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Francois, Stettinger Win Events as Easties Represent at SCCs

One week after competing at the SCC West Sectional Championship, athletes from East Haven’s girls’ and boys’ outdoor track teams participated in the SCC Championship at Bowen Field in New Haven on May 25. The girls’ team finished in fourth place out of 20 squads by scoring 59 points at the meet, while the boys’ team finished 14th among 18 clubs with 15 points scored.

Senior captain Kisha Francois took first place in 100-meter dash with a time of 13.17 seconds at the SCC Championship and also ran a time of 25.99 to win the 200-meter dash—two events that she had won at West Sectionals. Francois also claimed second place in the long jump with a leap of 17 feet-3 inches on her way to being named the Most Outstanding Athlete of the SCC meet.

Coming off the girls’ team’s first-place finish at sectionals, Francois knew that the Yellowjackets would need to deliver another top-notch performance if they wanted to succeed in SCCs.

“We were going to be competing against people we haven’t competed against yet. There are some really good teams,” said Francois. “We went in with the mindset of, ‘Do what you did last week and do the best you can. We’ll see what happens.’”

On the heels of winning the javelin at the sectional meet, sophomore Alice Stettinger finished first in the event at SCCs with a toss of 118 feet-7 inches. Stettinger also placed third in the shot put (35-5.5) and finished sixth for the discus (92-0).

After her freshman season was canceled due to COVID-19, this spring marked Stettinger’s first season with the Yellowjackets. Stettinger said her teammates have supported her throughout and that, after initially getting into track and field to throw the shot put, that she has really found her niche in the javelin.

“I came into high school wanting to throw shot put. The coaches told me I should try all the throwing events. I gave javelin a try,” Stettinger said. “I didn’t know what track was until this year. This team is a family. We cheer everybody on. Whether or not people see, we always have each other’s backs.”

Junior Morgan D’Auria finished second in the triple jump (35-0) and took 11th place in the high jump (4-6) for East Haven at the SCC meet. Sophomore Zayuri Castaneda finished seventh in the javelin (85-2), 13th for the shot put (28-10.5), and 17th in the discus (69-4). Sophomore Jessica Urban finished seventh in the high jump (4-6), came in eighth place in the 100 hurdles (18.16), and took 16th in the 300 hurdles (53.60).

Junior Juliana Espinoza finished 18th in the 3,200 (14:50) and was 21st in the 1,600 (6:25.25) for the Yellowjackets. Freshman Olivia Martin placed 18th in the 400 (1:09.73). Freshman Haley Mazzucco took 12th place in the triple jump (31-10.5), while junior Princess Aggrey finished 15th in the shot put (28-01).

The Easties are competing at the Class MM State Championship this week, looking to advance as many athletes as possible to the State Open at Willow Brook Park in New Britain on Wednesday, June 9. Francois is no stranger to the State Open. The senior captain said that she feels proud to be ending her Yellowjackets’ career by having an excellent year for a team that’s put together a great spring campaign.

“I can definitely say that I’m going out with one of my best seasons, which I’m definitely happy about. My coaches told me to go out with a bang. It has been a fun experience,” Francois said. “The team started off really big my freshman year and got smaller, but we were all pretty close. I really enjoyed the environment of the team.”

Over on the boys’ side, senior captain Radames Figueroa finished fifth in the 110 hurdles, (16.77), took sixth in the 300 hurdles (43.97), and finished 15th in the long jump (18-4) for East Haven at the SCC Championship. Fellow senior David Amatruda finished ninth in both the 100 (12.06) and the 200 (24.02).

Sophomore Dominic Salato finished fifth in the javelin (144-01) and placed sixth in the triple jump (40-9.5) for the Yellowjackets. Boys’ Head Coach Jim Vicario said that he was impressed with Salato’s showing at SCCs. With Salato only a sophomore, Coach Vicario believes that he has the potential to become a special athlete during the next few years.

“Dominic is a really pleasant surprise as a sophomore in his first year on the team. He’s like the third-ranked javelin thrower in the Class MM. He is right in the thick of things in the triple jump. We were very pleased with his performance,” said Vicario. “He has the potential to be a big-time thrower. He has some size and some length. I’ve had five state champions in the javelin. He has a lot of potential coming along.”

Senior Mekhi Franklin finished eighth in the long jump (19-1), and fellow senior Dhruv Patel took 11th place in the event (18-8.75) for East Haven. Junior Ethar Al-Hawari came in 18th place for the 400 (56.32).

Just like the girls’ team, the boys will be participating in the Class MM State Championship this week, hoping to send some athletes through to the State Open the following week. Coach Vicario said that the boys’ and girls’ teams are always working together collectively. Heading into the final meets of the season, Vicario and girls’ Head Coach Rusty Dunne want to see both squads finish strong at both the Class MM meet and beyond.

“We coach them together. Technically, I’m the boys’ coach, and Rusty is the girls’ coach, but everything is collective. We do everything together,” Vicario said. “We have some kids that are pretty highly ranked, especially on the girls’ side. Hopefully, we are going to have a few state champions in a couple events.”