Training Together, Boys and Girls Indoor Track & Field Sweep CCC South

Indoor Track & Field Girls and Boys Captains

Faced with a winter as tough as the recent one, most people chose to bundle up inside. Not the high school indoor track & field team, however. This year’s Blue Knights weren’t going to let frigid temperatures stop them from reaching their potential. Southington’s hard work and dedication have paid off, as the boys and the girls squads both won the Central Connecticut Conference South Division.

Before CCCs, co-head coaches Nick Migani and Jaclyn Sullivan asked their team a simple question. They knew they’d have to battle against conference powerhouses such as Bloomfield, Windsor, and Glastonbury. But given the team Southington had assembled in 2026, why couldn’t they take home the conference crown?

“It would be silly to go into it not being like, ‘Can we be CCC South Division champions? Can we win our division, can we battle these teams who want the same thing as us and really go after it together?’,” Sullivan said. “I want to throw down with those teams. Even if we supposedly can’t win, whatever, why can’t it be us at some point? Why can’t we go for it?”

“At some point we’ve got to say, ‘Hey maybe we’re not there yet, but why not us?’ That’s really the mentality we’re trying to foster on them,” Migani added. “You’ve got to fake it a little before you make it. Let’s go out there and expect to compete with some of the best teams in New England, hold ourselves to their standard. We should go out and compete with them, not just be happy to be there. Instead of chasing these teams, we should think we belong.”

Southington wins CCC South

This self-confidence paid off. Southington girls indoor track and field scored a 142 to win the South. They posted a 24.33 in the overall competition, coming in seventh. Every competitor listed below qualified for All-Conference with their results.

Senior Katherine Cavanaugh finished second in the 3200-meters (11:24.22) and fourth in the 1600 (5:14). Fellow senior Adriana Paszkowski placed seventh in the high jump (4’ 6”) and ninth in the 55-meter hurdles (9.48). Junior Sarah Fares earned a third place finish in the shot put (35’  6.5”). Freshman Emily Phipps placed 12th in the 3200 (12:27.87) while junior Martha Siwek finished 12th in the high jump (4’ 4”).

In the pole vault, senior Riley Bassett finished sixth (8’6”), junior Josephine Martin finished seventh (8' 0”) and sophomore Gabriella Paskowski finished ninth (7’ 0”). For the 1000-meters, freshman Madeleine Canner-O’Mealy placed ninth (3:13.15), fellow freshman Giada Pagnucco finished 15th (3:20.79) and senior Shaelyn Flaherty came in 21st (3:26.03).

Southington’s 4x800 relay team of Phipps, senior Jenna Hebert and freshmen Emily Blankenship and Giuliana Angieri came in fifth (10:53.18). The 1600 sprint medley relay team of Siwek, Pagnucco, Canner-O’Mealy and sophomore Olivia Ostopawicz finished eighth (4:40.83) while the 4x400 team of Hebert, Flaherty, Pagnucco and Canner-O’Mealy came in ninth (4:36.38).

The boys too reaped the benefit from believing in themselves. The Blue Knights won the South with a score of 125. Their 37 points in the overall competition led to a fourth place finish. Everyone listed below has made All-CCCs.

Junior Walker Mierzejewski finished fourth in the 55-meters (6.61) while senior Chimdi Ogubagu placed fifth (6.62). Senior Ethan Hoffman finished fourth in the 1000 (2:38.76) while junior Cole Hinckley placed sixth in the 600 (1:28). Junior Michael Blankenship came in eighth in the 3200 (10:03.44) as Senior Luke Wolf was 10th in the 55-meter hurdles (8.39).

Junior Sam Cheek was 13th in the 1600 (4:49.93) as sophomore Berenger Xavier finished 16th in the 300 (37.65). In the shot put, junior Jason Kalawat finished fifth (45’ 4.5”) while senior Jaiden Livers came in sixth (44’ 10.5”).

The Blue Knights’ 4x200 relay team of Ogubagu, Mierzejewski, Hinckley and Xavier won the event with a time of 1:33.32. Southington’s 1600 sprint medley relay team of Mierzejewski, Wolf, and sophomores Ryan Andrews and Logan Perrella placed fourth (3:51.16). The 4x400 team of Wolf, Hinckley, Andrews and senior Croix Pugliese came in fifth (3:41.70) while the 4x800 team of Blankenship, Perrella, senior Jayden Gajewski and junior Stephen Rahenkamp placed sixth (8:42.46).

For both squads, Sullivan felt Southington’s CCC fully encapsulated the team’s ‘why not us’ attitude.

“I think the athletes really took our ‘why not us?’ message to heart. Event after event, both the boys and girls stepped up with tenacity, putting themselves in the best possible position to help the team,” Sullivan said. “The 4x200 relay set the tone with their first place finish and from there the energy only grew. When they weren’t competing, the athletes were on their feet cheering and supporting one another. It was special to see the team come together around a shared goal and deliver the performances they did.”

Indoor Track Teams Combine As One

Sullivan, who is also head coach of the girls outdoor track team, has unofficially been coaching indoor track alongside Migani for the past three seasons. During the 2026 campaign, the Blue Knights moved to an official co-head coach structure with both Migani and Sullivan leading the way.

Seeing all sides of the Blue Knights has only made the program stronger. Each member of the coaching staff is able to give input no matter the team. In turn, Southington’s athletes have an opportunity to compete as one.

“With indoor track in general, all the coaches coach together because of the facilities and the nature of having 100+ kids and six or seven coaches,” Sullivan said. “It’s great that indoor track allows for that opportunity. The boys and girls are different programs, different teams. But it’s fun to see them train together. Working with Nick and the other coaches makes it fun and easy for everyone.”

“It has been great,” Migani added. “The coaches coach with all the kids regardless of their gender. When we’re now creating things like the postseason lineups, all the coaches know all the kids. We’re able to bring all of the knowledge bases. It allows us to put it all together as a team as opposed to divided by gender. It lines up easily and naturally.”

On the boys side, many of this year’s competitors were coming off of a long football season. That offered the coaching staff an opportunity to work with many of the new runners. The girls team has plenty of new faces on the roster this season. Sullivan said those young runners have played a crucial role in the Blue Knights’ success, while the veterans have helped keep the team on course.

Everyone on the team had the same goal in mind. The returners were able to see the Blue Knights’ continued growth. Southington knew they had the opportunity to put together a special season.

“This has been a long time coming,” Migani said. “When we first started here, we felt that three years on, we were going to be in a position to be competitive at CCCs and LL level. Last outdoor, it really came together, with the kids buying into the program and the culture, seeing into the future. This year, the kids are really knowledgeable about what we’re trying to do. Now they’ve bought in and integrated any new kids coming in.”

Perhaps the biggest hurdle standing in their way has been the daunting weather. While they are the indoor track team, most of the Blue Knights’ practice happens outside. As Migani puts it, “90 percent of the time, 85 percent of our athletes are outside.” Many teams are looking to use the gym in the winter, and the athletes need enough space to get their work in.  

Still, that is part of the battle that comes with competing in indoor track. While it could be grueling, looking back and seeing how far you’ve come is the ultimate reward.

“Indoor track is the easiest team to sign up for. It’s also one of the hardest teams to be a part of,” Migani said. “Becoming part of the team is showing up when it’s negative something degrees out and getting better because you need to get better for your team. Staying when it’s still dark, or attending those five, six, seven, 10 hour meets. Those areas are where we see this team coming together. You have to have some shared misery. It really brings them together.”

Southington’s Newest Record Holders, Captains

Indoor track & field doesn’t follow the traditional win-loss schedule. Instead, the Blue Knights compete in invitationals throughout the season. Each coach is able to see how far each athlete has been able to progress. By the time the postseason comes around, Southington already knows how to operate and what it will take to succeed at the highest level.

As the Blue Knights go through their campaign, they are looking to see if anyone will break a school record. During the 2026 season, Southington had numerous athletes do so.

Cavanaugh broke – or in Sullivan’s words, “smashed”  - her own 3,000-meter school record with a time of 10:24:

In Ogubagu’s first meet of the season - after transferring from football due to injuries - he set Southington’s 55-meter record, before breaking it yet again with a time of 6.57.

Mierzejewski is the new 200-meter record holder with a time of 22.79, while Kalwat took the weight throw crown with a distance of 58’ 0.5”. In their first attempt of the season, the boys’ 4x200 relay team became school record holders with a mark of 1:31.86.

In addition to setting school records, Cavanaugh is a captain of the girls’ team next to fellow seniors Hebert and Adriana Paskowski. To Sullivan, all three have helped elevate the culture she is trying to help build with the Blue Knights. 

“They’ve brought a lot of communication, positive team culture, encouragement between all event groups, really just phenomenal leadership,” Sullivan said. “I see them as an extension of the coaching staff. They have a lot of experience and knowledge. They’re open and willing to help everyone and still focus on their own events.”

For the boys, Hoffman, Wolf, seniors Nicholas Fusco, Zachary Belcourt and junior William Wu are captains. All five are intent on moving the Blue Knights forward. But it’s important to the captains that Southington has fun doing it.

“The boys team is a little bit different, they’re a rambunctious group,” Migani said. “They maintain the best they can, the organization, the routine, the expectations. But they really keep it fun. Running outside in this weather is not fun. We tend to lose some of that engagement when it is negative something and snowy. Our captains have done a great job of saying, ‘Hey we can work hard and have fun.’ That’s helped our culture. Making sure the kids are coming back, and when they’re here, they’re getting in good work, it isn’t just a mess around type of day.”

Outside of the captains, Migani was quick to praise athletes like Hinckley, who moved from short sprinter to long sprinter, making major strides in the process. Likewise Xavier, who as only a sophomore has managed to make a pivotal impact. Kalwat, the reigning outdoor track & field javelin champion, and Livers have come up clutch for the Blue Knights in the throwing events.

For the girls, Sullivan has been impressed with many of Southington’s newcomers this season. Joining the team as a sophomore, Ostapowicz has become a staple on the Blue Knights’ sprint teams. Angieri and Canner-O’Mealy broke SHS freshman records in the 600 and 1,000 respectively, qualifying for the Class LL State Tournament.

Blue Knights Always Ready To Battle

Southington competed in the Class LL State Tournament on February 14. Both the boys and girls finished 10th overall, with scores of 18 and 18.5 respectively. Full results can be found here.

As they close out their postseason, Southington’s coaches are looking for both teams to capitalize on their success. They understand the level of competition they’ll be facing. But they have put in the work all year for these kinds of races.

When the Blue Knights return to compete next season, plenty of talented seniors will have graduated from the program. Still, Sullivan isn’t expecting Southington’s standards to drop. Indoor track & field is often seen as an individual sport. This year’s squad didn’t view the sport that way, helping build the foundation on which the Blue Knights want to stand.

“The fact that they’re willing to view it as a team sport is what’s helping them standout,” Sullivan said. “The team is not complete without each other. These kids are willing to literally put their bodies on the line to want to achieve a performance for themselves, but know that it’s really for a bigger goal, and for their team.”

Through the snow and cold, the Blue Knights trudged forward. Southington wanted to show the state of Connecticut just how good they can be. But to reach the heights they did, this year’s team needed to do it together.

“It draws them closer together, everyone is in it,” Migani said. “No one is skipping the hard part. As a team, is really where they’re showing growth. A freak can show up and do freakish things. It takes a team to come together to really do something special.”