By Senior Correspondent Marty Ogden, Editing and Graphics by Ron Knapp
MySportsResults Finishline Photos
Domination is a word that can describe both Bloomfield girls and Lyman Hall boys performances at the CIAC State Open Championship that took place at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven on Saturday. Both teams came in as heavy favorites and still managed to exceed expectations. The Trojans from Wallingford defeated Xavier 51 -37 while East Lyme and Hamden tied for 3rd with 24 points. Bloomfield won their 4th team title since 2017 by acquiring 95 points to Glastonbury’s 47 and Naugatuck’s 26 points. Meanwhile Chase Gilbert and Ridgefield boys 4x800m relay team eclipsed meet records to highlight an action packed day.
The roots of Lyman Hall’s victory began in 1993, the last year they won the Open. Coach Dave Palmer has worked alongside that team’s coach Chip McKean and “spent the past 10 years with him soaking up all the knowledge.”
Lyman Hall won their third Class M title in four years and was able to qualify all of their vital point scorers. “This was our meet to lose because a lot of teams didn’t make it through the Class meets,” Palmer explained. “We had a clean class meet which is what contributed to where we are right now.”
The coach credited Ethan Rich with building the momentum the team needed. “When he cleared 6-8 to win the high jump. That was a catalyst for the team. Once one kid does well we all look around and say we have to do this together.”
When Rich cleared 6-8, he improved upon his lifetime best and cracked the top 20 on the AthleticNet national list. Lyman Hall also received a lift when his brother Aaron took the bronze medal at 6-4, a new personal record. Owen Rich was seeded 5th and got 2nd in the 300m with a time of 35.22. His younger brother Aaron also surprised many by finishing in 5th place.
Owen Rich also came up big in the 55m hurdles, the most competitive event of the day. Five of the top 12 fastest hurdlers in CT history toed the start line in the finals. East Hartford’s Davian Johnson became the 3rd fastest hurdler all time with his time of 7.36. Rich pushed him to a photo finish and was only .01 behind to run the 4th fastest time in CT history. Delante Senior of Bloomfield (7.46) moved into the 12th spot on the CT all time list and Jeremiah Smith of Killingly also set a PR of 7.56.
Photo courtesy of Craig Rosenberg
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