FAIRFIELD — Last year, at this point in the season Fairfield’s Dawson Allen had 10 meets under his belt. This year, due to weather, postponements and cancellations he’s only participated in six meets.
“Like, at the very beginning of the season, it was all snowy and we were just practicing inside, and once the snow started to clear up we were just out running around town,” he said. ”It’s hard to build a rhythm when you can’t get out and run.”
But even with a small sample size, Allen is having no problem making the case for Class B’s best athlete.
He currently has the state’s best marks in the 110-meter hurdles (14.97 seconds) and javelin (174 feet, 5 inches) and has a top-five mark in the 300 hurdles and 100- and 200-meter dashes. His javelin mark alone is 14 feet better than his best mark as a sophomore in 2017.
“In javelin last year, I didn’t throw too well,” he said. “This year I’m just trying to work on being able to throw it a little farther and hopefully place. It’s been mostly working out and technique. Just more experience. Last year was the first I ever did javelin. Coming back I learned things I was doing wrong last year and tried to fix them.”
The Fairfield boys claimed a state title last year behind seniors Cantor Converdell and Chandler Allen, Dawson’s older brother. Those two are gone, but the Eagles are still a threat to contend for Class B hardware.
“We’re not as big, but we’re a pretty well-rounded team,” Dawson Alley said. “Keeley Bake is good at jumping, Ryder (Meyer) is good at starts. We’re going to have to step up a lot to repeat.”
Allen was part of the Eagles’ state-title-winning 400-meter relay team but didn’t claim any other state titles and was disappointed in his performance. This year he could win as many as five.
“Things have just gotten better from last year and all this season,” Allen said. “Everyone is improving, I’m improving with my times. Yeah, it’s just been pretty fun so far.”
