CT Relay Teams Reach All-American Status

Photo By John Nepolitan, Courtesy Dyestat.com

As the Nike Outdoor National Track Champonships concluded Saturday, two Connecticut relay teams earned the title of All-American by finishing among the top six competitors in their respective races. The Weaver HS Mens 800m Medley Relay Team placed 2nd with a time of 1:29.69. The 800m Sprint Medley consists of two 100m legs, one 200m leg, and one 400m leg. The winners of the Sprint Medley, Track East Carolina, set a national record (1:28.20). Connecticut runners continued to perform well as Danbury's Mens Distance Medley Relay Team placed fourth in a field of 26 competitors with a time of 9:59.42. The 4000m Distance Medley consists of, sequentially, one 1200m leg, one 400m leg, one 800m leg, and one 1600m leg. In addition to earning the title of All-American, Danbury also broke the Connecticut State Record (10:02.11) for the Distance Medley Relay set last year by another Danbury team.

FitzSimons, Loxsom Represent CT in 800m

Action concluded Saturday at the Nike Outdoor National Track Championships with the Mens Individual 800m Run. Hamden's Chris FitzSimons placed 9th with a time of 1:51.96 followed by New Haven's own Cas Loxsom in 12th with a time of 1:52.85. This was not the first time that Loxsom and FitzSimons had faced each other in the 800m. One month earlier at the Southern Connecticut Conference Outdoor Track Championships, Loxsom (1:51.96) handily defeated FitzSimons (1:56.95). At SCCs however, only a few hours prior to the 800m race, FitzSimons thrilled the crowd with a 4:19.37 performance in the 1600m. On the other hand, Nike Outdoor Nationals marks the end of Loxsom's pursuit of the 800m state record (1:49.95). On June 8th, however, Loxsom tied the CIAC State Open Meet record with a time of 1:50.86. For complete results from Nike Outdoor Nationals click here.

Connecticut Relay Teams Perform Well at Nike Nationals

As the Nike Outdoor National Track Championships resumed Friday, Connecticut runners continued to perform well.  In the Mens 4x200m Relay, Weaver HS placed 3rd with a state record tying time of 1:27.50.  On Saturday, Weaver's Daundre Barnaby will compete in the mens individual 400m.  Earlier this year at the Hartford Public High School Invitational Outdoor Track and Field Meet, Barnaby posted a time of 46.35 in the 400m.  Connecticut runners continued their success when the Hamden Mens 4x800m Relay team, consisting of Pat Cyr, Chris FitzSimons, Nick Saba, and Kevin Tran,  placed 9th out of 22 teams with a time of 7:50.42.  Less than one week earlier, Hamden won the 4x800m relay at the New England Interscholastic Track Championships, edging out Glastonbury with a time of 7:49.61.  For complete results from the 2009 Nike Outdoor National Track Championships click here.

Connecticut Runners Do Work at Nike Nationals

Photo by John Nepolitan

On Thursday June 18, The Nike National Outdoor 5000m Run featured five high school competitors from Connecticut, making CT the most well represented state among the field of 38 runners.  New Fairfield Senior John Raneri finished fourth with a time of 15:08.90.  Behind Raneri were Danbury's Kevin Russel in 10th (15:18.87) and Branford's Robbie Dextradeur in 21st (15:45.78).  Danbury's Levi Wallace and Trumbull's Julian Saad placed 29th and 30th with times of 16:04.00 and 16:04.26, respectively.  In 2008, only two runners from Connecticut competed in the Nike National 5K, including Xavier's Forest Misenti, who finished 4th with a time of 15:03.88.  For complete results from the Nike Outdoor National 5000m Run, click here.