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05/22/2015 12:00 AMEvery year, the North Haven track program makes some noise at the SCC West Sectional Championship. The 2015 edition of the meet proved no exception for the Indians, who saw both their boys’ and girls’ teams place in the upper echelon while recording a few individual victories.
The North Haven boys scored 107 points to finish second among 10 teams at Amity on May 18. Steve Celmer’s club saw first-place finishes from senior captain Nick Sbabo in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.691 seconds, as well as a triumph in the 400-meter dash by Omar Gebril, who ran 50.27.
One week after they won the Oronoque Division title, the girls’ squad brought that momentum into the sectional meet and took third out of 10 with 90.50 points. Head Coach Carl Jackson and company were led by a trio of first-place finishes as senior Maria Chiaia won the discus by throwing 104 feet-4 inches, sophomore Sarah Vanacore was best in the shot put at 35-8, and junior Sonia Atluru took the high jump title by clearing 5 feet.
The only team the Indians’ boys didn’t defeat was Hamden, which won the meet by scoring 151. However, North Haven did beat out the Branford squad it had lost to the previous week in a meet that determined the Oronoque champion. The Hornets were fifth at sectionals with 60.50 points.
The boys’ two individual wins came from opposite ends of the spectrum. For Sbabo, his finish in the hurdles added to his lengthy list of marquee meet triumphs. With Gebril taking the 400, this marked the first time he came away with postseason gold.
Sbabo posted a time of 16.40 in the preliminaries of the 110 hurdles and was second behind Notre Dame’s Elliott Paintsil, who ran 15.81. But when the bell rang for the main event, Sbabo took first in the finals by going 15.691, which was whisker better than Paintsil, who ran 15.699. Sbabo additionally took fourth place in the 300 hurdles at 41.92. Sbabo had previously won the 55 hurdles at states and sectionals for the recent indoor season, plus that event at last year’s indoor sectionals, in addition to the 110 hurdles at the outdoor sectional and state meets in a junior year that also saw him win the 300 hurdles for the sectional competition.
Meanwhile, Gebril raced to the victory in the 400 by virtue of his mark of 50.27, which topped runner-up Denzel Asson’s 51.01. Gebril nearly hit the daily double as he was the runner-up in the 200 at 23.35, just a little bit behind Hamden’s Evan Walker (22.93).
Sbabo and Gebril also joined forces with sophomore Josh Bryson and freshman Julian Martinez for the 4x400 relay and the quartet took third place by running a season-best time of 3:37.15.
“Omar is just a force. We were in last when he got the baton in the 4x400 and he chased them all down, except for two, with a 50.8 split. He just will not be denied at any point. Omar is incredibly fast and he’s only a sophomore,” Coach Celmer said. “Nick is another fierce competitor. He has that look in his eyes. His win in the 110 didn’t come easy, but Nick got his chest across the line just before the kid from Notre Dame. Nick wasn’t feeling especially well and we weren’t sure if he was going to run the 4x4 after the 300, but when it came time for the race, he told me he was going. It’s a testament to his toughness.”
On the girls’ side, Atluru followed up her winter trifecta that saw her prevail in the high jump at sectionals, SCC, and states by taking the crown once again at this year’s West Sectional. Atluru’s height of 5 feet beat out runner-up Dahsia Middlebrooks of Career and her 4-10. She was also third in the triple jump at 32-5.
Chiaia, who won the shot put at indoor sectionals, was second in the event this time at 33-3.25—only behind victorious teammate Vanacore, who posted her first postseason victory by throwing 35-8. Chiaia still put forth a victory, though, as her distance of 104-4 in the discus blew away the competition and was way ahead of second-place Sofie Walsh of Sacred Heart Academy (90-2).
“Our throwers are putting in a lot of hard work and showing a lot of dedication with [throwing] coach [Marc] Celmer, from the weight room to the throwing fields. Sarah’s brother [Patrick] was on the team and Sarah is showing that same hard work and responsibility to help her succeed. Maria has come into her own. Her success from the indoor season has carried over and she’s getting near her peak,” said Coach Jackson. “Sonia is also putting in a lot of time in her field events. She has the natural ability, as well as the work ethic, and she works hard every day.”
Coach Jackson also pointed out some great results in the distance events from his squad, including his 4x800 relay that ran a season-best time of 10:24.61 in placing third. That group featured sophomores Elise Symon and Maily Tran, along with freshman Macey DiCarlo and senior captain Alexandra Ford. Symon also paced her way to fourth place in the 1,600-meter run (5:21.81) and was fifth in the 3,200 at 12:17.80—both which were personal bests. Jackson noted Symon for her work ethic and the fact that she enjoys talking strategy with him.
Coach Celmer was also quite pleased about the performance of one of his distance runners in junior Ryan Brennan, who was second in the 3,200 (9:57.13) and fourth in the 1,600 (4:35.08). Brennan additionally ran on the fourth-place 4x800 relay (8:38.16) with senior captain Corey Powers, freshman Brad Schweikert, and sophomore Jordan Tong.
Celmer additionally handed out kudos to another runner-up in junior Shane O’Connor, who was second in the shot put (43-10); along with senior Nick Marinuzzi, who placed third at 41-5. Celmer credited O’Connor for his competitiveness that was exemplified by the fact that he was disappointed that he didn’t take first, even though he had a great throw. O’Connor also came in seventh for the discus (111-6).
Athletes who placed in the top eight scored points at the sectional meet and the North Haven boys had numerous others do so. Senior captain Chris Parisella had another big postseason showing as he finished third in the 110 hurdles (16.35), fifth in the long jump (20-1), and was also fifth in the triple jump (41-7.25). Also, freshman Eric Millard took sixth in the shot put with junior Aaron Wilson in seventh (39-7.25) and senior captain Thomas Mitchell in eighth (39-7). Wilson was also eighth in the discus (102-4), junior Anthony Valentino found sixth in the javelin (136-3), junior Nate Keegan finished seventh in the javelin (136-0), Powers took seventh in the 3,200 (10:35.09), Schweikert was eighth in the 1,600 (4:45.21), Bryson claimed eighth in the 300 hurdles (43.76), and sophomore Todd Richards placed eighth in the long jump (18-1).
The girls also saw several others post points at the sectional meet. Captain Carly Flannery finished fourth in the javelin (92-0) with fellow senior Morgan Salerno in fifth (90-0) and Flannery was also sixth in the discus (84-1). Senior Abby Tantorski took fifth in the 100 (13.17) and sixth in the 200 (27.13), senior Gabrielle Gontarek finished fifth in the pole vault (7-6) with sophomore Shelby Wuchek in eighth (6-6), junior Katrisha Bell came in fifth for the shot put (30-3.25), and junior Kamran Burns was seventh in the long jump (15-1.75). Also, the 4x100 relay of juniors Marissa Thomas, Erika Mason, Juliana Bencivengo, and senior captain Jenna Volpe placed seventh at 55.23.