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05/27/2019 12:00 AMAfter three-straight runner-up finishes at the Shoreline Conference Championship, the Haddam-Killingworth boys’ outdoor track team secured its spot at the top of the podium this spring. The Cougars also completed a Shoreline sweep after their boys’ cross country and indoor track squads had claimed their respective conference crowns earlier in the school year.
H-K racked up 174.5 points to defeat second-place Coginchaug (145.5) and win its first Shoreline Conference outdoor title since 2013 at Coginchaug High School on May 22. Senior captain Kyle Criscuolo, who also competed for the cross country and indoor track teams, said that taking all three titles was best sendoff that he could possibly ask for.
“Every year that I’ve been here, we’ve aspired to be Shoreline champs in outdoor track, but we have faced tough competition, and this year was no different,” said Criscuolo. “As always, it was close, but every team member gave it their all and left everything they had out there, and it paid off.”
Senior captain Colton Lavoie launched a throw of 45 feet-0.5 inches to win the shot put for the Cougars. In the 4x400 relay, H-K’s team of Criscuolo, junior Owen Howes, junior Dmytri Mallon, and junior Luke Sodergren finished first by recording a time of 3:32.45 for Head Coach Matt Diglio’s club.
“It hasn’t been done in about 15 or 20 years in the Shoreline Conference, where one school wins the cross country, indoor, and outdoor titles in one year,” Diglio said. “This group did a fantastic job all year long. After coming in second three years in a row, it was huge, especially for the seniors, and they were ready to go.”
Junior Seth Regan finished second in the 200 (22.60) and was third in the 100 (11.34) at the conference meet. Mallon took second place in the 400 (52.05). Senior captain Seth Freeman came in third place (2:07.60) for the 800 with junior Nate Petras finishing eighth (2:12.65).
In the 1,600, Matt Jennings finished second (4:29.56), junior Christian Uzwiak took fourth (4:43.75), sophomore Sean Rutledge followed in fifth (4:45.83), and junior Michael Coleman was sixth (4:46.83) for the Cougars.
Jennings finished second (10:06.74) in the 3,200 and was followed by Uzwiak in fourth (10:19.83), sophomore Fisher Harris in fifth (10:22.28), senior Nate Carlson in sixth (10:30.89), and Coleman in seventh (10:34.95).
“This win meant so much to me and the team. We really had our sights set on winning Shorelines since day one, especially after just missing the team title last year,” said Jennings. “It really goes to show how much we can accomplish as a team when we hold everyone accountable.”
Sodergren placed third in the 110 high hurdles by running a time of 16.00 seconds. Sodergren also took fifth (42.85) in the 300 hurdles, while sophomore Eamon Sweeney placed seventh (44.57).
In the 4x800, H-K’s quartet of Criscuolo, Freeman, Jennings, and Uzwiak came in second place with a time of 8:28.01. The 4x100 relay of senior captain Tyler Knapp, Mallon, junior Dalton Modehn, and Regan finished fifth at 45.54.
Along with Lavoie’s victory in the shot put, H-K also received points from senior Wallace Sample (3rd, 41-3.5), junior Trey Callender (4th, 40-8.75), and junior Colin Mack (8th, 38-8.75) in the event.
Lavoie was also the runner-up (129-2) for the discus and was followed by Callender (3rd, 123-4), senior Chase Mack (4th, 113-0), junior Dylan Champagne (7th, 101-2), and Sample (8th, 96-9). Sophomore John Bosco took fourth place for the javelin (145-7), and Sample finished in fifth (143-7).
Sweeney claimed second place in the high jump by clearing 5-8. Knapp tied for fifth in the pole vault (12-0), and Modehn placed seventh for the triple jump (39-11) to round out a well-balanced performance for Haddam-Killingworth.
“Everyone stepped up, did a great job, and scored points,” Coach Diglio said. “Since I’ve been coach, we’ve never had a perfect meet, but this was as close as you can come. It was a total team effort.”