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02/09/2020 11:00 PMOne week after winning its first SCC East Sectional title, the Hand boys’ outdoor track team made more history by claiming the top spot at the Southern Connecticut Conference Championship for the first time last week. The Tigers received a first-place finish from junior Bryce Myers in the pole vault, along with a slew of second- and third-place performances on their way to securing the conference crown. Head Coach Tim Geary’s squad finished with a total of 83 points to place way ahead of runner-up Shelton with 52 points at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Feb. 7.
Bryce Myers followed up his victory in the pole vault at sectionals by winning the event again with a height of 12 feet-6 inches at the SCC Championship. Myers and Max Bothwell of Notre Dame-West Haven both cleared 12-6, but Myers got the nod for first by doing so in fewer attempts.
Junior Dante Zucconi had a great day by putting forth a pair of runner-up performances for Hand. Zucconi finished in second place for the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:45.47 and also posted a time of 10:00.03 to take second in the 3,200-meter run. Zucconi was coming off his victory in the 1,600 at the sectional meet.
On the heels of winning the 1,000-meter run at sectionals, junior Connor Parthasarthy came through with a second-place showing in the event at the meet. Parthasarthy hit the finish line with a time of 2:41.38 to take second place in the 1,000.
Junior Josh Stewart finished second in the 55-meter dash for the Tigers at the SCC Championship. Stewart placed second in the preliminaries with a mark of 6.54 seconds and then trimmed his time to a 6.53 in the finals to take second place overall. Stewart also finished fourth for the 300-meter run at 36.65.
Hand also piled up points in the relays at SCCs after qualifying all four of its relay quartets to compete in the meet. The Tigers’ 4x400 relay of senior Besufekad Opstrup, senior Corey Duncanson, Parthasarthy, and junior Carson Hines finished in second place by recording a time of 3:35.08, while the 1,600 sprint medley relay featuring juniors Daven Pelaez, Braeden Kosiewicz, Hines, and Parthasarthy also took second place behind a time of 3:45.32. Both of these relays had previously finished first at the sectional meet.
Hand’s 4x200 relay of Stewart, Pelaez, Kosiewicz, and Hines claimed third place (1:33.89) at the SCC Championship. The Tigers’ 4x800 relay of freshman Nick Montana, junior Evan Blomberg, junior Tyler Haims, and sophomore Paul Odyniec came in fifth place (8:59.34).
Duncanson earned a third-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles for the Tigers. Duncanson timed in at 8.36 to take third place in the prelims and then improved to 8.29 for third place in the finals.
Senior Lukas Kraemer finished fourth in the high jump with a height of 5-10 at the SCC meet. Senior Dan Zsebik finished fifth for the shot put with a toss of 44-5.5. Opstrup finished fifth in the 600-meter run by posting a time of 1:26.56.
With two titles in their grasp, the Tigers will look to bring home a state crown when they compete at the Class L State Championship this week. The meet takes place at Floyd Little Athletic Center beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 15. Hand will be striving to win its first state title in the history of its boys’ indoor track program.