Both the girls and boys teams from Ridgefield won team titles at the 2024 FCIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, New Canaan’s junior Lauren Smith was the only State Open individual champion from the conference, and Danbury’s superb sophomore Machai Henry was among the fastest sprinters in New England to highlight the many achievements from conference athletes and teams.
Steven Hergenrother won the 800-meter run in 1:56.5 and the 3,200 in 9:37.9 to lead Ridgefield’s boys to the FCIAC championship with the slim victory of just three points over Danbury. Ridgefield scored 137 points and Danbury’s Hatters had 134 as Henry and Jonathan Joyner each won two events to lead them.
Magnus Manley won the 1,600 (4:18.22) just ahead of teammate Charles Lovett (4:18.25) and Manley placed third in the 800 (1:57.56), and Hayden Webb won the 300 hurdles (41.46) to help lead Ridgefield to its third FCIAC championship.
Henry won the 100-meter dash (10.74) and 200 (21.75) and ran the anchor leg on the winning 4×100 relay team (41.4) while Joyner won the triple jump (43 feet) and long jump (21-3.75) to lead Danbury to second place.
Henry placed third at the New England Championships in the 100 (10.78) after he had the highest placing of a conference athlete at the boys’ State Open when he placed second in the 100 with a 10.64. Henry previously won the 100-meter dash in 10.73 and the 200 in 21.74 while Joyner won the triple jump (44-2.75) and was fifth in the long jump to help lead Danbury to second place at the CIAC Class LL championship meet behind Hall. Joyner had a big improvement in the triple jump of 45 feet 11 inches when he placed third at the State Open.
Jalen Ward won the 110 hurdles (15.2) to contribute to Danbury’s runner-up finish at the FCIAC championship meet. Danbury has the record of 20 FCIAC team championships. The Hatters have won all 20 of their titles from 1993-2021.
Norwalk placed third in team scoring this year with 69 points. Trumbull was fourth (60), and two-time defending team champion Greenwich (57.5) completed the top five.
The other boys who won their respective individual events were Greenwich’s Harrison Goldenberg (400 in 50.11), Trumbull’s Mason Sweeney (high jump, 6-4), Norwalk’s Jayden Baker (shot put, 51-7), New Canaan’s Owen Lydon (discus, 140-8), Darien’s Declan Cunningham (javelin, 159-3), and Westhill’s Sean Horrigan (13-6), who later placed fourth at the State Open when he cleared 14 feet.
The 1-2 finish in team scoring in the girls’ meet was the same as the boys’ meet at the FCIAC Championships but the female Tigers won by a comfortable 45.5 points. Ridgefield totaled 126.5 points for the school’s fifth overall conference crown and first one since the 2006 Tigers defended their crown. Danbury, which has the girls’ record of 12 FCIAC championships, placed second this year with 81 points.
Greenwich placed third with 72 points, Wilton took fourth with 61, Fairfield Ludlowe completed the top five with 55 points and not far behind the Falcons were New Canaan (49), Trumbull (46), Staples (41.5), and ninth-place Darien (41).
Ridgefield’s Tigers utilized talent, balance, and depth and they won all three relay events to rack up all those points. Long jumper Lucy Thompson was their only individual champion with her jump of 17 feet, 1 inch. Distance runner Ava Malagisi led them individually by placing second in both the 1,600 (5:03.04) and 3,200 (11:05.09). Malagasi would lower her time significantly at the State Open when she placed fourth in the 3,200 with a 10:38.43.
Ridgefield’s Allyson Olsen placed second in the 800 (2:19.29) ahead of her teammate Erin Byrne (2:22.71) and those two were teammates on a pair of winning relay teams. Nora Foley, Byrne, and Olsen ran the first three legs on the 4×400 and that same trio in that same order ran the last three legs of the victorious 4×800 relay (9:40.78) after Isla Dougan ran the leadoff leg.
Casey O’Brien placed second in the 100 dash (12.71) and anchored Ridgefield’s winning 4×100 team and Elaine Mathews was runner-up in the 300 hurdles (45.85) and the anchor runner on Ridgefield’s winning 4×400 relay team (4:01.53). Camille Wyatte, Hannah Salmore, and Thompson joined O’Brien on the winning 4×100 relay team.
Olivia Robles led Danbury by sweeping both hurdles events – winning the 100 hurdles in 15.2 and the 300 hurdles in 45.75. Danbury’s Aaliyah Cook won the 100 dash (12.43) and was runner-up in the 200 (25.48), just 0.04 of a second behind winner Caroline Spengler (25.44) of Fairfield Ludlowe. Danbury won four individual events as Kaitlyn Tayler won the 400 (59.77).
Maya Marin of Trumbull was a double individual champion in winning the discus (113-8) and javelin (125-11). Marin would then improve at the State Open with runner-up throws of 118-9 in the discus and 127-11 in the javelin.
Smith, New Canaan’s excellent thrower, racked up big points for the Rams at the FCIAC championships by winning the shot put (35-5) and finishing a close second behind Marin in the discus (111-4) and javelin (121-1). Smith would later improve by more than eight feet when she was the conference’s only State Open champion with her javelin throw of 129-3.
The other individual champions in the FCIAC girls’ championship meet included pole vaulter Melinda Pettit (9-6) and triple jumper Allison Rayment (37-9) of Wilton, Greenwich high jumper Kayah Armstrong (5-0), and Darien’s Julia Blake in the 800 (2:16.5).
At the girls’ State Open: Esme Daplyn of Greenwich placed second in the 800 with a 2:11.28 and Addison Coughlin of Staples cleared 5 feet, 2 inches to place fifth in the high jump.