Manchester - Last time Darrell Wattely ran at a state championship meet, the Class M indoor meet, he won his heat easily in the 55 meters only to find out that of the nine heat winners only eight made it to the finals. He was the ninth.

On Wednesday, the Class M state championship outdoor meet turned out a bit differently for the Montville senior.

He finished his third event of the day, the 200 meters, in first place, same as the other two, grinning broadly and holding up three fingers for his three titles. Wattely won the 200 in 22.84 seconds, the 100 in 11.08 and the long jump at 21 feet, 8.25 inches, leading Montville to a third-place team finish with 61 points.

"That was disappointing," Montville coach Tim Egan said of Wattely not making the finals in the indoor meet. "That just renewed his insistence on getting something done this outdoor season."

Wattely also won the 100 and the 200 at the Eastern Connecticut Conference championship, May 22, setting the meet record in the 100.

He was the only boys' winner from the ECC, but was joined by girls' champions Megan Rose Chapman of Stonington (discus), Nefi Kinsler of Griswold (shot put), Rachel Gavin of New London (100 hurdles) and Otessa Velasquez of Griswold (javelin) in collecting state titles.

For Chapman and Kinsler, the wins meant a bit of redemption, as both were seeded first at the ECC meet but did not win.

Chapman, who became flustered at the ECCs when she landed just two of her six discus throws without fouling, finished second. She has the top throw in the state this season in that event at 120 feet, 8 inches.

This time, Chapman also fouled on her first throw of the second flight, but her second throw landed comfortably within range. She continued to improve throughout the event, winning with a throw of 114-0.

"I practiced working on my composure," said Chapman, who went from distraught a week ago to saying she felt like turning a cartwheel Wednesday. "Even if I had a bad throw, instead of getting upset I just sat down and said, 'What did I do wrong?' This is supposed to be fun. It's not supposed to be me aggravating myself."

Kinsler competed at the ECC meet following the Griswold prom and finished fifth in the shot put. She won the state title with a personal best and school record 37-7.5.

Gavin won the 100 hurdles in 15.68 seconds.

A senior, Gavin was the Class S champ in the 100 hurdles a year ago and was nervous to move up a class, she said. On a small New London team, Gavin has been the only hurdler, boys or girls, since she was a freshman.

"I'm a cheerleader. I started track to keep in shape," said Gavin, who said she thought she'd be good at hurdles because she's good at jumping but found the principles of the two sports to be vastly different. "The hurdles is an adrenaline rush. Today, I got a good start out of the blocks and thought, 'Get this.'"

Velasquez won the javelin at 114-0.

Meanwhile, Wattely won his third event and took off his shoes and socks to walk across the infield. He was still breathing hard several minutes after the 200. He said the 100 was probably his best race.

"It was real good competition (in the 100)," said Wattely, who competed in cross country for the first time this year to boost his endurance, something which Egan, his coach, said proved how serious the senior was about improving.

Wattely's sister, Shatajah, a sophomore, was second in the 200 in 25.93 and second in the 400 in 57.61.

v.fulkerson@theday.com