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04/27/2020 12:00 AMHeading into her senior year, North Branford’s Mackenzie Glenn knew that she would be competing on an indoor track team that featured several athletes who were new to the sport. To start their season, the Thunderbirds spent time together bonding and getting to know one another.
Glenn hosted pasta parties that were attended by everyone in the program. The T-Birds would have food, listen to music, and just hang out. Glenn said that all the bonding the team did at the beginning of the year helped shape North Branford’s season.
“We were trying to bond really well. It was a new team,” Glenn said. “We were trying to have fun, but also work on improving our times and work on improving all of our stats as a whole. At the end of the season, you still saw the whole team showing up to practice, everyone cheering each other on and being supportive.”
As the T-Birds’ new athletes were getting acclimated to the team, they were being led by North Branford’s four captains. Alongside Glenn, the Thunderbirds were represented by seniors Joseph DeLucia and Frederick Little, along with junior Connor Leete in the captain’s chair. North Branford’s other seniors were Calley Marcarelli and Enrique Diaz.
Head Coach Chelsea Harris said that each captain brought their own personality to the team and led by example. Harris commended Leete’s willingness to step up and do the 1,000-meter run this year—a role she says he excelled in. Little went from running the 300 to the 600 and cut down his time by eight seconds by the end of the campaign. DeLucia, who also served as captain of the cross country team, worked throughout the season to break the 1:30 mark in the 600. DeLucia broke that barrier at the Yale Track Classic and stayed below that time the rest of the year.
Glenn took first place in the long jump for the second-straight season at the Shoreline Conference Championship (16 feet-7.5 inches) and then finished fourth in the event at the Class S Championship (16-9.75). Glenn went on to finish fifth at the State Open with a distance of 17 feet-0.75 inches, after which she competed in the long jump at the New England Championship, coming in 18th place (16-3.5).
Coach Harris said that Glenn was one of the first people to reach out to her when she accepted the job at North Branford. Harris felt that Glenn proved an excellent captain for her squad.
“Mackenzie was one of the first people I met when I got to North Branford. She just has that drive and determination that you really love from an athlete,” said Harris. “She doesn’t give up. She always works hard. She’s not selfish about it. She wants everybody else around her to do just as well, both on her team and people she’s competing against. She’s the kind of person you want to lead your team.”
In addition to Glenn, multiple members of the Thunderbirds competed at this year’s Shoreline Conference Championship meet. The T-Birds’ 1,600 sprint medley relay team of Glenn, juniors Nadia Becker and Riley Kendall, and freshman Marissa Raffone finished third with a time of 4:47.05. Junior Onna Gott took third in the 600 with a time of 1:52.40, while Kendall placed fourth in the event at 1:53.60.
Becker finished seventh in the 55-meter dash by running a time of 7.95 seconds. North Branford’s 4x800 relay of sophomore Regan Leete and freshmen Carolyn Heffernan, Payton Kamienski, and Sophie Gambardella finished sixth with a time of 1:52.26. The sprint medley relay went on to finish seventh at the Class S State Championship with a time of 4:44.34.
For the boys’ team, DeLucia came in sixth place for the 600 with a mark of 1:29.67 at the Shoreline meet. Little placed 13th in the 600 (1:38.38) and was 16th in the 300 (44.74). Junior Roberto Didiano finished 16th in the 1,600 with a time of 5:07.29.
North Branford’s 1,600 sprint medley relay team of DeLucia, Little, Diaz, and Connor Leete came in seventh place by recording a time of 4:22.96. Following Shorelines, DeLucia raced his way to a sixth-place performance in the 600 with a time of 1:29.59 at the Class S State Championship.
“They all improved. It was a great thing to see as a coach,” Harris said. “It was a whole team effort. They did so well over the course of the season. I can’t say that one person didn’t really improve at all.”
Heading into next season, Coach Harris is expecting strong showings from soon-to-be seniors Becker, Kendall, and Didiano. Kendall won the team’s Desire and Dedication Award alongside Little for the recent season. Harris said that Kendall is a dedicated runner who has come to master both the physical and mental side of the sport.
Becker was named North Branford’s Most Valuable Player after enjoying a breakout campaign. Didiano broke the five-minute mark in the mile this year. Coach Harris has seen Didiano continue to improve and said that he is “going places.”
As Coach Harris prepares North Branford for any potential outdoor track meets, she has been communicating with the team’s athletes via Instagram. Coach Harris will share motivational tidbits with the Thunderbirds and make sure that everyone is staying connected. Recently, Harris posted a picture of Glenn after the senior announced her commitment to Sacred Heart University.
North Branford featured 21 girls and nine boys in its indoor track program this year. With many of those athletes learning the sport for the first time, the Thunderbirds had to come together as a collective unit in order to see success. And while they may be small in numbers, Coach Harris said the T-Birds more than make up for that with their heart and determination.
“With us being a small school, the athletes were able to connect on a deeper level,” said Harris. “Having a small close-knit team really brings them together and make them want to stand out in a conference where you have schools like Old Saybrook and Haddam-Killingworth. You want to see that purple jersey cross the line as a top finisher. It almost makes them prouder to wear North Branford on their jersey. Being a small school sets us apart.”