both events.
While Kropo was State Open runner up, she didn’t win her conference meet. That honor went to Kennedy’s Erica Austin who was 2nd at Class LL and 4th at the Open. At New Englands she really popped one off and not only had the highest performance among CT athletes, she ran 7.14, the state’s fastest time. She also jumped over 18-feet in the long jump once and if she can develop some consistency could become a double threat.
Juliet Allard of Woodstock was 3rd in the State Open 300m which made her the 2nd best returner. She also won ECCs in the event and was a member of the Class M champion 4x400m relay team. She saved her best race for last when she broke 41 seconds to finish 12th at the New England championship and her relay team had their best time of the year to take 10th at the regional meet.
Last winter on the lightning fast track at The Nike Track & Field Center…
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