Printer Friendly Version - North Haven Track Sees Solid Showing at Opening Meet

Erica Marriott started off her senior season with the North Haven girls’ indoor track team by taking first place in the long jump and placing third in the 55-meter dash at a Southern Connecticut Conference Developmental Meet on Dec. 18. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

Erica Marriott took first place in the long jump for the North Haven girls’ indoor track team at a Southern Connecticut Conference Developmental Meet last week. Marriott, a senior, also finished third in the 55-meter dash at the meet, which was held at Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven on Dec. 18.

Marriott reached a distance of 16 feet-11.5 inches to defeat runner-up Kisha Francois of East Haven (16-8.5) by three inches for first place in the long jump. In the 55, Marriott’s time of 7.56 seconds earned her a third-place finish.

Marriott also ran with senior Camille Sahirul, senior Giselle Zumerchik, and junior Sammy Curcio on North Haven’s second-place 4x200 relay that posted a time of 1:52.99. Zumerchik also finished with a time 9.61 in the 55-meter hurdles to take sixth place in the event.

Additionally, junior Makayla Mansur claimed third place in the pole vault by clearing a height of 6 feet-6 inches for the Indians. In the shot put, junior Courtney McFarland took 10th place with a throw of 30 feet-2.5 inches, while freshman Emily Cocco finished 24th with a toss of 26 feet. Katie Rogers placed 16th in the high jump by clearing 4 feet-4 inches for North Haven. Junior Elizabeth DeVaux finished 18th in the 55 hurdles (11.03) and placed 43rd in the long jump (11-10).

The Indians’ 4x800 relay of seniors Kelly Fresher, Madeline Libero, and Emily Casamento, and junior Reagan Forbes finished 20th by posting a time of 12:15.13. Forbes also came in 26th place in the 1,000 with a time of 3:46.50.

Kyle Maruca claimed first place in the shot put, while his brother Luke Maurca finished third in the event, to lead the Indians at last week’s SCC Developmental Meet at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Dec. 17.

Kyle Maruca won the shot put by launching a throw of 47 feet-3.5 inches, defeating runner-up Clyde Martindale of Sheehan (44-8) for top honors. Luke Maruca was next in line as the junior’s toss of 44 feet-4.25 inches put him in third place.

Senior Robert Farley had a nice meet for North Haven. Farley finished third in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.16 seconds to go with a fifth-place performance in the pole vault behind a height of 10 feet.

In the 4x800 relay, the Indians’ quartet of seniors Jack Opramolla, Jobin Valiyaveettil, and Jackson Frank, and sophomore Patrick Rourke took seventh place with a mark of 9:06.88. The 4x200 relay of seniors Eric Spignesi and John Crispi, freshman Jack Pollard, and senior Jianni Snipes finished 22nd with a time of 1:44.58.

Additionally in the shot put, junior Dominic Borrelli finished in ninth (39-5.25) with fellow junior Josh Blumenthal taking 24th place (35-7). Crispi finished 14th in the high jump (5-2) and came in 25th place in the long jump (17-1) for North Haven. Opramolla placed 21st in the 600 (1:35.77), Rourke came in 28th for the 1,000 (3:03.62), and Snipes finish 47th for the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.29. In the 55 hurdles, senior Kevin Spencer finished 22nd (10.23), and junior Ethan Testa took 25th place (10.36).

North Haven played a road game against Southern Connecticut Conference rival Branford at Northford Ice Pavilion on Dec. 19. The Indians battled the Hornets to a 2-2 tie and are now 1-1-1 on the year.

North Haven trailed 1-0 when senior Dom Biondi scored an unassisted goal to tie the game at 1-1 in the final seconds of the first period. Branford scored a goal in the second period to bring a 2-1 lead into the third. With about nine minutes left to play, sophomore Mason Sullivan netted the tying goal from junior Jake Wentworth to make it 2-2, which held up as the final score after neither team was able to net the go-ahead goal during the remainder of regulation or in the overtime period. Senior Dan Godlewski made 35 saves in net for the Indians.

North Haven is beginning its first season with new Head Coach Chris Avena. Avena takes over for Nick Costanzo, a program alum who guided the Indians to 10 wins and a Division II State Tournament berth last winter. Costanzo is now head coach of the boys’ hockey team at Xavier High School.

The Blades hosted West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy (WH-SHA) for a Southern Connecticut Conference game last week. Amity-North Haven-Cheshire (A-NH-C) took a 9-2 loss against the Blue Devils at Lou Astorino Ice Arena.

Senior captain Meghan Hogan and sophomore Olivea Kosh scored goals for the Blades, while junior Nadia DiNatale and sophomore Kelsey McCarthy each had an assist for the Blades, who are 0-4 on the season.

The North Haven boys’ basketball team tipped off the 2018-’19 season by facing a pair of Southern Connecticut Conference opponents on the road last week. The Indians lost at West Haven, before taking versus Xavier for an early record of 0-2.

North Haven started its campaign with a game in West Haven and dropped a 66-48 decision against the Blue Devils. North Haven and West Haven played a close game throughout that saw the Blue Devils bring a 44-38 advantage into the fourth quarter, where they outscored the Indians 65-54 to come away with the win. Senior Mike Collins scored 16 points, while junior Jaden Watson had 13 points for North Haven. Junior Dave Christoforo scored nine points, senior Josh Monk had eight points, and junior Bryce Charney finished with six points in the loss.

Two nights later, the Indians dropped a 64-46 decision at Xavier. The Falcons were up 18-13 after the first quarter and then won the second quarter by a 14-5 margin on their way to the victory. Watson totaled 15 points to lead North Haven. Collins had 10 points, junior RJ Hager scored nine, and Charney and Christoforo each had six points for Head Coach Justin Falcon’s squad.

After winning two of its first three games to start the season, the North Haven girls’ basketball team had a few days off last week. The Indians (2-1) got back on the court when they hosted Lyman Hall on Dec. 21 (after press time).

North Haven started off the 2018-’19 campaign by hosting Hand on Dec. 17. The Indians took a 100-77 defeat against the Tigers in their season opener at Gawrych Town Pool.

Despite the defeat, several swimmers recorded solid times during the opening meet of the season. Senior captain Will McCleery finished with a time of 23.23 seconds in the 50 freestyle and posted a mark of 5:13.81 in the 500 freestyle, taking first place in both events. Fellow senior captain JP Stoeffler finished the 200 freestyle in 1:53.96 to go with a time of 50.87 for the 100 freestyle, placing first in each event. Senior Kevin Powers swam a time of 1:01.75 in the 100 butterfly. Sophomore Cameron Cargan notched a mark of 2:19.23 in the 200 individual medley and finished the 100 backstroke in 1:01.75.

In relays, North Haven’s 200 medley unit of McCleery, junior Carlo Frunzio, Powers, and Powell claimed first place with a time of 1:49.30. The 200 freestyle relay of Cargan, Stoeffler, Powell, and McCleery also finished first by timing in at 1:36.54.

Last year, North Haven finished with an overall record of 7-4 to go with a mark of 6-1 in SCC Division II meets, marking the team’s best record in Martha Phelan’s tenure as head coach. The Indians finished in 10th place at the SCC Championship and came in 12th place at Class M State Championship.

Senior Jianni Snipes ran the 55-meter dash and also in the 4x200 relay when the Indians began their campaign by competing at an SCC Developmental Meet on Dec. 17. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

Senior Dom Biondi netted a goal when the North Haven boys’ ice hockey team played conference rival Branford to a 2-2 tie at Northford Ice Pavilion on Dec. 19. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier