By Senior Correspondent Marty Ogden

At the New Balance Nationals Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Philadelphia on Saturday, several Connecticut athletes earned medals and put up significant performances. Check back later as we cover the other national championship meets in Oregon and North Carolina. 

Check out the free pics from several events on Saturday at the New Balance National Outdoor meet galleries from Ron Knapp of MySportsResults at: https://mysportsresults.smugmug.com/2023-New-Balance-Outdoor-Nationals-Day-3

Avery Cipcic has done it again. The senior, who will attend University of New Hampshire next year, has already earned All American honors this indoor season and last outdoor season, finished 3rd in the pentathlon, scoring 3336 points. He competed in the 110HH, running 15.94, shot put, throwing 33-2, high jump, clearing 6-2.75 and running the 1500m in 4:46.13. His performance is the second best among CT athletes all time. 

On the girl’s side, Bethel’s Rosie Volpintesta, who will compete for Brown next year, also finished third. The senior was the CIAC heptathlon runner-up last year and just missed All American this winter with a 7th place finish at NBNI. She ran the 100HH in 14.80, threw the shot 30-2.75, long jumped a PR of 17-0, high jumped 5-3.75 and ran another PR of 2:31.60 for the 800m to close out her day. Her total score was a state best of 3387. 

In the boys 110HH, CT record holder Josh Mooney of Stonington ran a lifetime best of 13.54 to have the fastest time in the prelims and advance to the semi finals. His time will not count as a state record because he had a tail wind of 5.0 m/s which is above the allowable wind limit of +2.0 m/s. In the semis, he finished third overall in a time of 13.67 to advance to Sunday’s finals where he will have another chance to earn All American status. At New Balance Nationals Indoors, he finished 3rd and broke the state record in the 60HH. 

In the boys 1600m sprint medley relay, the Greenwich Cardinals not only ran their school record to take 5th place, they ran the 5th fastest time in state history in the event.  Caleb You, Harrison Goldenberg, Gianluca Bianchi and Antonio Ciccarelli combined to run 3:27.86. 

The definition of a rising star is someone who is on the precipice of doing great things at the national level. Liam Wright of Hall High, the State Open champion, has made steady improvements over the past two years in the pole vault and set his PR and school record to win the Rising Star section on Saturday. His jump of 15-5 is not only the state’s best jump for 2023, it is also the 10th best clearance in CT history. 

Last year the boys mile all time list was rewritten. This year, it is the girls time to stamp their name among the best in CT history. Three of the names are very familiar to CT track and field fans. Tess and Liv Sherry, younger sisters to Gavin and Callum, took 15th and 21st in the championship mile race on Saturday. Tess’s time of 4:49.20 pushed future NCAA champion Danae Rivers back a place as she took over the 4th spot on the All Time list. Her sister Liv ran a 4:51.68, good for 7th best in CT history. 

Freshman Chase Gilbert of Old Lyme has already etched her name among the fastest runners to ever come out of CT. Her 32nd place finish in 4:56.85 is 15th all time. Katherine Bohlke, fresh off her All American finish in the steeplechase the night before, finished in 38th place in 4:59.26. Her best time of 4:53 from earlier in the year is 10th fastest in Ct history. The best part is they are all returning next year and will try to push each other past Ceci Hopp’s all time record of 4:42.6 set in 1981. 

There were two near all American finishes in the girls 1600m SMR. E.O. Smith, anchored by Gabby Hernandez who split 2:12.87 finished 8th. She was helped by Natalia Anagnostou, Madeline Doran and Navia Casa to finish 8th overall in 4:05.97 which is the 3rd fastest time ever for a CT team. Right behind them was Glastonbury’s team of   Alyssa Healy, Alexandra Edwards, Audrey O'Hare and Annika Paluska who finished 9th in 4:07.66. The Guardians broke their school record and now hold the position as the 5th best team All Time in CT history. 

A new state leader emerged in the girls 100m. Freshman Samiya Eady of Manchester was the first CT girl to break 12 seconds in the 100m this year. Her time of 11.99 was good for 8th place in the prelims of the Rising Stars race and earned a spot in the finals where she finished 7th in 12.20. 

Saturday at New Balance Nationals Outdoor

Boys  Pentathlon 

110m Hurdles  Avery Cipcic 12 Suffield Track 15.94

   Shot Put Avery Cipcic 33-2

   Long Jump Avery Cipcic 22-0 ¾

   High Jump Avery Cipcicb 6-2 ¾

   1500m Avery Cipcic  4:46.13

   3rd Place 3336   #2 CT All Time, All American

Girls Pentathlon 100m Hurdles  

100HH  Rosa Linda Volpintesta  12 Unattached- Bethel     14.80                             

Shot Put Rosa Linda Volpintesta 30-2 ¾

Long Jump  Rosa Linda Volpintesta 17-0

HJ Rosa Linda Volpintesta 5-3 ¾

800m  Rosa Linda Volpintesta       12 Unattached- Bethel  2:31.60

3rd Place 3387 State Best All American

Girls Rising Stars  100m Hurdles  Prelims

12th  Kareema McKenzie          11 Windsor Track     14.86                          

Boys  Championship 110m Hurdles Prelims

1st  Joshua Mooney                    12 Stonington   13.54  5.0 m/s

27th Sam Forte  11 South Farms TC- Xavier    14.61   0.5 m/s

Boys  Rising Stars  100m Dash  Prelims

42nd  Mason Pilkington            12 Enfield TC  11.11

45th  Steve Paul                  11 Greenwich Country Day    11.12                        

Girls Rising Stars  100m Dash  Prelims

8th Samiya Eady                  9 Manchester TC 11.99 0.3 m/s  q  New CT Leader

35th  Erica Austin                10 Kennedy             12.35  

53rd Darielys Arnold             10 New London       12.47                                                      

55th  Ida Moczerniuk             12 Unattached- Fairfield Warde 12.50

Girls Rising Stars  100m Dash  Finals

7th Samiya Eady           9 Manchester TC 12.20

Girls Championship  Shuttle Hurdle Relay   Final

10th  Windsor Track Club                   1:08.98                          

    Kareema McKenzie 11, Jordyn Williams 10, , Kearya Jackson 12           

Boys  Championship  Shuttle Hurdle Relay   Final

23rd East Hartford Hornets                                        1:03.96

     Davian Johnson 9,   Mykal Roberson 12, Aryon Hernandez-Reyes 11, Dayon Davis 12

Boys  Championship  400m Dash  Final on Time

33rd  Gianluca Bianchi              12 Greenwich TC  48.85

Boys  Freshman 400m Dash   Final on Time

10th  Brenan McCabe             9 Immaculate Mustangs   50.62                                 

30th  Tyler Varveris            9 East Haven - NHAGTC Squad   52.58

Girls Rising Stars  400m Dash  Final on Time

  26th Victoria Francis              12 Windsor Track 56.22 New CT Leader for 2023

 Championship Boys 110m Hurdles Semi-Finals

  3rd Josh Mooney Stonington 13.67

Boys  Freshman 200m Dash   Prelims

18th  Machai Henry                   9 Danbury Track 23.19

Girls Rising Stars 200m Dash Prelims

 25th Avery Rueckert        12 Old Saybrook 24.99      

29th  Samiya Eady                    9 Manchester Track     25.07

Boys  Championship 200m Dash Prelims

50th  Stylz Mitchell              11 South Farms- Xavier 22.09 

Boys  Rising Stars  4x100m Relay Prelims             

11th  Amity Spartans           42.80                                          

     1) Micah Blair 11                  2) Maximilian Musial 12           

     3) Daniel Kim 12                   4) Michael Bowman 11   

23rd Fitch                                44.07

     1) Charles Tarbox 12               2) Oakley Garrison 11             

     3) Nimyel Gamboa 12                4) Adonis Fine 11                 

Girls Rising Stars 4x100m Relay Prelims

3rd   Old Saybrook Track Club             48.31 Q                       

     1) Talia Bauer 10                 2) Avery Rueckert 12              

     3) Sanai Baker 11                 4) Abigail Colella 12   

12th  Bloomfield WarHawks     48.82                                       

     1) Jahniya Barclay 9               2) Markeda Carnegie 11            

     3) Sianna Lloyd 11                 4) Nacquelia Fletcher 10   

Boys  Championship 4x100m Relay Prelims

  Windsor Track Club                DQ                           

     1) Achillius White 12          2) Jaden Long 12                  

     3) Damion Sparrow 11           4) Maxim Copeland 11                        

Boys  Rising Stars  1600m SMR  Final on Time                  

4th  Gael Train Track and Field- Shelton                            3:32.14 #14 CT      

     1) Ari Papadimitriou 12            2) David Dojlidko 11              

     3) Aidan O'Grady 12                4) Luke Pacheco 12 split-  1:55.85                        

14. Bownes Bears TC 3:35.79

Cayden Trementozzi, Landon Pelletier, Quinn Felderman, Ryan Gruczka

24th  Glastonbury TC-CT                                                   3:39.49                                    

     1) Maxwell McCurdy 12              2) Jace Lewis 11                  

     3) Deandrea Williams 12            4) Dominic Pena 12   

 30th Bloomfield Warhawks                                              3:41.80                               

     1) Jahmeen Harrigan 11            2) Davien Kerr 11                 

     3) Zachary Blackwood 11           4) Jaden Smith 11     

Girls Rising Stars  1600m SMR  Final on Time

22nd  Bloomfield WarHawks                4:21.19                          

     1) Sianna Lloyd 11                 2) Dream Wilson 10                

     3) Indya Norman 10                 4) Aisha Williams 11              

32nd  Sacred Heart Sharks                        4:26.43                           

     1) Maya Collins 9                  2) Jianna Pompano 10              

     3) Avery Stewart 10                4) Juliette Forstrom 11  

41st Crusader TC Lauralton Hall                    4:41.83

      Sheila Northrup, Emma Kelly, Leni Wisniewski, Emma Hoffman     

Boys  Championship Texas 800m SMR  Final on Time

14th Bristol Eastern Track Club      1:34.08  #8 CT AT

     1) Dennis Cruz 12                  2) Justin Sanchez 12              

     3) Rayshon Andrews 11              4) Jack Mulcunry 12               

15th  Hand Tigers                                                  1:34.17 #9 CT AT

     1) Nathainiel Kraft 11             2) Cooper Dunsmore 11             

     3) Gavin Wagner 11                 4) Kyle Hoffman 1 

21st East Hartford Hornets                        1:34.80                

     1) Nickoy Livermore 12             2) Jahni Crawford 12              

     3) Donnique Starks 11              4) Jayden Brown 11                              

22nd  Staples Track Club/Fleet Feet                1:34.87                

     1) Oliver Galin 10                 2) Sebastian Rodriguez 10         

     3) David Sedrak 12                 4) Charles Fitzpatrick 12   

37th Danbury TC 1:36.78

1. Tobeas Kelly,  2) Julian Salinas, 3) Machai Henry, 4) Nasir Ricketts

Girls Championship  Texas 800m SMR  Final on Time

10th  Naugatuck                                                    1:48.78 

     1) Divine Kabongo 10          2) Lily Jason 10                  

     3) Lauren Sonski 12           4) Lauren Kropo 9    

22nd  Amity Spartans                                              1:50.64        

     1) Sarah Granados 12          2) Grace Launder 11               

     3) Riley Zielinski 11         4) Macie Salado 10      

25th East Hartford Hornets             1:51.30

            Nashyra Harris, Nya Cohen, Queen Lewis, Kyrah Smith

 39th  EO Panthers                                   2:00.26               

     1) Zoe Petell 12              2) Skylar Garrison 12             

     3) Natalia Anagnostou 10      4) Navia Casa 12      

Bloomfield WarHawks                     DQ                     

     1) Kiylah Williams 10         2) Dream Wilson 10                

     3) Nacquelia Fletcher 10      4) Sianna Lloyd 11                      

Boys  Championship 1 Mile Run  Final on Time

26th  Soheib Dissa                  10 Nighthawk Running- Newtown 4:15.57   

40th Parker Broderick               11 Unattached Fairfield Warde   4:18.26       

58th  Luke Davis                    11 Unattached Simsbury 4:26.32                            

59th  Jack Ouellette                10 South Farms- Xavier    4:29.07    

Boys  Championship  1600m SMR  Final on Time

5th  Greenwich TC                                                 3:27.86  #5 CT All Time

     1) Caleb You 10                    2) Harrison Goldenberg 11         

     3) Gianluca Bianchi 12             4) Antonio Ciccarelli 11  split - 1:54.93       

14th Wallingford - Lyman Hall                3:31.19        #10 All CT All Time                          

     1) Michael Fisher 11              2) Cam Pragano 12                 

     3) Timothy Conklin 10             4) Thomas Conklin 10   

17th  Hall T.C.                                      3:31.85             

     1) Charles Cameron 11              2) Samuel Sandler 12              

     3) Jonathan York 11                4) Gabriel Sisk 11        

19th Tolland T&F Club                                        3:31.99     

     1) Daniel Kennedy 12               2) Christopher Adadjo 10          

     3) Cole Robertson 12               4) Noah Perryman 12          

49th East Hartford Hornets                3:36.41                        

     1) Nickoy Livermore 12             2) Donnique Starks 11             

     3) Jayden Brown 11                 4) Stephen Smith 11               

61st Connecticut Mustangs TC Fairfield Warde               3:43.08

1. Tristan Roche,                  2) Otto O'Brien, 

      3) Scott Francis,                     4) Robert Spelman

Girls Championship  1600m SMR Final on Time

8th  EO Panthers 4:05.97   #3 CT All Time

      Natalia Anagnostou, Madeline Doran, Navia Casa, Gabriella Hernandez split-  2:12.87

9th Glastonbury TC-CT   4:07.66 Tied for #5 All Time CT 

     Alyssa Healy, Alexandra Edwards, Audrey O'Hare, Annika Paluska split- 2:13.54    

27th Ridgefield  4:13.29

     Elaine Mathews, Anna Gillan, Regan McGrath, Georgia Keller Split - 2:20.23

Girls Championship  1 Mile Run Final on Time

15th  Tess Sherry                    10 Conard-TC     4:49.20 #4 CT All Time

21st Liv Sherry                     10 Conard-TC      4:51.68 #7 CT All Time

32nd Chase Gilbert                  9 Unattached- Lyme Old Lyme    4:56.85   #15 CT All Time

38th Katherine Bohlke               11 Newington Track      4:59.26                                   

Saturday FIELD EVENTS

Boys Rising Stars Discus Finals

15th  Dylan Sheehan              12 Unattached-Old Lyme 155-3                 

2nd   Bardh Thaci                11 Old Saybrook  146-9

Girls Rising Stars Discus Finals

12th  Anna Siciliano                11 Hall T.C.  118-8    

25th  Layla Spann-McDonald          12 Bloomfield WarHawks  113-6

31st Lauren Smith                  10 New Canaan               111-10   

51st  Elizabeth Sorensen            12 Unattached - Coginchaug     85-9             

Boys  Rising Stars Hammer Finals

2nd  Lucas DeCrescenzo             10 Wallingford - Lyman Hall   169-0    

Boys  Championship Hammer Finals

9th  Dylan Sheehan                 12 Unattached - Old Lyme   195-9 

Girls Championship Hammer Finals

19th  Elizabeth Sorensen            12 Unattached- Coginchaug    133-9 

–  Layla Spann-McDonald           12 Bloomfield     Foul  

Girls Rising Stars  Hammer Finals

  Lauren Plummer                 9 Unattached- Loomis Chaffee                

  Maya Quaranta                 10 Sacred Heart Academy Sharks        

Girls Rising Stars  Shot Put Finals

2nd Gabriela DeFelice              12 New Canaan  41-0 ¼   PR, New CT leader             

7th Lauren Plummer                 9 Unattached- Loomis Chaffee   38-9 ¾             

8th Maya Quaranta                  10 Sacred Heart Academy Sharks 38-9 ¾       

Boys Rising Stars Shot Put Finals

14th Quincy Davis                   12 Windsor Track       50-9 ¼          

16th  Marshall Potter               10 Unattached - Simsbury  50-6   

37th Bardh Thaci 11 Old Saybrook TC   41-9 ¾ 

–  Dylan Sheehan                 12 Unattached - Old Lyme    NM

Girls Freshman Javelin Finals

3rd Alexis Banks                   9 Weston Track 111-3

Girls Rising Stars  Javelin Finals                         

13th  Elizabeth Sorensen           12 Unattached -Coginchaug 106-5

 15th  Alis Oberg                   10 Windsor Lock   106-1  

  30th Sarah Cooley                  12 Unattached - Woodland    97-11 

Boys  Rising Stars  Javelin Finals

7th Jacob Walters                 11 Hall T.C. 161-6

8th Noah Girard                   12 Enfield TC 160-3

17th Dominic Roussos               11 Hall T.C. 153-9

Girls Rising Stars Long Jump  Finals

14th Darielys Arnold               10 New London          17-9 ½        

19th Laniyah Henderson             12 Bloomfield WarHawks 17-4 ¼

Boys  Freshman Triple Jump Finals

14th  Jessie Singleton Jr.         9 Bloomfield WarHawks     40-9 ¾ 

Boys  Rising Stars Long Jump  Finals

10th  Makye Wade                  11 Capital Prep   21-10 ¾   

22nd  Treshawn Blair                12 Bristol Cent      21-2          

Girls Rising Stars  High Jump Finals

9th  Victoria Baker                11 Sacred Heart Academy Sharks  5-3 ¼    

11th Lizzy Bidwell                 10 Conard-TC     5-3 ¼              

31st Susan Porto                  12 Gael Train- Shelton 5-0 ¼

3:00 PM Boys  Rising Stars Pole Vault Finals            

1st Liam Wright                   11 Hall T.C.     15-5  #10 CT All Time

11th Lucas Williams                12 Ridgefield Unattached   14-1 ¼