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02/06/2016 11:00 PMThe Old Saybrook boys’ indoor track squad used a total team effort to edge rival Haddam-Killingworth by six points and take first place at the Shoreline Conference Championship for the second-consecutive year on Feb 6 at Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven. The Rams scored a total of 144 points and runner-up H-K scored 138.
“Close one,” Old Saybrook coach Pete Capezzone said with a deep breath and a smile. “We knew it was going to be close. We expected it to come down to us and H-K. Didn’t help we had some mishaps. No height in the pole vault and a disqualification in the 600 when our runner came into his lane to quick. Those cost us about 16 points right there, so that hurt us. Everybody else, fortunately, came through and here we are. It was a team effort. Everybody had to do their job, so we focused on everybody doing what they needed to do. Relays, individual events—everybody had to step up and I’m very proud.”
The Rams came into the day focused on winning and got started right out of the gate when senior captain Mitch Bruewiler, Austin Reynolds, Aaron Jang, and senior captain Dondre Swain took first place in the 4x200 meter relay with a time of 1:36.79. That was a sign of things to come as Old Saybrook then finished third in the 4x800 relay when Danny Baldi, Josh Chang, Hunter Stuart, and Jeff Dicker ran a 8:54.73. Then Old Saybrook had three of the top four runners in the 55-meter hurdles with Lucas Sumby claiming the top spot with his time of 8 seconds flat, fellow senior captain Alex VanVliet grabbing second at 8.51, James Vukovinsky placing fourth in 9.28, and Ryan Dubord finishing eighth at 9.72.
“It’s a great feeling coming in first. We had to work hard for this. It wasn’t going to be handed to us and it was close,” said Sumby. “We didn’t have the performances in certain events, but we made up for it in others by getting higher than we expected to, so it all worked out in the end.”
In the 55-meter dash, Swain ran away from the field and crossed the finish line in 6.82 seconds to take first, while Jang took third by finishing the sprint in 6.99 to extend the Rams’ lead. H-K got back into the meet by dominating the distance runs in the 600, the 1,000, and the 1,600, but Old Saybrook jumped in front again by taking first in the 1,600 sprint medley relay as Bruewiler, Reynolds, Quin Earles, and Eric Sultini posted a time of 3:53.12. In the 300-meter dash, Swain ran 37.68 and lost by a nose to Alec Bogen of Coginchaug (37.67) for second place, with Jang taking third at 38.91. H-K put the pressure back on as the Cougars went 1-2-3 in the 3,200 and also won the 4x400, an event in which the Rams came in fourth with a time of 3:49.07 behind Reynolds, Sultini, Bruewiler, and Vukovinski.
On this day, though, Old Saybrook would not be denied and Austin Smith personified that spirit as he leaped past the field in the long jump with a distance of 20 feet-1 inch for first place. Right behind him was Sumby in second (19-10.50) and VanVliet in third (19-10.5). VanVliet also placed third in the high jump at 5-6. The Rams pushed ahead with the long jump and then added some breathing room when senior captain Carl Anderson won the shot put with a throw of 42-6.50.
“It was close to a personal record, but I’ll take the win,” Anderson said. “I hit the weight room a lot and threw a lot of shots. We do a lot in practice, so when it comes to the meets, you just have to focus, not be nervous, and really get it out there. It’s great to get the team win. Hopefully, I can finish higher than I have previously in states next week because there are a lot of good people in states, so I have to work my tail off this week.”
After that, Smith put the meet away with another great individual effort in the pole vault. He soared over the bar and his competitors with a first-place finish and a height of 13-9.
“We had a good week of practice. The kids just got over midterm exams, so we had to refocus them on the championship part of the season and I kind of think next week our performance may be even a little better, but I think we are very happy with what happened today,” said Cappezzone, who’s in his 22nd season as head coach. “Lucas did a great job for us in most of his events, but didn’t get the height on his pole vault and Austin came up big and won it for eight points right there. Also, Carl did well today in the shot put with a first, Dondre had a good day, so we are happy right now to be the Shoreline Conference champions.”
Additionally for Old Saybrook, Danny Baldi placed ninth in the 1,600-meter run (4:56.48); Quin Earles was ninth in the 300-meter dash (40.18); Reynolds, Bruewiler, Sultini, and Vukovinsky took fourth place in the 4x400 (3:49.07); in the shot put, Austin Goodhue was third (38-7) and Jack Olivieri was ninth (34-7); and in the high jump, Seby Gallitto took seventh at 5-2 and Ryan Dubord placed 10th (5-0).