The Class L and Class S indoor track and field state championships took place this past Saturday at New Haven’s Floyd Little Athletic Center.
There were two area state champions in those meets, and they both came from Bristol schools. Jarrett Boxley, a Bristol Central senior, won gold in the 55-meter hurdles during the Class L meet, which ran from the late morning into the afternoon. Tyler Turner, a St. Paul junior, claimed gold in the long jump during the Class S meet, which ran into the evening. To say the least, supporters of Boxley and Turner were thrilled with their first place finishes.
“JARRETT BOXLEY IS YOUR 55H STATE CHAMPION!!!!! tweeted Central indoor coach Kiara Bonilla-Jusino on Saturday after Boxley competed. “He is not done yet!”
“LONG JUMP CHAMPION! Congratulations to Tyler Turner on winning the boys’ long jump at the Class S State Championship Meet on Saturday and qualifying for this Saturday’s State Open!” read a Monday tweet from the St. Paul track and field account.
Boxley was third in the preliminaries in 8.40 seconds. He shaved 0.43 second off his preliminary time in the final and won gold in 7.97 seconds.
Turner’s seed jump was 21 feet, 2½ inches, the fourth best entering the event. Turner pulled off his gold medal jump of 21 feet, 6 inches on his first of six attempts. His two closest competitors were nearly six feet off his best effort.
Turner and Boxley will compete in Saturday’s state open, which is right back at the Floyd Little Athletic Center. Turner’s mark of 21 feet, 6 inches is first among those who qualified for the long jump at the open. Boxley’s time of 7.93 is third among those who qualified for the 55 hurdles at the open.
Boxley is also part of Central’s 1600 sprint medley, which is seeded fourth at the open. Boxley was part of a relay – along with sophomore Logan Jackson, senior Noah Conrod and junior Francis Porrini – that finished second in Class L in 3:43.41.
Photo caption: Bristol Central’s Jarrett Boxley, left, and St. Paul’s Tyler Turner, right, each won gold at the state class meets this past Saturday in New Haven. (Credit: Kiara Bonilla-Jusino and St. Paul track and field Twitter accounts)
