By Senior Correspondent Marty Ogden, Editing and Graphics by Ron Knapp
We only have one more weekend of qualifying meets left before we start the championship part of the season. This is an outstanding time to look at who the top freshmen in the state have been this season. There is a steep learning curve as a freshman. Even if someone competed in middle school, it was probably only a couple of days a week plus a meet. Now they are practicing every day plus a meet against kids that seem so much older. They just left middle school and now they are hanging out with kids who have jobs and can drive. What a big adjustment. But here are just a few athletes who have made the adjustment quite well and just might be some of our league, class or State Open champions in the very near future.
Avon’s Ziyaumdora Hudson started off her season strong with a 17-8.25 long jump at the Hillhouse Developmental Meet on December 14th. While technically, that meet is a scrimmage and doesn’t count for CIAC qualifying, it does count to qualifying for New Balance National in the freshman section. She is also the 5th best freshman long jumper in the nation. Her best official long jump is 16-0 which puts her 10th in Class M, but if she is able to put together the magic again at the end of the season, she could be a potential State Open scorer.
Being a former gymnast and the daughter of a state championship track and cross country coach, gives Kaylin Diglio quite an advantage over other freshmen. She had already cleared 11 feet in the pole vault before she even entered high school but now, competing for Guilford, she has improved her technique and gone over 12-3. This not only makes her 2nd in CT behind senior Jordan Carr, she is also the 2nd best freshman in the nation. She is also her team’s best hurdler and qualified for the Class L championship with her time of 9.91.
When two schools merge to form a new school, that means the top athlete on the team automatically sets the school record. Wamogo and Litchfield High joined together to form Lakeview High and the new school is already making some noise in the high jump. Greyson Thomas set a 4 inch PR and cleared 5-0 to take 4th at the Yale Invitational. That ties her with five other girls for the lead in Class S and also makes her tied for 7th in the entire state. Setting a small PR or clearing 5 feet on her first attempt could give her plenty of championship season accolades.
Madeline Garguilo is becoming known as a…
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