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Old Saybrook’s Reign Continues with Shoreline Conference Three-Peat

The Old Saybrook girls’ indoor track team continued its run of dominance at the Shoreline Conference Championship by taking first place at the meet for the third straight season on Feb. 2. Old Saybrook claimed the conference title by posting a score of 157.5 points to beat out runner-up Cromwell, which scored 108.5 points at Floyd Little Athletic Center.

One of the biggest factors for the Rams in their three-peat performance was junior Grace Hanratty, who turned in a historic day at the Shoreline Championship. Hanratty set the meet record in the 600-meter run while finishing first with a time of 1:38.56, eclipsing the mark of 1:39.62 set by Bailey Thayer of Coginchaug in 2015. Hanratty also joined forces with Dylan Adams, Autumn Szucs, and Jessica Stratton to take first place in the 1,600 sprint medley relay with a time of 4:37.04. On top of that, Hanratty teamed up with Allison Cody, Stratton, and Anna Brodeur for a second-place performance in the 4x400 relay. The quartet recorded a personal-best time of 4:18.80 in its runner-up performance.

Head Coach Peter Capezzone felt proud of his team for maintaining its grasp on the Shoreline title. He said the Rams are already eager to get back on the track at the Class S State Championship that’s coming up this week.

“I thought all of our runners were dynamic and did a great job. You have Grace Hanratty winning her events. She’s a great kid to work with,” said Capezzone said. “She was even part of the 4x4 team that ran its best time, but we still got edged out there. It just makes us look forward to next week even more, though.”

Another key contributor for Old Saybrook was junior Cate Coppes, whose day included a first-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 9.32 seconds. In the pole vault, Coppes took third place by clearing 9 feet. She also ran with Dylan Adams, Autumn Szucs, and Anna Brodeur on the Rams’ 4x200 relay that took sixth place with a time of 1:56.91.

Coach Capezzone was impressed with Coppes’s even-keeled approach. While he felt that Coppes could have won the pole vault based on her heights at practice, Capezzone was pleased that she didn’t let that affect her performance in other events.

“Cate Coppes got third in the vault, and she was jumping higher yesterday. Som that bodes well for states we hope,” Capezzone said. “She did enough to be consistent, she did her job, and then she came back and won the hurdles. Those are all good things.”

Old Saybrook’s 4x800 relay of Cody, Tehra Givehand, Caitlin Wiley, and Emily Stratton grabbed a gold medal by posting a time of 10:23.99. Rachel Vigorita placed first in the high jump by clearing 5 feet, while Jessica Stratton ran a time of 3:10.15 to finish first in the 1,000.

Caitlin Wiley (12:42.66) and Tehra Givehand (12:46.09) took second and third place, respectively, in the 3,200, for Old Saybrook. Cody also claimed third place in the 300 with a time of 43.65. Libby Stuart (3:33.87) and Molly Nygard (3:36.63) finished in third and fifth place, respectively, in the 1,000. Avery Nosal took fourth place in the 55 hurdles with a time of 9.99.

Hannah Sumby earned third place in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet-3 inches and came in fourth place in the pole vault by clearing 7-6. Elizabeth Mariol’s toss of 29-2 earned her third place in the shot put. Sidney Smirnow took sixth place with a 25-0.5. In the high jump, Brodeur took third place, and Autumn Szucs finished fifth with both athletes clearing 4-6. In the 55, Dylan Adams finished in fifth place with a mark of 8.0 seconds. Emily Stratton (5:48.74) and Julia Sultini (5:56.80) placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 1,600 for Coach Capezzone’s squad.

“Our kids did a great job. We try to stress to these kids that they have to try to be consistent. It’s not going to be the best day every day, but be consistent with your jumps, be consistent with your runs. Be consistent with your approach to the bar or the long jump,” said Capezzone. “We’re looking forward to next week to see what we can do. They are doing a tremendous job. We all did our job.”