By Senior Correspondent Marty Ogden, Editing and Graphics by Ron Knapp

Well, that’s a wrap for the 2023 New Balance National Indoor Championships after four days, thousands of medals awarded, records set and good times were experienced by all at The Track at New Balance in Boston, MA. The Glastonbury girls 4x800m team and Stonington’s Josh Mooney repped the Nutmeg state by scoring championship bronze medals and reset state records that may last for a few years.

Glastonbury All-American in Girls 4x800m

Something must be in the water in Glastonbury. Year after year they produce outstanding relays and individual middle distance runners, but this year was something special. They were Class LL, State Open and New England champions and broke the CT record last week. But after all that, the Guardians weren’t done. The team of Ava Gattinella, Kelley MacElhiney, Annika Paluska and Brooke Strauss lowered their state record and crossed the finish in a time of 9:04.18 to earn All-American status with their third place finish.

But Glastonbury still had more talent on display. Their “B” team of Mikayla Nedder, Jacqueline Dudus, Jacqueline Caron and Lila Garbett also ran in the championship race finishing 26th in a time of 9:36.04. Besides their “A” team, the only Connecticut teams who have run faster were Greenwich and Old Lyme and they finished 3rd and 4th at New Englands. And if the “B” team ran New Englands, they would have earned a top six medal as well.

Stonington’s Josh Mooney Breaks and Ties State Hurdle Record

In most track meets, hurdlers only run prelims and finals. In the prelims on Saturday, he shattered the state record by .08 seconds, running 7.80. Josh Mooney not only blazed through all three rounds at NBNI, he tied the state record in each round. In the finals his time was good enough to earn a third place medal and All-American honors.

4x400m Relays Shine Bright

There were rave reviews of The Track at New Balance once the facility was opened last year, and its reputation drew the best athletes from all over the country. In most events, the fields were much deeper than last year as evident by Hall’s finish in the 4x400m. Jon York and Sam Sandler returned from their second place team last year. They were joined this year by Aaron Sandler and Gabe Sisk and the foursome ran 3:21.42, which was .16 seconds faster than 2022. Even though they ran faster, they placed 11th overall and just missed Danbury’s 19-year old state record by one tenth of a second.

Running another season’s best, the Greenwich team of Cameron Williams, Antonio Ciccarelli, Gianluca Bianchi and Harrison Goldenberg finished 20th overall in a time of 3:24.13 to move them up to the 11th best time in CT history. The Cardinals will certainly be looking to spring track to get the better of Hall who has been just out of their reach the past two years despite running some of the fastest times in state history.

And if either team isn’t careful, they might be watching Windsor running by them in outdoor track. The Warriors usually do better on the 400m oval and currently hold the CT state record in the event with their time of 3:13.44 from 2013. This season’s squad of Grant Harris, Taeshawn Berry, Maxim Copeland and Hunter Howard finished 2nd in the Rising Stars competition with a time of 3:23.38 and now boast the 6th fastest time in state history.

Hergenrother Takes Part in Deep Mile Field

Ridgefield’s Steven Hergenrother had a fantastic weekend, anchoring his team to a third place finish in the distance medley relay on Friday and running a leg of the 4x800m that ran 7:54.80, the second fastest Connecticut team this season. He teamed up with Liam Edson, Charles Lovett and Isaac Graber to finish 9th, just missing another medal by just over four seconds. But in between those two relays, he took part in one of the deepest mile races this season. It included two sub 4-minute milers, one 4-minute miler, the 2022 Nike National Cross Country Champion, the 2022 Champs National Cross Country champion, the 2023 Millrose Games mile champion and an 8:42 2-miler. The junior went to the back of this star studded field and gamely hung on, finishing 9th in his heat and 25th overall in a time of 4:13.25. While about four seconds off his 4:09.05 DMR split on Friday night, the experience must have proven invaluable for the Tiger as he obviously learned what it was like to compete at the national class level. Expect him to use this experience as a springboard to future success and carry on the proud banner as CT’s top distance runner.

The Sun is Rising on Girls Distance Runners in CT

Last year was without a doubt the deepest year for CT boy distance runners. It wasn’t just a couple of state records that were broken, it was the sheer number of athletes who ran fast. This year, it is the depth of the girl distance runners that is amazing and several of them have the same last names. Katherine Bohlke of Newington is the younger sister of Cross Country Nationals finalist Michael. She has shined this season and finished 37th in the mile with a time of 4:57.14. And of course, there is Tess Sherry of Conard, younger sister of All-Americans Gavin and Callum, who finished 43rd in the mile on Sunday with a time of 4:59.49. But there is a new name to the mix this year – Hannah Andrejczyk of Shelton. She finished this season with the state lead in all events from the 1-mile to the 2-mile. On Sunday, the junior improved upon her state lead, running 4:54.72 to become the 7th fastest miler in state history, finishing in 29th place.

It’s not just these three girls who are breaking their way into the all-time CT rankings, there are several others and the vast majority are returning next year. In fact, in the 1000m, 1600m, 3000m, 3200m and 2-mile distances, there isn’t a senior in the top four and there is only one in the top five of any of the distance races. Next year should certainly be a renaissance of girls’ distance running in Connecticut.

Panthers Take Over State Lead in 4x400m

E.O. Smith girls were unfortunately disqualified at the State Open and did not get a chance to move onto New Englands. That disappointment fueled them on Sunday afternoon as the Panther team of Katelyn Shirshac, Navia Casa, Gabby Hernandez (3rd leg split of 55.77) and Alexis Buskey placed 4th in the Rising Stars section dipping under 4:00 minutes for the first time in school history. Their time of 3:58.71 not only became the fastest time in the state this winter, but it is also the 11th fastest time in state history.

Gongon Keeps Going

New England champion Noble Gongon of Simsbury has been undefeated in finals this entire season. He advanced to the semifinals on Sunday and found there was another level of sprinters, outside the Northeast. The senior, who has committed to run for UConn next year, finished 7th in his heat and 16th overall with a time of 6.92 for 60m to become the fourth fastest sprinter in state history at this distance. Much like the distance runner Hergenrother, Gongon will hopefully take this as a learning experience and use it as motivation to even greater success in outdoor track.

Stayed tuned for photos from several events on Sunday to be posted later today!

The 2023 indoor track season is officially a wrap and now onto spring track! MySportsResults will look forward to continuing our coverage of the many outstanding track and field athletes in the Nutmeg state.

View the Connecticut High School State Records for Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field at My Track and Field Records.

The following is a composite of CT athletes on Sunday at New Balance Nationals Indoor. Click for complete meet results.

Rising Stars Boys 60m (Semi Finals)

10 Bryan McLean Derby TC [11] 7.08

Rising Stars Girls 60m (Semi Finals)

16 Avery Rueckert Old Saybrook Track Club [12] 7.89

Rising Stars Boys 60mHH (Semi Finals)

20 Daniel Kim Amity [12] 8.52

Championships Boys 60m (Semi Finals)

16 Noble Gongon Simsbury High School [12] 6.92 #4 CT All Time

Championship Boys Long Jump

28 Daniel Kennedy Tolland T&F Club [12] 19-5 ½

– Jaden Long Windsor Track Club [12] Foul

Championship Boys Mile

25 Steven Hergenrother Ridgefield [11] 4:13.25

58 Parker Broderick Fairfield Warde- Unat [11] 4:19.81

Championship Girls Mile

29 Hannah Andrejczyk Gael Train- Shelton [11] 4:54.72 #7 CT All Time

37 Katherine Bohlke Newington [11] 4:57.14

43 Tess Sherry Conard [10] 4:59.49

Rising Stars Boys Weight Throw

2 Thomas Matlock East Lyme [10] 56-10

Championship Girls Long Jump

8 Audrey Kozak Lebron Athletic Club [12] 17-10 ¾

Championship Boys 60m Hurdles (Finals)

3 Joshua Mooney Bears TC [12] 7.80 CT State record

Freshman Boys 800m

45 Lorenzo Lopes Immaculate [ 9] 2:11.48

Freshman Girls 800m

8 Julia Gustafsson Greenwich TC [ 9] 2:19.77

18 Sarah Roberts South Farms Track Club- Mercy[ 9] 2:24.88

Rising Stars Boys 4×800

19 Norwich Free Wildcats 8:19.24

Patrick Croughwell, Robinson Meuse, Ethan Manfredi, Jesse Croteau

Rising Stars Girls 4×800

3 Hall TC 9:39.22

Julia Zydanowicz, Madeline Peterson, Abigail Sanderson, Rylan Priest

8 New Fairfield Rebels 9:47.66 New School Record

Katie McMorrow, Rose Penney, Hannah Greco, Ripley Penney

Rising Stars Boys 4×400

2 Windsor Track Club 3:23.38 #6 All Time

Grant Harris, Taeshawn Berry, Maxim Copeland, Hunter Howard

18 Amity 3:28.86

Daniel Kim, Michael Bowman, Maximillian Musial, Sean Chevalier

20 East Lyme 3:29.47

Lucas DeNucci, Brendan Fant, Kai Ritz, Finian Gates

Championship Boys Shot Put

26 Greyson Golda Unat- Bethel [11] 48-11 ¾

– John Milner-Jones Bloomfield TC [11] Foul

Rising Stars Girls 4×400

4 EO Panthers TC 3:58.71 #11 CT All Time #1 CT this year

Katelyn Shirshac, Navia Casa, Alexis Buskey, Gabriella Hernandez (55.77 Split)

5 Windsor Track Club 4:00.36

Brittani Westberry, Victoria Francis, Kearya Jackson, Tahjae Daley

16 Bloomfield TC 4:05.63

Kiylah Williams, Laniyah Henderson, Aisha Williams, Caleah Baker

Championship Boys 4×800

9 Ridgefield 7:54.80 #2 CT this year

Liam Edson, Charles Lovett, Steven Hergenrother, Isaac Graber

13 Danbury Track Club 7:57.35

Joshua Roos, Devon Rosemark, Michael Komisky, Kyle Jeffers

50 South Farms TC- Xavier 8:12.28

Nick Cassarino, Owen Martin, Alexander Ushchak, Jack Ouellette

51 Hall TC 8:15.63

Gabriel Sisk, Nathaniel Aronson, Connor Mayr, Isaac Mahler

Championship Girls 4×800

3 Glastonbury TC-CT 9:04.18 New State Record

Ava Gattinella, Kelley MacElhiney, Annika Paluska, Brooke Strauss

26 Glastonbury “B” TC-CT 9:36.04 #4 CT this year

Mikayla Nedder, Jacqueline Dudus, Jacqueline Caron, Lila Garbett

27 Lyme-Old Lyme 9:36.74

Madeleine Morgado, Agatha (Aggie) Hunt, Olivia Powers, Chase Gilbert

Championship Boys 4×400

11 Hall TC 3:21.42 #2 CT All Time (Just missed Danbury record by .1)

Aaron Sandler, Gabriel Sisk, Jonathan York, Samuel Sandler

20 Greenwich TC 3:24.13 #11 CT All Time

Cameron Williams, Antonio Ciccarelli, Gianluca Bianchi, Harrison Goldenberg

soundRUNNER Spring Spike Month/Nights

It’s almost time for Spike Month to start at all four SoundRunner stores. Athletes and coaches will get 20% off spikes and 15% off everything in the store (unless it is already discounted) beginning March 20 through April 21.

Coaches, if you want to arrange for a Spike Night or Morning then please contact a Store Manager at your local store listed below. If your athletes cannot attend a spike night then they can come into one of four stores during those dates and get the discount as well.

Branford – dean.tresca@soundrunner.com

Fairfield – eileen.gould@soundrunner.com

Glastonbury – darren.elledge@soundrunner.com

Old Saybrook – nick.cunningham@soundrunner.com