Warriors capture five individual events, two relays to pull away from Ellington
By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Collinsville Press.com
CANTON, Feb. 13, 2010 – For the Canton High boys indoor track team, it was the longest week of the year.
A year ago in their first official varsity campaign, the Warriors were third in the NCCC. With the strength of athletes from this fall’s NCCC champion cross country team, Canton had its eyes on the 2010 NCCC indoor track and field championships on Jan. 28. All the preparation and training had the team focused on that meet.
And then it snowed, postponing the meet 10 days to February 8. “They were pacing the halls for a week and a half,” Canton coach Tim O’Donnell said.
The Warriors raced past the opposition. Canton won five individual events and two relays to easily win its first-ever indoor track league championship with a dominating 53-point win over Ellington, 142-91, at the New Haven Athletic Center. Suffield was a distant third with 57 points.
The Canton girls squad finished fifth with 45 points, sparked by its 1,600-meter sprint medley relay team that won a league championship.
“Ellington is a really good team but we had more depth,” O’Donnell said. “Some of the other schools didn’t really even try (in team competition). They were focused on individual performances. We had a really good day.”
Senior Ryan Gallagher won two events, taking the 300 meters and 600 meters. His time of 37.04 in the 300 was just 0.01 off the school record.
Canton’s depth was obvious on the track. The Warriors had four of the top five runners in the 1,000 meters, led by Brian Magna, who won the race in 2:43.51 over teammate Kevin Kurnat in 2:45.99. Mike Chekas was third and Tyler Fitzpatrick was fifth.
In the 3,200 meters, Mike LeDuc won in 9:59.48 with Magna second, Chekas fifth and Ned Furtney in sixth place.
LeDuc came close in the 1,600 meters taking second with a school-record time of 4:33.40, about a second behind Suffield’s Chris Reynolds. LeDuc started off slow and picked up steam as the race progressed. Kurnat was third and Furtney was seventh.
The Warriors won a thrilling 1,600-meter relay race, beating Ellington by about two seconds and setting a new meet record of 3:44.35.
It was a close race through the first two laps but on the third lap, Gallagher pulled away to give Kurnat had a significant lead as he raced off on the anchor leg. James Solomon and Dave Solomon ran the first two legs.
Canton also set a new meet record in winning the sprint medley relay in 3:47.13 knocking off over four seconds off the old mark set by Coventry in 2008. Tyler Matt, a manager on the cross country team this fall, and Bryan Lochner ran 200 meter legs, Dave Solomon ran a 400-meter leg and Magna ran the anchor leg of 800 meters.
Lochner also won the long jump with a leap of 19-3.5 feet. Ben Miner was fifth and Sean Murphy was seventh. Miner also took third in the shot.
The only down note was the injury to David Kucia, who broke his arm when he tripped on a hurdle in the finals. Kucia had run the fastest qualifying time of the day in 8.79. Teammate Dave Solomon was second in the race in 9.13 while Tyler Vankirk was sixth in 10.15.
“They worked hard and were focused,” O’Donnell said. “To do well, several athletes had to compete in three events and that is tough in a meet that goes quickly.”
On the girls side, Canton’s sprint medley relay team was challenged by Suffield, Stafford and Ellington throughout the race. Each team had the lead at one point. The Warriors took the lead in the last 800-meter leg when Deanna Nappi pulled ahead with about a lap and a half remaining.
Nappi turned in her best 800 time of the season to help Canton win in 4:46.52, over four seconds ahead of Suffield, who faded in the final lap. Rose Minichello and Elise Minichello each ran legs of 200 meters while Alessandra Summa ran the 400 meter leg.
In the long jump, Rose Minichello finished second with a leap of 15 feet, five inches with teammate Tyisha Alexander fourth with a leap of 14-10.
Summa finished third in the shot put with a school record throw of 29 feet. Camila Rich finished third in the high jump with a leap of 4-4.
2010 NCCC championships
At New Haven
Top three results in each race along with Canton and Avon athletes from the top 10.
BOYS
Team results – 1. Canton 142, 2. Ellington 91, 3. Suffield 57, 4. Enfield 56, 5. East Windsor 30, 6. Coventry 27, 7. Stafford 23, 8. Avon 18, 9. Granby 10, 10. East Granby 8, 11. Windsor Locks 3
4x800 -- 1. Ellington 8:38.17, 2. Suffield 8:43.13, 3. Canton (Sean Murphy, Dan Kucia, Ned Furtney, Mike Leduc) 9:09.74, 4. Coventry 9:10.37, 5. Avon (Jameson Neserella, Ryan Coyle, Tom Brisco, Matt Mascoli) 9:34.28, 6. Enfield 10:13.63
55 hurdles -- 1. Matt Stephan (Ellington) 8.96, 2. Dave Solomon (Canton) 9.13; 3. Peter Zaffetti (Suffield) 9.67; 6. Tyler Van Kirk (Canton) 10.15, 7. Dave Kucia (Canton) DNF
55 meters – 1. Andrew Buanno (Enfield) 6.68, 2. Travis McNulty (Enfield) 6.79, 3. Kainen Moscato (Stafford) 6.93; 6. Ross McDonald (Avon) 7.01
1000 meters – 1. Brian Magna (Canton) 2:43.51, 2. Kevin Kurnat (Canton) 2:45.99, 3. Nick Chekas (Canton) 2:47.33, 4. Dan Moroney (Suffield) 2:47.78, 5. Tyler Fitzpatrick (Canton) 2:56.51, 6. Nick Parker (East Windsor) 2:58.02
600 meters – 1. Ryan Gallagher (Canton) 1:28.67, 2. Dan O’Donnell (Ellington) 1:29.84, 3. Nick Varney (Ellington) 1:30.87, 4. Tom Brisco (Avon) 1:36.05; 7. Sean Murphy (Canton) 1:38.67
1,600 meters – 1. Chris Reynolds (Suffield) 4:32.66, 2. Mike Leduc (Canton) 4:33.40, 3. Kevin Kurnat (Canton) 4:45.35; 7. Ned Furtney (Canton) 5:10.08
1,600 sprint medley – 1. Canton (Tyler Matt, Dave Solomon, Bryan Lochner, Brian Magna) 3:47.13, new meet record. (old record Coventry, 3:53.45, 2008); 2. Ellington 4:00.73, 3. Enfield 4:01.39, 4. Avon (Zak Zambrello, Ryan Coyle, Ross McDonald, Tom Brisco) 4:12.14
300 meters – 1. Ryan Gallagher (Canton) 37.04, 2. Jracarr Johnson (East Windsor) 37.60, 3. Travis McNulty (Enfield) 38.41; 4. James Solomon (Canton) 38.53
3,200 meters – 1. Mike Leduc (Canton) 9:59.48, 2. Brian Magna (Canton) 10:03.57, 3. Dan Moronev (Suffield) 10:20.90; 5. Nick Chekas (Canton) 10:59.61, 6. Ned Furtney (Canton) 11:09.31
4x400 relay – 1. Canton (Ryan Gallagher, Kevin Kurnat, James Solomon, Dave Solomon) 3:42.81, new meet record. (Old record 3:44.35, Tolland, 2004), 2. Ellington 3:44.52, 3. Suffield 3:57.32
4x200 relay – 1. Enfield 1:37.49, 2. Ellington 1:40.41, 3. Coventry 1:44.04; 4. Avon (Ethan Buyse, Garrett Peters, Zak Zambrello, Ross McDonald) 1:44.54; 5. Canton (Tyler Smith, Sean Haendiges, Tyler Matt, Bryan Lochner) 1:44.56
Long jump –1. Bryan Lochner (Canton) 19-3½, 2. Jracarr Johnson (East Windsor) 19-2, 3. Pat Mohan (Coventry) 18-5½; 5. Ben Miner (Canton) 18-0, 7. Sean Murphy (Canton) 17-9
Shot – 1. Dakota Waterman (Enfield) 46-5, 2. Garv Feldman (Ellington) 45-2, 3. Ben Miner (Canton) 39-1
Pole vault – 1. Matt Stephan (Ellington) 13-1, new meet record; 2. Damon Rummel (Stafford) 11-6, 3. Bruce MacKay (Suffield) 9-6; t4. Colin Smith (Avon) 9-0
High jump – 1. Jracarr Johnson (East Windsor) 5-10, 2. Brendan Dutton (Granby) 5-8, 3. David Rapuano (East Granby) 5-8
GIRLS
Team results – 1. Suffield 128, 2. Ellington 102, 3. Coventry 58, 4. Stafford 53, 5. Canton 45, 6. Enfield 38, 7. Granby 16, 8. Windsor Locks 10, 9. East Granby 9, 10. Avon 5
4x800 -- 1. Suffield 10:58.4, 2. Ellington 11:25.68, 3. Stafford 11:58.31, 4. Coventry 11:58.83, 5. Enfield 12:22.33
55 hurdles -- 1. Alyssa Wagner (Suffield) 9.72, 2. Stephanie Oliver (Coventry) 9.73, 3. Kelly Kenney (Suffield) 10.29; 5. Camila Rich (Canton) 10.39
55 meters -- 1. Claiborne Jones (Ellington) 7.36, 2. Aniali Ouinones (Suffield) 7.71, 3. Lauren Webb (Stafford) 7.76; 5. Katie Talbot (Canton) 7.87; 7. Alessandra Summa (Canton) 8.01
1000 meters – 1. Sarah Wilson (Suffield) 3:09.78, 2. Megan MacBryde (Coventry) 3:10.11, 3. Jennifer Hulstein (Ellington) 3:16.65; 5. Deanna Nappi (Canton) 3:20.96
600 meters – 1. Patience Bearse (Enfield) 1:48.87, 2. Rachael Cocca (Suffield) 1:49.20, 3. Molly Honda (Ellington) 1:52.13
1,600 meters – 1. Megan MacBryde (Coventry) 5:33.50, 2. Chelsea Bishop (Suffield) 5:44.91, 3. Megan Almagro (Granby) 5:47.22; 5. Emily Arciero (Avon) 5:57.73; 7. Jessie Chance (Canton) 6:06.45
1,600 sprint medley – 1. Canton (Elise Minichello, Alessandra Summa, Rose Minichello, Deanna Nappi) 4:46.52, 2. Suffield 4:50.86, 3. Ellington 4:51.25
300 meters – 1. Sarah Wilson (Suffield) 43.46, 2. Claiborne Jones (Ellington) 43.48, 3. Patience Bearse (Enfield) 45.05; 10, Shiny Douglas (Canton) 50.55
3,200 meters – 1. Jennifer Hulstein (Ellington) 12:20.14, 2. Elizabeth Rigby (Suffield) 12:25.15, 3. Chelsea Bishop (Suffield) 12:27.91
4x400 relay – 1. Suffield 4:35.62, 2. Ellington 4:37.85, 3. Coventry 4:45.26, 4. Canton (Shiney Douglas, Jessie Chance, Camilla Rich, Deanna Nappi) 4:45.66
4x200 relay – 1. Ellington 1:53.69, 2. Enfield 1:55.14, 3. Stafford 1:56.56; 5. Avon (Sara Gonzalez, Stephanie Koo, Kristina Shayler, Bess Casserleigh) 2:02.68, 6. Canton (Elise Minichello, Rose Minichello, Katherine Eich, Katie Talbot) 2:04.91
Long jump – 1. Gabiia Pileika (Suffield) 15-9, 2. Rose Minichello (Canton) 15-0 ½, 3. Kianna Woods (Stafford) 14-10, 4. Tyisha Alexander (Canton) 14-10; 7. Elise Minichello (Canton) 13-11, 8. Katie Talbot (Canton) 13-10
Shot – 1. Stephanie Oliver (Coventry) 33-5, 2. Anna Glassman (East Granby) 30-4½, 3. Alessandra Summa (Canton) 29-0; 7. Avlannah Dylae (Canton) 25-4½
Pole vault – 1. Allison Bruce (Stafford) 7-6, 2. Amanda Jacobsen (Stafford) 7-6, 3. Amanda Kulas (Windsor Locks) 7-0
High jump – 1. Sara Moore (Ellington) 4-8, 2. Meghan Rose Costello (Ellington) 4-6, 3. Camila Rich (Canton) 4-4; 7. Tyisha Alexander (Canton) 4-2
