Boys indoor takes third at FCIACs

Keller's leg in relay lifts Darien into top 3

Correspondent

NEW HAVEN -- With just one event remaining, the Blue Wave boys track team needed someone to step up in order to land in the top three at the Class L track championship at Hillhouse.

That someone proved to be Kevin Keller.

Having already left his fingerprints all over several events throughout the competition, Keller had one final impact to offer in the biggest spot of them all. With Darien sitting in fourth place, one last shot at landing in the top three overall was at hand. Tasked with the role of running the final leg in the 4 x 200 meter relay event, Keller was ready to seize the opportunity.

"He (Keller) told me he was going to bring it," Darien head coach Tyson Kaczmarek said. "Well, he definitely brought it."

After teammates Stockton McMullin and Brent Eppley left Darien in the mix atop to the field, Keller took the baton from Peter McDounough and barreled down the track like a runaway train.

Gaining speed with each stride, Keller flew down the final stretch, passed D'Vonte Chambers of Notre Dame in the waning moments, and propelled the Blue Wave to an electric first-place finish (1:34.03) to close out the meet in rousing fashion.

"That was an incredible effort right there, "said Kaczmarek. "All four of them were awesome, and Keller really finished strong for us. ... "He (Keller) buried the anchor for Notre Dame in the last 50 meters after making up a 15 meter deficit."

Thanks to the 10 points provided by the late win, Darien topped rival New Canaan (35.75) to claim third place overall with 42.25 points. Notre Dame of West Haven (54 points) captured the Class S championship, followed by runner-up Daniel Hand (48 points).

The 4 x 200 team set a new school record. The previous record was 1:34.29 by Kevin Knapp, John Bolton, Alexi Bello and Nick Joosten, which was set last season. The time also qualified the team for nationals in March. All four athletes on the relay earned All-State honors for their first-place finish.

Prior to running that crucial last leg of the 4 x 200, Keller placed second in the long jump competition (21-06.50).

In addition, the junior standout came within inches of claiming victory in the 300 meter dash. Phillip Bentley of Notre Dame held on for dear life to edge him by five one-hundredths of a second in the event, as Keller ripped down the final leg of the event to cross the finish line with a time of 36.55 seconds (second place).

"I wanted to push out in front and stride it out in the straight-away," Keller said. "After that final turn, I really hit my stride. There's a lot of great competition here, so I'm proud of how I performed."

Along with Keller, several other Blue Wave athletes enjoyed strong Class L campaigns. Teammate John Conley showcased his long-distance prowess in a pair of events.

In 1,600 meter action, Conley placed third overall with a time of 4:32.37. In 3,200 meter action, he returned to action and secured a fourth-place time of 9:59.70 to hand the Blue Wave four more big points.

"John Conley pulled a great double," Kaczmarek said. "He maxed himself out and really helped the team. He is such a tough racer."

Stockton McMullin notched timely points on the track and in the field for Darien, placing fourth overall in the long jump event (21-00.50) and sixth in the 300 meter dash (37.52 seconds).

Austin Cockerill had a team-best effort in the high jump competition with a mark of 5-08 leaving him tied for fifth place with three other competitors.

For Kaczmarek and company, a strong showing throughout -- capped by an exhilarating finish -- made the team's first foray into Class L championship action a success.

"This was our first time in this class and our first time competing against this field of teams" said Kaczmarek, whose team placed third in Class M competition last season. "I'm really happy with how we performed, and to see our guys finish that strong was tremendous. ... We caught a couple of bad breaks in the long jump. The ran the finals of the 300 right during the finals of long jump so none of our guys were able to jump well in the second round of jumps. That hurt us."

The team now prepares for the state open, at Hillhouse, in which Keller and Co. will be asked to go up against the best the entire state has to offer. There will certainly be some familiar faces there.