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05/20/2019 12:00 AM

Yellowjackets’ Track Claims Three Wins at West Sectionals


The Yellowjackets cleaned up in the 110-meter high hurdles at the SCC West Sectional Championship. Junior Ian Loehmann, senior Evan Damian, and sophomore Radames Figueroa all finished in the top five of the event with Damian claiming first place by running a time of 15.50 seconds in the final heat. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

Girls’ Outdoor Track

The East Haven girls’ outdoor track team came in fifth place by scoring 60.50 points at last week’s SCC West Sectional Championship. The Yellowjackets also saw two athletes finish first in individual events at the meet, which took place at Bowen Field in New Haven on May 15. Junior Bella Ragaini won the javelin, and sophomore Kisha Francois claimed first in the long jump for the Easties.

Ragaini launched a throw of 102 feet-8 inches to win the javelin by more than three feet. Francois won the long jump by a foot as her leap of 17 feet-1.5 inches yielded her second-straight sectional title in the event.

Francois also placed second in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. In the 100, Francois won the preliminary heat with a time of 12.49 seconds. In the final, she ran a time of 12.54 and was edged out for first place by North Haven’s Erica Marriott (12.53). Francois also took second in the 200 with a 26.29, while Marriott finished first at 25.38.

Freshman Morgan D’Auria posted a trio of top-four finishes for East Haven. D’Auria finished third in both the high jump (4-6) and pole vault (6-6) and also turned in a fourth-place performance in the triple jump (33-10). Fellow freshman Emily Mazzucco earned fifth place in the high jump by clearing 4-6.

Ragaini claimed seventh place in the shot put (27-7), and junior Samantha Schlottman took seventh in the javelin (74-3). Schlottman also finished 10th in the discus with a throw of 68-9. Senior Paige Maffeo finished 10th in the 200 (27.76), while freshman Juliana Espinoza placed in the 1,600 (6:06.65).

Boys’ Outdoor Track

East Haven scored 43 points and finished in seventh place at the SCC West Sectional Championship last week. Senior Evan Damian took third place in the 110-meter high hurdles for the Yellowjackets.

After running the best time of 15.49 seconds in the preliminaries, Damian won the 110 high hurdles by clocking in with a mark of 15.50 seconds for the final heat. Junior Ian Loehmann (16.31) and sophomore Radames Figueroa (17.05) finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively, in the event. In the 300 intermediate hurdles, Loehmann took fifth place (45.93), and Figueroa finished sixth (46.25).

Senior Steve Johnson claimed second place in the long jump with a distance of 20 feet-11 inches. Figueroa placed seventh in the seventh at 19-8. Loehmann finished fourth in the high jump (5-6), Damian took eighth in the triple jump (38-11), and senior Ryan Cordova placed eighth in the javelin (117-5). Junior Nathan Santos finished ninth in the pole vault (9-6), and sophomore Ryan Murratti took 10th in the shot put (35-3.5).

Baseball

The Yellowjackets earned two recent victories in conference play to clinch the No. 7 seed in the SCC Tournament. East Haven defeated Lyman Hall and West Haven and also took a non-conference loss against Coginchaug to finish the regular season at 11-9.

On May 14, East Haven notched a 5-3 win at Lyman Hall. The Yellowjackets took a 3-1 loss versus Coginchaug two days later. East Haven wrapped up its regular season with a 2-1 victory in West Haven on May 18.

The Yellowjackets are the No. 7 seed in the SCC Tournament and will play at No. 2 Amity in the quarterfinals at 3:45 p.m. on Monday, May 20. The winner of that game moves on to the semifinal round to play the winner of No. 3 Hand and No. 6 Guilford at Piurek Field at West Haven High School on Tuesday, May 21 at either 4 or 7 p.m. The final will be held at that same site at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 23.

Golf

East Haven stands at 10-7-1 after splitting a round against Branford and Hillhouse at Alling Memorial Golf Club on May 15. The Yellowjackets scored a 202 to defeat Hillhouse (207) while losing to Branford (176) at the meet.

Freshman Nick Sorrentino tallied East Haven’s best score on the day with a 48. Junior Alexis Pendziwater shot a 52, junior Logan Hamilton finished with a 53, senior Jon Moscato shot a 54, and sophomore Andrew Zito totaled a score of 54.

Girls’ Tennis

The Yellowjackets came away with one victory in their three matches last week. East Haven has a record of 4-13 with two contests left in the regular season.

On May 15, East Haven lost a 4-3 match versus Shelton. Senior captain Jenna Pane won a 6-4, 6-4 decision at No. 1 singles, while junior Jade Roberts earned a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles. In doubles action, the Yellowjackets’ No. 2 team of juniors Kayla Vernon and Riya Patel rallied for a 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 victory.

The next afternoon, East Haven defeated Platt Tech by a 6-1 score. Pane prevailed 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 singles; Roberts earned a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles; senior captain Mikayla Raffone claimed a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles; and sophomore Doreen Alberino posted a 6-7, 6-2, 10-4 victory at No. 4 singles. Junior Emma Luden and freshman Linnette Gonzalez rallied for a 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles; and senior Brianna Green and sophomore Siya Patel notched at 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 3 doubles.

East Haven lost a 6-1 decision against Sheehan on May 18. Pane recorded a 6-4, 6-0 victory at No. 1 singles for the Yellowjackets.

Boys’ Tennis

East Haven lost its lone match last week to move to 3-16 entering the final week of the regular season.

The Yellowjackets took a 4-3 loss versus Foran on May 16. East Haven’s No. 1 doubles team of senior captain Joe Brown and sophomore Matt DiVito earned a 6-1, 6-4 victory in the match. The duo has qualified to compete in the State Open Doubles Tournament. Senior captain Dan Murtagh and junior Fabricio Bugatti rallied for a 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 10-8 win in the No. 2 doubles match. Sophomores Gabe Olszewski and Matt Battaglino notched a 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 3 doubles.

Freshman Morgan D’Auria placed third in both the high jump and the pole vault, while finishing fourth in the triple jump for the Yellowjackets at West Sectionals. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier