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Both Yellowjackets’ Track Squads Have Big-Time Seasons

The East Haven outdoor track program continued its run of success this spring as each team saw its share of prosperity during both the regular season and the postseason. The girls’ squad went undefeated in the Oronoque to win the division championship, while Mike Griffith took home the title at the CIAC Decathlon for the boys, who posted a record of 6-6 for the regular season to finish at .500 for the first time in years. Both clubs also set a pair of school records during the campaign.

“Winning the division championship, for us to win that is a great accomplishment. We usually field a team of about 25 kids, so our numbers are good, but not great,” said girls’ Head Coach Rusty Dunne. “We’re a smaller school with smaller numbers, but almost every year, we’ve been blessed with great athletes. East Haven has always been blessed with a handful of great athletes. The fact we won the division is a big deal because all the teams we compete against are great teams with big numbers. Cross, Branford, and North Haven are excellent teams with numbers. For us to beat those teams is big.”

Even though the boys’ team didn’t win the Oronoque title, Head Coach Jim Vicario was pleased with the fact that his squad won six meets this season.

“I was happy for them to have a .500 season and perform well at the SCC and state meets,” Vicario said. “To be .500 was a pretty good accomplishment considering in our schedule we run against Xavier, West Haven, and some of the bigger schools. Out of 18 events, we were strong in everything other than the 800, 1,600, 3,200. We had some really quality performers in the other events, so I was pleased with that.”

The biggest individual accomplishment between both teams came from Griffith when he took first place at the CIAC Decathlon to close out the season. Griffith finished with 5,915 points as he won the long jump and shot put and did well enough in the other eight events to place around 250 points ahead of his closest competition.

“Mike going to the decathlon put together a tremendous performance. It’s really a pretty grueling competition over two days. You can’t duplicate it because of the way the competition is set up and the order of events. It’s not like a regular track meet,” Coach Vicario said. “You’re going from one to the other out of sequence and you have to get through each event. You’ve got to grind, keep your focus, and understand you’re competing against the tables. You have to go out there and bang them off and he did a great job with that.”

The two new school records for the boys’ team set were set by Griffith in the long jump at 21 feet-11 inches and Austin Thornberg in the high jump at 6-foot-4. Griffith took the team’s Most Valuable Player Award, while Thornberg earned the Sportsmanship Award. Fellow senior captain Garret Pates won the Coaches’ Award.

“They were captains and great leaders for us. They did a great job. Those guys had great careers at East Haven and it was culminated with a very good postseason,” Vicario said. “I think for the last four years, they got better individually and the team got better and became more competitive. They worked very hard and it’s good to see them go out on a positive note.”

Aside from its .500 record in the regular season, the East Haven boys placed fourth at the SCC West Sectional Championship, eighth in the SCC Championship, and sixth in the Class MM Championship. The Yellowjackets will lose plenty of firepower between Griffith, Thornberg, and Pates, but Coach Vicario knows that he has a few quality athletes returning who will be ready to step up.

“Coming back next year we have Niam Coward in the shot put and discus and McClay Marshall and Jay Donaldson have a chance to be special in the sprints,” Vicario said. “We have some good guys coming back in a few spots and hope to have more guys coming out. We’re still not that big with only 30 kids, but we need more than that.”

The Yellowjackets’ girls’ team came in fifth place at the SCC West Sectional, ninth in the SCC Championship, and ninth at the Class MM Championship. The team’s postseason highlight was what Hailey Onorato accomplished in the Class MM meet as she was the state champion in the 100-meter hurdles. Onorato, who scored 146.75 points during the season, earned the squad’s Coaches’ Award.

“Hailey was the shining star of the outdoor season, as she was of the indoor season,” Coach Dunne said. “She was the state champion in the high hurdles, was First Team All-State, and should’ve been a double state champion if not for a ridiculous happening in the 300 intermediate hurdles.”

Megan Kikosicki was named MVP for the girls as she scored a team-high 178.75 points.

“Megan had a great year and that was the expectation,” Dunne said. “Megan has been a big point scorer. She’s big, strong, and fast. Scoring almost 180 points isn’t a surprise.”

Megan Doheny won the javelin at the SCC West Sectional meet and scored 126 points this year. She was also the recipient of the Easties’ Sportsmanship Award. Other top point producers for the girls were Annie Coleman (86.75), Katie Maffeo (64.25), Emily Maffeo (63), Sydney Marquardt (57.5), Dana Ross (41), and Kayla Capone (38).

Broken records for the girls came in the 800 as Katie Maffeo set the school mark at 2:26.86, along with the 4x400 relay of Emily Maffeo, Haley Montesanto, Katie Maffeo, and Paige Maffeo, who did the same with a time of 4:19.68.

Coach Dunne knows that his team never would have won the Oronoque Division title or placed as well as it did in the postseason without quality performances from multiple athletes.

“Dana Ross scored 41 points, but we would not have won the division without her. She stole points in the hurdles and triple jump, which was very valuable,” he said. “Jazlynn Toussaint scored 16 points, but at the SCC West Sectional, she placed seventh in the high hurdles with a very good time and then qualified for the state championship and placed seventh in states. Qualifying for the final is unbelievable for a freshman and then for her to score in that meet was huge.”

Returning athletes like Marquardt, Montesanto, Molly Mazzucco, and Katie Maffeo are expected to play major roles for the Yellowjackets next season.

“The sky is the limit for Katie Maffeo. She has great speed, is strong, and, in the 400, 800, and 1,600, could be the best we’ve ever had,” Dunne said. “She already has the indoor and outdoor records in the 800. She has phenomenal potential.”