All season long, thanks to the generous sponsorship of HOKA, MySportsResults has recognized a person or relay as the Hoka Athlete of the Week. After the New England Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston on Saturday, MSR has chosen the Glastonbury 4x800m relay team of Annika Paluska, Ava Gattinella, Brooke Strauss and Kelley MacElhiney and Greenwich’s Gianlinca Bianci to be this week’s honorees. In addition to the recognition each week, award recipients receive a commemorative t-shirt in recognition of their performance from Hoka.
There were 15 different New England champions from Connecticut, but Glastonbury’s winning 4x800m performance of 9:05.41 was probably the most noteworthy of the meet by a CT team. Besides dropping 31 seconds from their winning State Open championship time, they also shattered the CT all time state record, previously held by Greenwich by about four and a half seconds. The team of Paluska, Gattinella, Strauss and MacElhiney are heading into New Balance Nationals Indoor Championships in Boston as the fourth fastest team in the nation, only 7.5 seconds behind national leader Cuthbertson, NC who ran 8:57.98 in January.
State Running Network video of the girls 4x800m relay race.
Gianluca Bianchi absolutely shined on Saturday taking home three medals with one of them gold. The senior, who is heading to Princeton next year, started off the day with a sixth place finish in the 4x200m relay and finished the day with a silver medal in the 4x400m. But he claimed gold in a brilliant 300m race. Starting in lane six, he took the race out hard and held his form over the last straight as his competitors bared down on him. His time of 34.29 broke the school and FCIAC records and is the fifth fastest 300m race in CT history. Bianchi is slated to compete in the 200m and 400m at the New Balance Nationals Indoor Championships in Boston.
State Running Network video of the boys 300m race.
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Previous MSR HOKA Athlete of the Week Honors
Week 10: Conard’s Liv Sherry of Conard and Gabriella Zeller of Lewis Mills and Ridgefield’s Lucas William and Jonathan York of Hall.
Week 9: Audrey Kozak of Shelton and Stonington’s Josh Mooney
Week 8: Chase Gilbert of Lyme-Old Lyme and Fairfield Warde’ s Parker Broderick
Week 7: Shelton’s Hannah Andrejczyk and Enfield’s Mason Pilkington
Week 6: Bloomfield 4x200m team of Caleah Baker, Jahniya Barclay, Kiylah Williams, and Sianna Lloyd and Sam Sandler of Hall
Week 5: Gabriella Hernandez of E.O. Smith and Fairfield Ludlowe’s Tyler Bartlett
Week 4: Newington’s Katherine Bohlke and Michael Kraszewski of Hale Ray
Week 3 Leonaya Knox of Hillhouse and E.O. Smith’s Jack Mattingly
Week 2: Mercy’s Marie Kane and Francis Porrini of Bristol Central
Week 1: Glastonbury’s Brooke Strauss and Noble Gongon of Simsbury
