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02/03/2019 11:00 PMThe members of the Valley Regional indoor track program traveled to the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven to compete at the Shoreline Conference Championships on Feb. 2. The Warriors saw impressive performances from some of their top athletes who earned All-Conference honors at the meet. Now, Head Coach Chris Allegretti hopes that they can build on that momentum heading into the Class S State Championship on Thursday, Feb. 7.
One of the top performers for the Valley boys’ team this season is senior sprinter Nick Braga, who has been grabbing gold medals meet after meet. It was no different at Shorelines, where Braga took first place in the 55-meter dash by running a time of 6.73 seconds to make the All-Shoreline Conference First Team.
Coach Allegretti marveled at how impressive Braga has been this year. Braga was battling a virus in the days leading up to the championship, but the senior fought his way through it so he could compete.
“Nick Braga has been amazing for us,” said Allegretti. “He can’t be stopped. He’s awesome. We’re really excited for states and even the spring season coming up to see what he can do.”
Right next to Braga as he crossed the finish line in the 55 was junior Andrew Ferguson, who snagged a silver medal and earned All-Shoreline Conference Second Team honors by posting the same time of 6.73; Braga won on a tiebreaker. Ferguson also posted a fourth-place finish in the 300 by timing in at 38.03. Braga and Ferguson are two of the veterans on a small Valley team that features several quality seniors.
“Our team is really small on the boys’ side, but they all did really well today. It was a great meet for them. We’re going to lose a lot of talent when they move on,” Coach Allegretti said. “Andrew Ferguson also looked great today. He had a second-, third-, and fourth-place finish today, which is awesome. Our sprint medley relay team was outstanding.”
Braga and Ferguson joined forces with junior Arick Outama and senior James Diluca to take third place in the 1,600 sprint medley relay (3:54.25), earning All-Shoreline Conference Honorable Mention. Coach Allegretti felt pleased with the way his sprinters and distance runners came together for a fine finish in a big spot.
“Because the team is so small, we have a couple of good sprinters, and James Diluca is good distance runner for us,” said Allegretti. “So, we just put it together and had that sprint medley relay. They worked really hard on that.”
Senior Garrhett Watrous scored points for the Warriors by finishing fourth in the shot put with a distance of 38 feet-11 inches. The boys’ team came in sixth place by scoring 39 points at the Shoreline Championship, while the girls’ team finished ninth with 20 points scored.
On the girls’ side, sophomore Madelyn Costello turned in a second-place performance in the high jump by clearing a height of 4 feet-6 inches, making the All-Shoreline Conference Second Team. Then in the 300, Costello came in eighth place by clocking in at 46.88 seconds, which qualified her to compete in the race at states.
Allegretti was proud of Costello for delivering a primetime performance. He said that’s becoming more commonplace as the girls’ team keeps growing.
“[Costello] is one of our top performers on the girls’ side. She came up big with her second place in the high jump. She also ran a great race in the 300, and she made states in her last chance,” Allegretti said. “Our girls’ team is getting pretty big. We have an amazing group of freshmen and sophomores. It’s a really talented bunch of girls on that side. They have hints of excellence.”
Continuing the trend of solid performances from Warriors’ sprint medley relays, the girls’ SMR of Hanna Babek, Lacey Hall, Leah Bargnesi, and Grace Proctor finished in fourth place with a time of 5:02.07. The 4x400 relay team of Costello, Madeline Jacaruso, Lacey Hall, and Leah Bargnesi took seventh place (4:49.50) at the Shoreline meet. Lexi Ross finished eighth in the 55 (8.13), and Hall came in eighth place for the 600 at 1:55.54. Caroline Hutchinson cleared 4-4 to place eighth in the high jump.
Peter Halsey ran a time of 5:09.25 and came in ninth place for the boys’ team in the 1,600. In the shot put, Ramage finished in ninth place (35-7), while Alex Brown took 11th place (35-2.5). Outama finished 23rd in the 300 with a 44.83.
Additionally for the girls’ team, Jacaruso took 12th place (48.49) in the 300 with Lexi Ross in 13th (48.54), Grace Haskins in 15th (49.16), and Madison Neviaser in 23rd (52.02). Loretta Cecchini cleared 4 feet and earned 11th place in the girls’ high jump. Audrey Lenda finished 10th (14-6.5) in the long jump, and Emma King came in 12th place (14-3). For the shot put, Jeni Caulfield finished in 13th place (22-11), and Jamie Pullin took 17th place with a 21-8.5.
With the Shoreline Championship in the books, Coach Allegretti said that he’s eager to see what’s in store for the Warriors at states.
“I’m really excited for states and the outdoor season, as well,” he said. “We have a really great group of kids, and they’re just a lot of fun and they make it easy. They’re doing great things.”