NEW HAVEN -The Mercy High girls indoor track and field program had never hoisted a state championship plaque until Friday night, while the East Lyme boys did so for the third time, at the Floyd Little Athletic Center.

Mercy, led by a senior class that already owned three CIAC cross country crowns, captured the Class M indoor title with 66 points to second-place Woodstock Academy's 42. 

East Lyme topped defending champion Lyman Hall 70 to 49.66 for its M crown.

Tiger Ride Depth to Victory

"We're as deep a squad as we've ever been. We had a lot of options today, which is really awesome," Mercy coach Matt Conyers said. "This is the first time ever in school history, and it's the senior class that really made this happen. They believed in this goal, going after championships season after season. They are now the most decorated athletes in Mercy history."

Senior Sarah Roberts won the 1,000 meters (2:59.98) and was part of the school record-breaking 1,600 sprint medley relay, along with sophomore Molly Mones, junior Madelyn Scarfo and sophomore Cailan Hall (4:16.46). Roberts finished second in the 3,200 (11:20.26), with sophomores Cora Wasiolek (11:24.43) and Ruby Kuselias (11:25.28) right behind her in third and fourth, respectively.

"We have two incredible distance runners in Sarah and Cora that excel at this time of year," Conyers said. "They just love the postseason experience, but at the same time, in the (3,200), they took along their teammates (Kuselias and Madalena D'Andrea)."

D'Andrea, a junior, finished eighth.

Scarfo finished third in the high jump at 5 feet. Mercy wound up winning the 4x800 with seniors Beatrice Perreault, Lilliana Tycz and Heather Meisinger, and junior Allison Pelletier. That relay showed the depth of the Tigers that was hard to overcome.

Aaron Rich, Record-Breaker

Lyman Hall senior Aaron Rich has had a tremendous indoor track and field season, so breaking a Class M championship meet record Friday wasn't a surprise.

Rich not only took down the meet record in the long jump, he later broke his own mark twice on the way to a gold medal.

Rich took the meet mark on his first attempt with an impressive jump of 24 feet, one-half inch. That shattered the old record of 22-8 set by Windham's Evan Rouse in 2011. Rich's second attempt was nearly as good at 23-11½. On his third attempt, Rich broke his own record with a jump of 24-4½.

Those three jumps all came in the preliminary portion of the event. On his second of three jumps in the final, Rich again broke his own record with a jump of 24-6¼. That effort ranks as the second-best in the country this season. Aaron's twin brother Ethan Rich finished second at 22-10¼.

The Rich brothers went back and forth in the high jump, and it was down to just the two of them at the end. Both cleared 6-6, and that set up a chance at the state record of 6-8. Each brother tried and missed three times, but they still finished 1-2, with Ethan claiming the championship. 

While competing in the high jump, Aaron Rich won the 300 in 35.04, making him the only individual double winner of the meet.

Vikings Reign Supreme

The East Lyme boys rode a strong effort to their third indoor title overall, and the first for new head coach George Evans.

"We have a lot of older, experienced cross country guys, and they're distance runners, and then we brought a lot of sophomore and junior sprinters, field event guys," Evans said, "so I think it just kind of reaffirms that if you make a commitment to this when you're young, you can have days like Sam Leone and Jack Faitsch had today. It's a very nice dynamic of student-athletes. They've been really fun to work with."

Leone and Faitsch, both seniors, brought home medals in individual and relay events alike.

Leone won the 1,600 (4:27.88), was second in the 1,000 (2:41.28) and served as the anchor leg on the winning 4x800 relay (8:12.14) that included Faitsch, junior Joey Papalia and sophomore Nico Cardello. Faitsch was second in the 1,600 (4:33.05) and fourth in the 3,200 (9:59.28).

Papalia finished third in the 1,600 (4:33.24). Cardello was part of a second-place 1,600 sprint medley relay. Junior Justin Blezard was third in the pole vault (13-0) while sophomore Aaron Lin took fifth (12-6). Senior Topher Regan turned in a fifth-place finish in the 600 (1:27.48).

East Lyme also won states titles in 1994 and 2023.

Class M Indoor Track and Field Championships

At Floyd Little Athletic Center, New Haven

Boys Team Results: 1. East Lyme, 70; 2. Lyman Hall, 49.66; 3. Daniel Hand, 36; 4. Sheehan, 34; 5. Avon, 25; 6. North Haven and Tolland, 23; 8. Notre Dame-West Haven, 22; 9. Brookfield and Woodstock Academy, 20.

Boys Winners
4x200-meter relay: Notre Dame-West Haven (Tahir Bennett, Eliyas Johnson, Tristan Robinson, Raniel Matheney), 1:34.66.
4x800: East Lyme (Joey Papalia, Jack Faitsch, Nico Cardello, Sam Leone), 8:12.24.
1,000: Jake Vegiard, Tolland, 2:41.27.
600: Landon Wall, Brookfield, 1:23.49.
55 hurdles: Jeremiah Smith, Killingly, 7.78.
55 dash: Hanief Jones, Hartford Public, 6.47.
1,600: Leone, 4:27.88.
1,600 SMR: Brookfield (Dayton Guinee, Ansel Haxhinasto, Mettansh Dhote, Wall), 3:44.85.
300: Aaron Rich, Lyman Hall, 35.04.
3,200: Tycen LaBelle, Griswold, 9:28.56.
4x400: Notre Dame-West Haven (Bennett, Luke Boffa, Ryan Malone, Matheney, 3:34.04.
Shot put: Eli Manning, Woodstock Academy, 51-1½.
Long jump: A. Rich, 24-6¼*.
High jump: Ethan Rich, Lyman Hall, 6-6.
Pole vault: Sean Arms, Daniel Hand, 15-6.

Girls Team Results: 1. Mercy, 66; 2. Woodstock Academy, 42; 3. Sheehan, 39; t4. Brookfield and East Lyme, 31; 6. Nonnewaug, 28; 7. Joel Barlow, 27; 8. New Fairfield, 22; 9. Weston, 21.5; 10. Daniel Hand, 19.

Girls Winners
4x200 relay: Sheehan (Julie Gootman, Hope Obremski, Shayla Welch, Leah Larson), 1:48.21.
4x800: Mercy (Beatrice Perreault, Liliana Tycz, Heather Meisinger, Allison Pelletier), 10:00.86.
1,000: Sarah Roberts, Mercy, 2:59.98.
600: Madeline Garguilo, Nonnewaug, 1:39.60.
55 hurdles: Emma Weitknecht, Woodstock Academy, 8.33.
55 dash: Laniyah Gates, Career Magnet, 7.30.
1,600: Cora Wasiolek, Mercy, 5:10.05.
1,600 SMR: Mercy (Molly Mones, Madelyn Scarfo, Cailan Hall, Roberts), 4:16.46.
300: Talia Hagan, Jonathan Law, 41.94.
3,200: Annecy Vlieks, Daniel Hand, 10:54.85.
4x400: Joel Barlow (Vika Abukhovich, Phoebe Cora Smith, Olivia Taylor, Kate Duggan), 4:07.48.
High jump: Jenna Luoma, Ellington, 5-2.
Pole vault: Eva DiGarbo, Ledyard, 10-6.
Shot put: Avery Plouffe, Woodstock Academy, 40-5¼.
Long jump: Isabella Martinez, Brookfield, 17-4½.

*meet record

This article originally published at East Lyme boys, Mercy girls capture Class M indoor track and field championships in New Haven.