WALLINGFORD — Deshaune Poole of Hillhouse and Meredith Bloss of Guilford have been dominant in their events in the SCC over the years and that dominance continued at the Southern Connecticut Conference boys and girls track meet at Lyman Hall on Monday.
In a meet interrupted twice by heavy downpours, Poole won the 110 hurdles (14.36 seconds) and 300 hurdles (40.1) and Bloss led start to finish in both the 1600 (5:27.94) and 3200 (11:52.26). When it comes to the SCC meet, Bloss and Poole were on the same page, using it to produce momentum heading into the CIAC class meets and State Open.
Hillhouse came away with both team titles. The Hillhouse boys won with 85 points, Wilbur Cross was second with 83, Hamden was fourth with 66.5 points and Xavier was fifth with 64. The Hillhouse girls won with 121 points, Shelton was second with 76 followed by Sheehan (66.5), Sacred Heart Academy (56) and Wilbur Cross (54).
SCC SPRING CHAMPIONSHIP SCOREBOARD / SCHEDULE
“I’m always happy when I win,” Poole said. “I always go out and run my race and focus on what I need to do. But I also get motivated more in a race when I’m challenged. I led both races start to finish but I was also challenged in both events and that makes it a lot more fun for me.
“You always want to win, but the main thing with SCC meet is it gives all of us a chance to see where we stand against other top competition heading into the state meets. It gives the athletes on the team and the coaches an idea of what we need to do to give us the best chance to win moving forward.
Bloss easily won both her races, including in a torrential downpour in the 3200.
“I love running in the rain,” Bloss said. “It feels great, it cools you down, and for me, it helps me run better. I led from the start but in both races I had some challenges and I ran my race off of them. Winning feels good but this meet is basically a race for place.
“It gives you a chance to run against some good runners and it’s always fun to run here. It helps you get ready for the state meets and helps your team prepare for the states too.”
Xavier’s Robbie Cozean, who ran the third fastest 3200 in state history at the Loucks Games last week with a time of 8:54.78 had a pair of wins in the 1600 (4:17.94) and the 3200 (9:29.76).
Hamden’s Christopher Pigatt won the 100 (10.96) and 200 (22.37) for the boys and North Haven’s Erica Marriott the 100 (12.82) and 200 (25.00) for the girls.
Some teams showcased their depth and had some solid performances.
In the boys meet, Notre Dame-West Haven came away with a pair of wins with Jason Sawicki winning the high jump in a personal best 6 feet, 6 inches and Warren Murphy won the 400 in 49.6.
“Getting 6-6 was my best ever and it felt great,” Sawicki said. “ My strength is my take-off and my take-off was really good today. This is a great motivator for me and gives a lot of confidence going into the (CIAC) Class L meet.”
Notre Dame coach Glenn Xavier said, “This was a solid day for our team. Jason and Warren led several good performances for us. We’re really looking forward to the Class L meet, the State Open, New ENglands and the National meet.”
Hillhouse girls coach Gary Moore was happy with the Academics’ performance. His daughter Leah Moore won the discus (113-2) and shot put (42-2.75), Nyimah Ambrose won the long jump (17-6), Ayesha Nelson won the 100 hurdles (15.68), Jada Boyd won the 400 (59.3).
“It’s great to win the team title, they all performed well,” Gary Moore said. “It was a good day. I always tell them if they do the best they can do, if they are consistent, good things will happen.”
Hillhouse boys coach Michelle Moore was just as happy with her Academics. In addition to Poole, Neal Eley won the long jump (21-10) and son Gary Moore Jr. won the discus (139-6)
“Our kids prepared well for this,” Michelle Moore said. “They turned it on in the middle of the season and at the East Sectional Hillhouse looked like Hillhouse.
“This was a great day for the boys and girls.”
