Law’s Rayshon Jacobs garners three titles in Class M; Tolland takes team title

Rayshon Jacobs of Jonathan Law certainly didn’t leave the Class M Indoor Boys Indoor Track Championships empty-handed.

The Law senior exited Hillhouse High School with quite a collection of medals.

Jacobs garnered first-place medals in the 55-meter dash, the 300-meter run and was part of Law’s winning 4×200-meter relay team.

“Leaving here with three first-place medals feels great, we all put in some much work,” Jacobs said. “My teammates are such an inspiration to me.”

The 55-meter dash saw Jacobs cross the finish line first in 6.62 seconds.

“In the 55, I’m getting back into the groove,” Jacobs said. “I was at 6.7, so to drop to a 6.62 was exciting, that was one of my goals.”

Dante Beard of Waterford placed second in 6.69 seconds in the 55 dash. Christian Estefani of Waterford was third (6.70).

In the 300-meter run, Jacobs clocked in at 35.86 seconds, giving him his second individual state title. Ellington’s Nicholas Sivo was the runner-up in 36.65 seconds.

“The 300 was a very tough event, I really had to push myself through the race, my teammates really helped push me,” Jacobs said. “Our team has had such a great meet.”

LAW LEADS THE WAY IN 4X200

Jonathan Law’s foursome of juniors Keyshon Giles, Naheim Washington, Chris Wootton and Jacobs (senior) combined for a winning time in the 4×200-meter relay (1:33.16). Earning the second-place medal was Weston (1:34.32).

Giles led off the Lawmen’s championship relay squad.

“We practiced hard for it and we got a good stretch in before the meet,” Giles said. “We were ready for this race and we really worked hard for it.”

Washington ran the second leg for Law, which edged Weston (1:34.32).

“It feels good to win it, we knew we had the second-fastest time in the state, so we were determined to win this race,” Washington said. “We practiced our blind handoffs and ran a great race. I really like running here against this great competition.”

Class M Boys 4×200 Meter Relay Champion:

Jonathan Law, 1:33.16 #cttrack pic.twitter.com/VpVbXur14Y

— Will Aldam (@AldamWill) February 15, 2020

TOLLAND TAKES TEAM TITLE

Showcasing its standout depth in nearly every event, Tolland placed first in the team standings totaling 61 points. Ellington took second (50), followed by Law (47), Weston (41) and Stonington (38) in the meet, which included 28 teams.

“We have a group of guys, who whether they were seeded to score or not, they gave 100 percent across the board, which was something we talked about leading up to this meet,” Tolland coach Brandon Elliott said. “Everyone needed to put it out there and we would see how far we would get. That’s exactly what they did and I was so happy to see them perform that way as a team.”

Tolland captured the 4×800-meter relay title and recorded numerous top-five finishes.

“Indoor track is an interesting sport, there are some times where you don’t have an opportunity to put a certain relay together, but today, they were able to run some of their best times of the season.”

FIRST TIME A CHARM FOR TOLLAND IN 4X800

The Class M Championships marked the first time this season that Noah Linton, Ethan Boivin, Steve Viera and Jackson Cayward raced together in the 4×800-meter relay and they made dazzling debut.

The quartet combined to register a winning time of 8:24.72. Weston placed second in the race with a time of 8:28.02, followed by East Lyme (8:29.30).

“This was a group that hadn’t competed together in the 400 until today,” Elliot said. “We went with less experienced guys to get it done in the 4×800 and they ran a very competitive race. It was a very impressive performance by them.”

TOP FINISHERS

Dylan Torok of Masuk placed first in the high jump (6-02.00) and Rhys Hammond of Stonington was the 1,000-meter run champion (2:30.02). Jared Lovell from Waterford posted a winning time of 7.82 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles and Avon’s Jack Martin took first in the 1,600-meter event (4:19.82).

Class M Boys High Jump Champion:

Dylan Torok (Maduk), 6’2” #cttrack pic.twitter.com/87xfJ4USR4

— Will Aldam (@AldamWill) February 15, 2020

Stonington’s 1,600 sprint medley team achieved a state record in posting a first-place time of 3:37.90.

Wolcott’s Nicholas Bendtsten was the 3,200 champion in 9:27.37 and Ellington posted a first-place finish in the 4×400 relay (3:31.51).

In field events, Matthew Bigelow from Weston took top honors (14-06.00) in the pole vault, while Max Raha won the long jump 20-10.00. Ethan Wilkie from Ellington was the shot put winner (49-05.50) and Louis Tuccio from St. Joseph was second (49-00.25).

dfierro@greenwichtime.com

Results

300-meter run: 1. Rayshon Jacobs (Jonathan Law) 35.86; 2. Nicholas Sivo (Ellington) 36.48; 3. William Wysocki (Northwestern) 37.04; 4. Blaize Scott-Purdy (Foran) 37.48; 5. Naheim Washington (Jonathan Law) 37.49; 6. Jessie Walton (Bulkeley) 38.12.

600-meter run: 1. Jack Olender (Ellington) 1:23.66; 2. Chase Flynn (Stonington) 1:24.66; 3. Nicholas Sivo (Ellington) 1:24.77; 4. Tyler Hinrichs (Avon) 1:25.59; 5. Keith Caouette (Watertown) 1:26.70; 6. Schyler Parris (Brookfield) 1:27.96.

1,000-meter run: 1. Rhys Hammond (Stonington) 2:30.02; 2. Nathan Paolangeli (Tolland) 2:33.46; 3. Nick Sinofsky (Suffield) 2:33.56; 4. Jadon Parris (Brookfield) 2:39.41; 5. Christopher Abbey (East Lyme) 2:4345.

1,600-meter run: 1. Jack Martin (Avon) 4:19.82; 2. Alec Sauter (Tolland) 4:20.88; 3. Killian McNamee (Tolland) 4:20.94; 4. Nate Davidson (Suffield) 4:27.07; 5. Patrick Gibbons (New Fairfield) 4:33.14; 6. Ryan Gruczka (Stonington) 4:34.37.

3,200-meter run: 1. Nicholas Bendtsen (Wolcott) 9:37.37; 2. Alec Sauter (Tolland) 9:49.56; 3. Nathan Paolangeli (Tolland) 9:41.67; 4. Killian McNamee (Tolland); 5. Justin Cascio (Lewis Mills) 9:56.59; 6. Ethan Boivin (Tolland) 9:58.26.

55-meter hurdles: 1. Jared Lovell (Waterford) 7.82; 2. John Macfarlane (Masuk) 7.88; 3. Matt Lacadie (Jonathan Law) 7.99; 4. John Cassol (Weston) 8.05; 5. Brandon Onyejekwe (Rocky Hill) 8.17; 6. Robert Lewis (Stonington) 8.18.

55-meter dash: 1. Rayshon Jacobs (Jonathan Law) 6.62; 2. Dante Beard (Waterford) 6.69; 3. Christian Estefani (Torrington) 6.70; 4. Thomas Ko (Avon) 6.81; 5. Maxwell Warren St. Joseph (6.82); 6. Tyler Loth (Bethel) 6.83.

4×200-meter relay: 1. Jonathan Law 1:33.16; 2. Weston 1:34.32; 3. Waterford 1:36.12; 4. Avon 1:36.40; 5. Bethel 1:37.10; 6. Torrington 1:37.24.

4×400-meter relay: 1. Ellington 3:31.51; 2. Stonington 3:32.07; 3. Weston 3:33.18; 4. 4×800-meter relay: 1. Tolland 8:24.72; 2. Weston 8:28.02; 3. East Lyme 8:29.20; 4. Bethel 8:31.91; 5. St. Joseph 8:35.91; 6. Waterford 8:37.63.

1,600 sprint medley: 1. Stonington 3:37.90; 2. Tolland 3:46.18; 3. Ellington 3:46.25; 4. Weston 3:46.51; 5. East Lyme 3:50.60; 6. Avon 3:50.90.

Pole vault: 1. Matthew Bigelow (Weston) 14-06.00; 2. Aidan O’Connor (Lewis Mills) 14-00.00; 2. Patrick Oatman (RHAM) 14-00.00; 4. Connor Nordmann (Bethel) 12-06.00; 5. Brett Dumais (Forman) 12-06.00; 6. Christopher Lewis (Weston) 12-00.00.

Long jump: 1. Matt Raha (Avon) 20-10.00; 2. Rangel Pascual (Torrington) 20-08.75; 3. Conor Hennesy (Granby Memorial) 20-06.00; 4. Riley Bjornberg (Sheehan) 20-05.50; 5. Maxwell Luddy (Sheehan) 20-02.50′ 6. Connor McCue (Suffield) 19-11.00.

High jump: 1. Dylan Torok (Masuk) 6-02.00; 2. Jonathan Contaxis (Jonathan Law) 6-00.00; 3. Michael Vincent (Waterford) 6-00.00; 4. Marcus Guyton (Bethel) 5-10.00; 5. Mekhi Barnette (Branford) 5-10.00; 6. Riley Bjornberg (Sheehan) 5-10.00.

Shot put: 1. Ethan Wilkie (Ellington) 49-05.50; 2. Louis Tuccio (St. Joseph) 49.00.25; 3. Devin Fitzpatrick (Prince Tech) 45-09.25; 4. Ryan Barker (Plainville) 44-03.00; 5. Kevin Wood (Bethel) 44-00.00; 6. Luke Shanahan (Brookfield) 43-00.75.