Hatters sweep Class LL

NEW HAVEN - The Danbury High girls and boys indoor track and field teams each captured their third consecutive state championship at their respective Class LL meets Wednesday.

Liz Calle led the way for the Hatters girls, placing first and setting the school record in the 1,000 meters with a time of 3:03.17. She also placed second in the 3,200 meters (11:26.76).

Marsha Locke won the shot put competition (39-1) and Shahiba Baptiste won the long jump (16-9¼).

The Hatters scored 79 points to win the team title, six points ahead of Fairfield in second place.

New Milford tied for ninth place with 14 points. Sharon Golankiewicz led the Green Wave, winning the high jump (5-1) and placing third in the 55 hurdles (9.75).

"I'm certainly very pleased with the performance of the girls," Danbury girls coach Kevin Wilcox said. "They gave an excellent performance today. Everybody contributed."

For the boys, meanwhile, Steven Rochester and Leon Breece led Danbury to victory. Rochester won the 600 (1:24.12) and Breece won the pole vault (12-6). Breece and Rochester teamed with Graham Snow and Thomas Vail to win the 4x400 relay (3:29.93).

Danbury scored 90 points to win the team title easily; Amity of Woodbridge was a distant second with 53 points.

New Milford placed 11th with 15½ points. David Hunt won the 1,600 (4:33.0) and placed fourth in the 3,200 (10:04.23) for the Green Wave.

Hunt was edged by Danbury's Danny Abrantes for second place in the 3,200 by less than two seconds. Mike DeCrescenzo of New Milford followed in sixth place and Danbury's Matthew Bach placed seventh, less than a quarter-second behind DeCrescenzo.

The State Open championships for boys and girls will be held on Feb. 21 at noon at the New Haven Athletic Center.

The New England championships will be on Feb. 27 at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.