Hour Staff Writer

NEW BRITAIN — Staples' Remi-Alain Ray saved his best for last, anchoring the Wrecker 4x400-meter relay to victory in the final event of the Class L Track and Field Championship Meet Tuesday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Ray, the senior standout who has been nursing a hamstring injury for most of the spring season, exploded on the final leg after taking the handoff from classmate and best friend Will Caffery.

As Ray came across the finish line to cap a school-record effort of 3 minutes, 20.92 seconds he pumped his fists in triumph, then joined Caffery, Dane Lonsdale and Brendan Cristobal in a celebratory circle on the field. The only problem Ray had was some tightness in his left calf, but he ignored it and flew around the track.

"This is amazing," Ray said. "Basically this is like last year, when we were running all on heart. Will was disappointed with his 800 (meter) time, and I've been injured all season long, so this feels great. We knew we had a shot at (winning), and we went for it. The hamstring feels fine."

Caffery was certain that Ray would get the relay its coveted final-race win.

"I'm really happy, we all ran really fast," Caffery said. "I just got the baton and took off. I knew Remi could do it for us."

Staples also took first in the 4x800-meter relay to open the meet. Lonsdale and Cristobal joined Henry Kaplan and Jason Hanrahan to win in 8:11.76.

Staples finished in fifth place overall with 42.5 points, a half point ahead of Lyman Hall. Wilton was 11th with 24 points, and Brien McMahon placed 16th with 19 points. Wethersfield and Windsor tied atop the boys competition with 64 points apiece.

On the girls side Brien McMahon took ninth place with 24 points, with Staples 1.5 points behind in 10th. Norwalk finished with 13 points, good for the 17th spot. Simsbury claimed the girls title with 130 points, 44 points in front of runner-up Hillhouse.

Norwalk's Nikki Hay was limited to the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints. A right knee injury suffered a week ago at the FCIAC Championships prevented her from competing in the long jump and triple jump.

Despite her ailing knee, Hay ran fourth in both the 100 meters and 200 meters. Her time in the 100 was 13.14, and she ran 26.77 in the 200.

Brien McMahon's Nellie Farrow finished third in the 100 meters in 13.03, took sixth in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet, 11.25 inches, and placed seventh in the triple jump at 34 feet, 1 inch, to help the Senators ninth place in the team competition with 24 points.

"I did fine for me," Farrow said. "(Samantha Kelley of Simsbury) went 37 feet, 6.5 inches, to win, and that's incredible. I ran slow in the 100 final and I was very surprised with my time. It didn't feel that slow."

McMahon's Hali Dengenis jumped to second place in the high jump with a 5-foot effort, two inches off her personal best in her first time at an outdoor state meet.

"I'm happy, it wasn't a bad day," Dengenis said. "Everyone was just trying to get over five feet. On my last jump at 5-2 I got over the bar but caught the bar with my heel."

The McMahon boys were led by freshman Michael Graham, who continued his ascent to elite status among state sprinters. Graham placed fourth in the 200 meters in 23.10, and took fifth in the 100 meters with a time of 11.46.

"The fourth in the 200 was a real good time," Graham said. "And I got fifth in the 100 even though it was the slowest race I've run in a while. I still have some pain in my hamstring (from the final regular-season meet), but with all that I feel really good about the day."

Bertony Jean-Louis, the McMahon sophomore, used a personal-best long jump of 20 feet, 9 inches to finish fourth in that event.

"Last year was not as good, and I didn't realize I had this much potential," Jean-Louis said. "This is my first time at the FCIAC and Class meets, and I'm going to the State Open. This feels great, especially because I'm so young. I really want to improve over the next two years. My one major goal is to place first in the long jump at these big meets."

Wilton's Chris Collins ran to fourth place in the 800 meters in 2:00.67, two spots behind Ray in 1:57.42, and used a personal-best time of 4:25.96 to claim third in the 1,600 meters.

"It was a pretty good day," Collins said. "I had a personal record in the mile, nearly three second better, and it was my goal to get to 4:25. I qualified for the State Open in both. Last year I was sick and ran badly at this meet. I was a little nervous that I was going to tighten up in the 800 — I wasn't fresh after the mile — but I tried to stay with the leaders. When I couldn't catch them I stayed smooth and took fourth."

Warren Nesteruk of Wilton, who was nursing knee and hip ailments, ran to third in the 110-meter hurdles in :15.50. Nesteruk did not want any sympathy for his late-season injuries.