Miller, Mars Lead Bloomfield To Open Team Title

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

NEW HAVEN, Ct. – Heading into the 300-meter dash Saturday afternoon, only six points separated first from fourth place in the girls team race for the Connecticut State Open Indoor Track title.

Bloomfield went 1-2 with Terry Miller (40.13) and Jillian Mars (41.08) for 18 points to propel the Warhawks to a 17-point advantage over second-place Glastonbury. Bloomfield won for the second time in three years, finishing with 54 points. Glastonbury was second with 39 points. 

“It was huge. It was huge,” said Bloomfield head coach Anne Burrows of the 300. “That was definitely the turning point in the meet for us. Terry and Jill are great athletes. They are great competitors.”

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Miller, a transfer from Bulkeley High in Hartford this academic year, added an individual title in the 55 dash, clocking 6.95. She broke the state record of 6.99 seconds set in 2017 by Bloomfield’s Cassidy Palmer. 

“I just love my new team,” Miller said. “They push me to run harder, and they help me focus on my races.”

Mars added a win in the 600 (1:36.46) and teamed up with Miller, Jahlia Banton and Shante Brown to finish second in the 4x400 relay.

“I have some very talented athletes,” Burrows said. “I knew if my top athletes performed we’d have a shot at this. I’m very proud of them. They worked really hard, (and) I had a ton of kids step up.”

Other highlights on the girls side included Paige Martin of Norwich Free Academy setting an Open record in the pole vault, clearing 12-0.50. Fairfield Ludlowe sophomore Tess Stapleton won the 55 hurdles (8.26) and finished second in the long jump (18-01.75). 

On the boys side, William Hall High won its first Open title with strong performances in the middle distance events and relays to tally 43 points. Hillhouse finished runner-up with 38 points. 

“Just try to do what we did in the class meet,” Hall coach Sam Sampietro said.

A week earlier, Hall won the Class LL meet. Saturday at the Floyd Little Athletic Center, Sampietro received similar results. Led by an Open record 1,600 sprint medley relay time of 3:34.06, Hall scored valuable points in three of the four relays. 

“I’m impressed with them every day,” Sampietro said of his team. 

Hall senior Miller Anderson led the team with a win in the 1,000 meters (2:33.22) and ran strong anchors on the winning SMR and second-place 4x400. 

“The bell lap (1,000) I was like, ‘Hey it’s only 200 meters might as well kick as hard as I can,” Miller said. 

For Wilbur Cross senior Travis Martin, a victory in the 1,600 meters at the State Open four years ago would have seemed like a near impossible feat.

“Until last year, I was not much of athlete,” Martin said. “I didn’t break 5 (minutes) until the very end of my sophomore year.”

Flash forward to February of Martin’s senior year when all of his hard work came to fruition. Martin used a strong final 600 meters to get past Hall’s Trey Cormier and win the 1,600 crown in 4:18.55. 

“I’m very, very happy,” Martin said. 

Martin, who said the goal is to podium March 2 at the New England Championships in Boston, credits former Cross graduate Cas Loxsom in parts of his development as a runner.

“He’s been very gracious in helping me out and helping (head coach Travis) Gale out with the distance program; in small ways, but big ways,” Martin said. 

In the boys 3,200 meters, Xavier’s Robbie Cozean had one of the best finishes of the day as he used a strong kick to edge out Amity’s Connor Visnic, 9:18.11 to 9:18.17.