NEW HAVEN – Before Glastonbury girls track coach Brian Collins sent his distance runners to the start of the 3,200 meters at the Class LL championship, he repeated a familiar message.
He told them to forget about pre-race favorite Hannah DeBalsi of Staples. If DeBalsi lapped the four Glastonbury runners at some point in the race, it didn't matter. The Tomahawks didn't need to win the race. They wanted to win the team championship.
"It was simple," Collins said. "There were going to be two races going on. [DeBalsi] and everyone else. We're with everyone else and we needed to pick up big points and hope for the best."
DeBalsi won the 3,200. The Tomahawks won the Class LL championship.
Led by senior Kaitlyn Hebert and a talented junior class, Glastonbury defeated Staples by seven points to claim its seventh indoor track championship and its first since 2012.
The Tomahawks scored 77 points for the victory.
"We talked to the girls a couple days ago and we said 'we're going to win it together or lose it together,'" Collins said. "They all know they had a big part [of this win], not just a certain few."
Danbury won the boys title, scoring 71 points to beat Staples by five and Ridgefield by 22. But as tight as that competition ended up, the limelight belonged to girls' teams.
After a five-point swing in the 3,200, where Glastonbury scored 15 and Staples scored 10, the two teams were separated by just two points headed into the final race, the 4x400-meter relay. Staples led, 69-67. But the Tomahawks entered the race with the fastest seed time. And they delivered. The relay team of Morocca Wiley, Kathryn Hastings, Sabrina Glaser and Cosentino put a stamp on the victory with a five second victory (4:09.93).
"The first three did just such a good job of getting such a good lead, so the whole time I was just praying I wouldn't mess it up for everyone [on the final lap]," Cosentino said. "I just wanted to make sure we got it done."
It was a complete team effort. The Tomahawks qualified in 15 events and scored in 10. They won the 4x800 by four seconds, finished third in the 4x200 and Hebert, who was part of the 4x800 win, won the 1,000 (3:01.50) and was second in the 3,200 (11:40.16). Kristin Hughes, Kaylee Stebbins, Sarah LeClair and Heather Day also picked up key points.
"Most of our girls have come from a team that won [a championship] in the fall season, so we all have the mindset that we know what it takes to [to win]," Hebert said.
After opening the shot put competition with a pair of disappointing throws, East Hartford senior Keiynan Butler turned to members of the girls team watching and looked for answers.
"I'm glad I have good teammates on the girls throwing team to help me correct what I was doing wrong," Butler said. "I wasn't getting my hips around quick enough and I wasn't driving straight back. I just fixed what they told me to do."
Butler corrected his form and got refocused. He then threw 47 feet, 7 inches on his final throw to finish second in his first appearance at the Class LL championship.
"Once the release came off my neck, I felt the ball was going far," Butler said. "I think a lot of talented people are doing shot put, but I feel like I can fit in that category [now] so I feel pretty accomplished."
Simsbury assistant coach Lorenzo Milledge has an unorthodox approach to hurdling.
For much of the winter, Milledge has kept his athletes in the pool and away from actually hurdling. Only a week or so ago, he let them actually hurdle. He prefers to stick to just drills.
"[Milledge] has a lot of unique and different strategies, stuff you just wouldn't expect," junior Jake Dowd said. "At first, it was a big shock."
Milledge and his athletes might be on to something. At the Class LL championship, Thomas Newtown finished second in the 55 hurdles (8.11) behind Amity's Aaron Rattley, who ran 7.93. Dowd was fourth at 8.55.
"The kids work hard and they believe in it," Milledge said. "We do a lot of drills [lead leg, trail leg, 3 steps and arm drills] and the drills are hard."
Simsbury's sprint medley team also finished third (3:47.94) behind Danbury (3:45.82) and Hamden (3:46.44). ... Manchester sophomore Elizabeth Lodge has been working all winter to get back to the heights she was jumping last season. At the Class LL championship, Lodge jumped a meet record 5 feet, 4 inches, and attempted 5-6. She finished second behind Staples' Elizabeth Knoll. The pair both jumped 5-4, but Knoll won based on fewer misses at earlier heights.
"I just thought to myself this is just like last year, it is me and [Knoll] again," Lodge said. "I just thought just go for it." ... Glastonbury's Randy Neish finished third in the 1,000 (2:35.46) and teammate Keyion Dixon was fourth in the 55 and third in the high jump. ... East Hartford freshman Kenese Getfield was fourth in the 55. ... Manchester's Pat Levitt finished third in the 55 hurdles (8.16) and Conard's Gwendolyn Geisler finished third in the 1,600 (5:17.75).