Update: Suffield's Cipcic shines at rain-shortened Randy Smith-Journal Inquirer track meet

May 21—MANCHESTER — The 41st Randy Smith Journal Inquirer Invitational track meet was the perfect opportunity for Avery Cipcic and the Suffield High boys team to see how they stacked up against stiff competition on the eve of the postseason.

Cipcic was up to the task, even if the meet was cancelled halfway through.

The senior won the high jump and the 110-meter hurdles and was leading the long jump while the Wildcats were atop the team standings when the meet was halted due to heavy rain.

"It definitely boosts our confidence" Cipcic said when asked about Suffield holding its own against larger schools in the field. "We're low in numbers. I think we have 16 guys on our team. When we go against other teams with like 50, 60 guys and we end up going first or second, it definitely boosts our confidence.

"It makes us compete better because it shows that while we might not have numbers, we have depth and we have people who can do things like get first in a couple of events. We have quality."

Cipcic took the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 2 inches, two inches higher than Windsor's Gyan Davis.

"I switched out my spikes beforehand so I got better grip on the ground," Cipcic said. "I massaged out my calves so I wouldn't get super tight during the jumping. Then with the long jump, the conditions were really bad. But it happened to work out today."

Cipcic's long jump distance was unavailable. The adverse weather caused officials to delay certifying the final few completed events until the scoring sheets have dried completely.

Ten boys events and eight girls events were officially scored as of Sunday night.

In the 110 hurdles, Cipcic finished in 15.66 seconds, edging teammate Connor Nylund (15.79). Cipcic's personal best in the event was 15.28, achieved when Suffield hosted Coventry and Rockville May 9.

"What I like to focus on on cloudy days is I just try to stay in the best mindset that I can," Cipcic said regarding his approach to the finals. "I like to focus on the race itself instead of the weather. I don't let it get to me too much."

Cipcic has proven his ability to shine in both running and field events before though. He finished third in the 2022 CIAC decathlon .

"Since he started doing track, he started with indoor and then he came over to outdoor, you can put him in any event," Suffield coach Dom Casolari said. "He's put down our fastest 100 time this year. I'm not running him in the 200, but I know he runs a fast 400. He ran the 1,500 in the pentathlon and put down a very fast time there. He's extremely versatile."

That versatility helped the Wildcats out.

Through the 10 events scored, Suffield was the overall and medium school leader with 73 points. Ryan Crocker, a junior, also gave the Wildcats a win in the pole vault (11-6).

Led by the winning 4x800 relay team of Brendan Fautex, Matthew Woodward, Jared Burchell and John Glidden, Rockville was second overall with 42 points. The quartet finished in 8:14.85.

Windsor was the large school division leader and third overall with 34.2 points. Senior Quincy Davis was the winner of the shot put (48-6 3/4 .)

Coventry (27 points) was the small school division leader and sixth overall. Brody Schouten took home the gold medal in the hammer throw for the Patriots (149-6 1/2 ).

In the girls standings, Suffield led the medium school division and was first overall with 46 points. Sophomores Olivia Matthews and Lourdes Lawson paced the Wildcats with wins in the 1,600 and the shot put respectively. Matthews won her race in 5:12.07 while Lawson's winning throw of 35-6 was a personal record.

Glastonbury was the large school division leader and second overall with 42 points. The Guardians didn't have a winner Saturday, but had three runners finish in the top five of the 1,600 meters. Lila Garbett was second (5:12.86), Jacqueline Dudus was third (5:20.06) and Abigail Mathew was fifth (5:35.55).

Somers was third overall and the small school division leader with 35 points. The Spartans' 4x800 relay team crossed the finish line first, but the result is not yet offical and not reflected in the team scoring

The focus now shifts to divisional and conference meets this week.

The CCC East meet is today at East Hartford High; the CCC North and West meets are both at Willow Brook Park in New Britain Tuesday. The NCCC meet is at Suffield High Tuesday.

"For me, I'm hoping to win my three events," Cipcic said. "I think we'll win our NCCC meet. But we're going against Rockville, and they have a lot of people on their side. So that's going to be our biggest competition."

Cipcic got to do a little scouting of that competition Saturday.

"It was definitely good to see them today and compete against their top athletes," he said. "It's good to have the competition, but at the end of it we're all friends and we're all just competing for fun."

When it rains, it pours

Mother Nature wreaked havoc on Saturday's meet for its duration.

The rain began at about 9:30 a.m. — the same time the meet began — and continued with varying degrees of intensity the rest of the day.

The precipitation didn't only impact the athletes and scoring sheets. The finish line camera and electronic starting pistol malfunctioned early in the meet and caused a roughly 40-minute delay while a new camera was installed and a manual starting pistol found.

As the meet wore on, there were no more technical difficulties, but the intensity of the rain increased. By the time the 1,600-meter races were on the track, roughly halfway through the meet, conditions had degraded to a steady downpour and water began to puddle on the track.

The event was halted shortly after.

"Oh my gosh, it was a lot," said Manchester freshman Samiya Eady, the unofficial winner of the girls 100 meters, about the rain. "I tried to prepare myself for the rain before the race, and I did pretty well. I didn't PR, but given how the weather is, I didn't really expect to."

Results

Boys

3K steeplechase: 1. Konrad Jandzinski, RHAM, 10:10.53; 2. Alexander Howarth, Glastonbury; 3. William Krause, Glastonbury; 4. Ben Farroni, Suffield; 5. Collin Grip, South Windsor; 6. Kyle Kamay, Enfield.

100: 1. Arlon Poteat, Manchester, 10.93; 2. Cameron Washington, Rockville; 3. Maxwell Czarnecki, RHAM; 4. Taeshawn Berry, Windsor; 5. Maxim Copeland, Windsor; 6. Jeremy Peacock, Bolton.

1,600: 1. Cian Gara Grady, Manchester, 4:29.33; 2. Griffin Mandirola, Suffield; 3. Jared Burchell, Rockville; 4. William Connolly, E.O. Smith; 5. Spencer Slayton, E.O. Smith; 6. Shepard Livingston, Bolton.

JV 1,600: 1. Alejandro Juro, Manchester, 4:49.16; 2. Raza Malik, Glastonbury; 3. Max Eckhardt, Ellington; 4. Samuel Garcia, Windsor; 5. Ashton Walder, Ellington; 6. Alexander Gounaris, Rockville.

110 hurdles: 1. Avery Cipcic, Suffield, 15.66; 2. Connor Nylund, Suffield; 3. Alex McFarlane, Bolton; 4. Mykal Roberson, East Hartford; 5. Aryon Hernandez-Reyes, East Hartford; 6. Davian Johnson, East Hartford

4x800 relay: Rockville (Brendan Fauteux, Matthew Woodward, Jared Burchell, John Glidden) 8:18.78; 2. RHAM; 3. Bolton; 4. Ellington; 5.Somers; 6. Enfield.

Shot Put: 1. Quincy Davis, Windsor (48-6 3/4); 2. Samuel Meleshenko, South Windsor; 3. Craig Gnatek, Suffield; 4. Westley Jackson, East Hartford; 5. Malachi Mapp, Rockville; 6. Kaleb Arcouette, Stafford.

Hammer: 1. Brody Schouten, Coventry; 2. Craig Gnatek, Suffield; 3. Robert Giering, Bolton; 4. Drew Ledbetter, Stafford; 5. Christian Martorelli, Staffod; 6. Collin Cordner, Coventry.

High jump: Avery Cipcic, Suffield, 6-2; 2. Gyan Davis, Windsor; 3. Winslow Faulk, Windsor Locks; 3. Brendan Fauteux, Rockvile; 5. Mykal Roberson, East Hartford; 5. Alexander Horta, Suffield; 5. Jayden Burney, East Hartford.

Pole Vault: 1. Ryan Crocker, Suffield and Kai Mitchell, Coventry, 11-6; 3. Ben Farroni, Suffield; 4. Boden Almeida, Coventry; 5. Nathaniel Lawrence, Glastonbury; 6. Nathan Fauteux, Rockville.

Team scores: 1. Suffield, 73; 2. Roclville, 42; 3. Windsor, 34.2; 4. Manchester, 31.2; 5. Glastonbury, 28.5; 6. Coventry, 27; 7. RHAM, 26; 8. Bolton, 24; 9. East Hartford, 23; 10. Ellington, 17; 11. South Windsor, 16.75; 12. Stafford, 14.4; 13. Somers, 10.75; 14. Enfield, 7; 15. E.O. Smith, 6; 16. Windsor Locks, 5.5; 17. Tolland, 1.75; 18. Windham Tech, 0.95.

Girls

2K steeplechase: 1. Isabella Mondo, RHAM, 7:21.71; 2. Stephanie Burzynski, Somers; 3. Isabella Jensen, East Catholic; 4. Alyssa Ella Drenga, South Windsor; 5. Sara St. Germain, Somers; 6. Julia Mansella, Coventry.

1,600: 1. Olivia Matthews, Suffield, 5:12.07; 2. Lila Garbett, Glastonbury; 3. Jacqueline Dudus, Glastonbury; 4. Rachel Bartolucci, RHAM; 5. Abigail Mathew, Glastonbury; 6. Jillian Orszak, Manchester.

JV 1,600: 1. Hannah Donzella, Windsor, 5:58.24; 2. Olivia McKay, Glastonbury; 3. Skyla Mund, Glastonbury; 4. Sarah Hogan, Glastonbury; 5. Noelia Diaz, Manchester; 6. Rebecca Willett, Ellington.

100 hurdles: 1. Kareema McKenzie, Windsor, 15.26; 2. Lianessa Santiago, Suffield; 3. Jacqueline Perry, Enfield; 4. Samantha Simlick, Stafford; 5. Jocelyn Randall, Somers; 6. Kara Peynado, Manchester.

Hammer: 1. Anaka Eaton, Coventry, 110-2; 2. Camden Smith, Stafford; 3. Drea Oswell, St; 4. Lourdes Lawson, Suffield; 5. Melea Wolters, Somers; 6. Oyonola Cherubin, East Windsor.

Javelin: 1. Lily Hollworth, Rockville, 114-11; 2. Deidre Dalessio, Somers; 3. Arielle Shivers, Rockville; 4. Alis Oberg, Windsor Locks; 5. Devon Dalessio, Somers; 6. Shannon Young, Suffield.

Shot Put: 1. Lourdes Lawson, Suffield, 35-6; 2. Navaeah Jackson, East Hartford; 3. Lily Hollworth, Rockville; 4. Katherine Dunn, South Windsor; 5. Brianna Jordan, Glastonbury; 6. Chimuanya Chukwuocco, East Hartford.

Long Jump: 1. Keira Stewart, East Hartford, 16-4; 2. Heidi Storey, Suffield; 3. Caroline McGinnis, Windsor Locks; 4. Gabrielle Spencer, Windsor; 5. Mia Savino, E.O. Smith; 6. Mackenzie Braunstein, Windham Tech.

Team scores: 1. Suffield, 46; 2. Glastonbury, 42; 3. Somers, 35; 4. Windsor, 25; 5. Rockville, 23; 5. East Hartford, 23; 5. Stafford, 23; 8. RHAM, 15; 9. Coventry, 14; 10. Windsor Locks, 11; 11. South Windsor, 10; 11. Manchester, 10; 13. Enfield, 8; 14. E.O. Smith, 7; 15. Ellington, 6; 15. East Catholic, 6; 17. East Windsor, 3; 17. Windham Tech, 3; 19. Bolton, 1.

For coverage of UConn football and men's basketball as well as area high school and local youth sports, follow Adam Betz on Twitter: @AdBetz1, Facebook: Adam Betz — Sports Writer, and Instagram: @AdBetzJI.