This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
05/26/2017 12:00 AMThe Old Saybrook girls' outdoor track squad captured first place at the Shoreline Conference Championship for the second year in a row last week. With a team score of 182.75 points, the Rams ran away with the meet early on to charge past second-place Coginchaug, which scored 115 points, at the Peters Complex on May 24.
Senior captain Holly Coppes was overjoyed that Old Saybrook defended its conference title and attributed much of the Rams' success to their closeness as a group.
"Just such an amazing opportunity. This is our second time winning outdoor in a row," said Coppes. "I think we're so cohesive as a group, and that's a great feeling. It's such a family-oriented group, especially the seniors. We've been together for years now. I think the fact we've been together and the family atmosphere helps us win."
Old Saybrook was bolstered by an outstanding performance from senior Devyn King, who contributed to the Rams' point total in multiple events. King grabbed second place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.37. She was also part of the 4x100 relay with Coppes, junior Tyra Finkeldey, and Allison Cody that earned second place at 51.94, as well as the 4x400 relay of Coppes, Finkeldey, and freshman Grace Hanratty that claimed second with a 4:13.09. However, King's biggest moment came when she took first place in the long jump behind a personal-best distance of 17 feet-7 inches. King said she was motivated to defeat Haddam-Killingworth runner-up Veronica Chrzanowski, who had eclipsed her personal-record (PR) distance by reaching 17-5 earlier at the meet.
"With one jump left for me, she had beat my PR, and I was going into my jump thinking, 'I've got one jump left. She got my PR, and I don't know if I can beat it,'" said King. "But the determination she gave me personally to do my best I think helped me a lot to be successful in my jump."
In terms of other victories for Old Saybrook, the quartet of sophomore Jessica Stratton, senior Alyssa Diaz, senior Jael Givehand, and freshman Grace Hanratty claimed first in the 4x800 relay with a time of 9:55.75. Sophomore Isabella Donahue took first in the 100 hurdles with a time of 16.57, while junior Annea Thaci (16.79) and Coppes (16.93) finished second and fifth, respectively. The Rams went 1-2 in the high jump as sophomore Julia Ludwiszewski and Rachel Vigorita both cleared 5 feet, with Ludwiszewski getting the nod via the tiebreaker for having the next-best height. Grace McLaughlin (4-10) and Cate Coppes (4-6) finished fourth and seventh, respectively, in that event. Finkeldey was victorious in the pole vault by clearing 11 feet, while Cate Coppes earned fourth (8-6) and McLaughlin placed sixth (8-0). All athletes who placed first in an event were named All-Shoreline Conference First Team, and those who placed second in an event were named All-Shoreline Conference Second Team.
Old Saybrook Head Coach Pete Capezzone felt proud of his team for continuing its run atop the Shoreline Conference and was especially pleased that the Rams got healthy at the right time, so that everyone could chip in for the win.
"We were hoping and praying that we could get a healthy team because we thought we could measure up and do a nice job," said Coach Capezzone. " It's really the first time in weeks we've had everybody healthy and together at the same time, and I said if we could do that, we could do that we would be dangerous. We asked them to do their part. The kids were sitting on the field and we said they have to do their part to make this a championship team, and they showed that they understood that."
Elsewhere for Old Saybrook, Hanratty was second (5:18.15) in the 1,600 and Jael Givehand finished sixth (5:25.20). Cody placed second (28.35) in the 200 for the Rams. Thaci earned third place in the long jump with a distance of 15-11.5 and was also third the triple jump at 33-4. For the 300 hurdles, Finkeldey took third (49.03), while Donahue finished fifth (51.02). Hanratty finished third (2:28.14) in the 800, Jessica Stratton was seventh (2:29.61), and Jael Givehand placed eighth (2:31.03). In the 3,200, Tehra Givehand took fourth place (12:15.65), Ally Castro grabbed sixth (12:30.87), and Ingrid Boland came in eighth place (12:42.16). For shot put, Alyssa Parker got third (29-7.5), Alyssa Layte was fourth (29-3.5), and Elizabeth Mariol finished seventh (27-6). As for the discus, Alyssa Parker placed sixth (81-0), while Vigorita finished seventh (79-2). Also, Alyssa Parker claimed fifth place (92-7) in the javelin for Old Saybrook, while Cody placed eighth in the 400 with a time of 1:04.85.
Next up for the Rams will be the Class S State Championship at Willow Brook Park in New Britain on Thursday, June 1. Coach Capezzone said that his team will be back to work at practice soon, so they can give it their best shot for a stellar showing at states.
"This can be a strong team if they hold together," said Capezzone. "We have states coming up, and we're literally going to try to put our best foot forward."