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04/14/2016 12:00 AMEast Haven track coach Rusty Dunne saw a potential star in Hailey Onorato when she was a freshman at East Haven. Hailey decided to give track a try and has been a staple in the hurdles and relay events ever since. Hailey says she’s unsure if she would have ever joined Yellowjackets’ track if Coach Dunne didn’t work at the high school.
“In gym class, I had him. He made me go over the hurdles and I ended up liking it, so I went out for the team and stuck with it,” says Hailey. “It was nice being able to go talk to him whenever I wanted.”
The hurdles are some of the most technically demanding events in the sport of track. For Hailey, it’s the uniqueness of them that stands out to her the most.
“I thought it was different, so I wanted to try it and perfect it. I made that a goal,” Hailey says. “The toughest thing was being able to three-step in between each hurdle. You have to work at your strides.”
All the years of hard work have paid off for Hailey, who recently completed a spectacular indoor track campaign. Hailey scored a team-high 61.25 points during the Yellowjackets’ regular season meets and finished in at least the top five of all her postseason events.
“I was really excited because I finally scored the top amount of points. I worked hard for it,” she says. “It makes you better and not as anxious knowing that in each meet I’ll finish at least in second or third. It makes me focus more on getting a certain time.”
Hailey finished third in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 9.24 seconds at the SCC West Sectional Championship. Then in the SCC Championship, her mark of 9.01 was good for second place and shades away from East Haven’s school record of 8.98 set by Alex DePalma. Hailey also finished in third in the hurdles at the Class M State Championship by running 9.28.
Hailey was additionally part of two record-setting quartets in relay events with the Yellowjackets. Their 4x400 of Hailey, Megan Kikosicki, Katie Maffeo, and Emily Maffeo broke the school record of 4:23.81, while the 4x200 featuring Hailey, Kikosicki, Annie Coleman, and Emily Maffeo set their mark of 1:50.89 with a second-place finish at the Class M meet. The 4x200 squad took second at both sectionals (1:51.61) and SCCs (1:51.63), as well. All of these great performances earned Hailey Most Valuable Player honors for the girls’ track squad.
“That was another exciting part. My last season of indoor, I’ll never forget it, and I have the plate to show it,” says Hailey. “When you break a record, you have your name with the event and the times. It’s displayed at the school and you get to take it.”
After watching Hailey contribute to a pair of indoor school records, Coach Dunne is excited to see what she has in store for the outdoor campaign.
“She has good size, strength, she’s fast, very dependable, and never misses a practice,” says Dunne. “She listens, learns, is pleasant to coach, and kept her times going down. She continues to get better and I look forward to her having a great outdoor season.”
Hailey competes in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles during the spring. She’s also expected to be key in the short relays and has designs on being East Haven’s top point scorer one more time.
“I want to set a goal of scoring the most points again,” says Hailey. “I want to try and beat the people that were ahead of me during the indoor season. We face the same set of teams, so I know I’ll face them again.”
Hailey had her first crack as a Yellowjackets’ captain this winter and is now holding that same role with the outdoor team. Hailey likes how she learned responsibility from being a leader and she enjoyed lending support to whoever needed it.
“I was happy because it’s cool to be a leader and show people the right way and help them if they need it,” says Hailey. “I think it’s fun. Everyone knows that if they need anything, they can come to me for help. I also liked how I could organize things.”
Hailey earned some college interest based on her times during the indoor season, but after a thorough look at her choices, she’s determined that this spring will be her final track campaign. Hailey plans to study meteorology in college.
“I did look into it, but the schools that asked didn’t have my major, so it wasn’t an option,” says Hailey. “It definitely makes me want to work harder because this is it. Anything that happens now is what I’ll have to remember.”