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06/08/2017 12:00 AMJunior Haley Montesanto is a three-sport athlete for the Yellowjackets whose biggest achievements have come during the outdoor track season each spring. After recording great performances in the 300-meter hurdles at this year’s SCC West Sectional Championship, SCC Championship, and Class MM State Championship, Haley qualified for the State Open for the first time in her career.
“I’m very excited. I’m very proud of myself, and I’m nervous for the meet,” says Haley, who competed at the Open on June 5. “The girls I’m competing against have better times than me, but I know I have to try to be as good as them to beat my personal record right now.”
Haley’s personal record (PR) for the 300 hurdles came at the recent Class MM meet, where she ran a time of 48.83 seconds to finish in fourth place. Haley’s time is the third best in the history of Yellowjackets’ girls’ outdoor track for that event.
“She’s running the third-fastest intermediate time ever behind [Tamara Highsmith and Hailey Onorato]. 48.83 is very fast,” says Head Coach Rusty Dunne, who notes that Haley has scored 103.25 points for his team this year. “She’s an excellent athlete. She has speed, toughness, and a competitiveness to her. She’s had a very good season, and we’re excited for the State Open.”
Haley decided to join the track program as a freshman based on the recommendation of her cousin Megan Kikosicki. While she felt at bit timid about attempting the hurdles at first, Haley kept at it, and clearing them soon became second nature.
“Freshman year, I started with the 300 hurdles and 100 hurdles, plus the long jump and 100. When I first started, I was very nervous, because I thought I couldn’t jump the hurdles. I always thought I’d fall,” she says. “When I kept practicing, my coaches and teammates all helped with techniques and different things to improve my jumping over them. [Coach Dunne and Coach Bob Davis] would help me all the time with my starts, so I’d get out and to the first hurdle as fast as I could.”
Haley was also a member of East Haven’s 4x400 relay team that’s broken the school record twice in the past two years. The quartet of Katie Maffeo, Paige Maffeo, Isaballa Ragaini, and Haley currently holds the school record with a mark of 4:21.73.
“Last year was the Maffeos and me, and we wanted to break it all year. We thought we couldn’t, but when states came and we did, we were so proud,” says Haley. “We wanted to do it again with Isabella. When we beat it, we were so proud. For me, personally, having my name on the board, I don’t even know—we broke a record.”
Haley also plays soccer and basketball at East Haven. As a member of the soccer squad, Haley is a forward who always keeps her motor running.
“Me and [Jordan Kikosicki] needed to step up and lead the team, because there wasn’t anyone else to score as many goals. We had to step up as the forwards to score as many goals as we could,” Haley says. “Being active and running around, I like it, personally. It helps me stay in shape. I’m always going from soccer to basketball, basketball to track, or vice versa to make sure I’m involved and on time for everything, because I like playing soccer, basketball, and track.”
Haley spends most of her time patrolling the perimeter as a three-point shooter for the basketball team, although she says that she’s actually better on the defensive end of the floor.
“I like defense the best, because I know that when I’m guarding the guard for the other team, I have to be quick and beat her to every spot. I know my speed is helpful for that,” says Haley. “I make sure I’m up and in their space and make sure I’m on my toes, because I have to beat them to the spot. I make sure to get in their head by being on top of them and making them panic a little bit.”
It won’t be long before Haley is back on the soccer field and the basketball court as a senior at East Haven, but not before she caps off her junior year by competing among Connecticut’s premier hurdlers at the State Open. Although Haley feels a little nervous heading into the Open, she knows she has a great support system that can help her run her best time yet on the state’s biggest stage.
“Before each race, I look at the other girls and think they’re better than me. I get help mentally before each race from my coaches to make sure I get to the first hurdle as fast as I can,” Haley says. “I’m always trying to beat my PR time and I hope to do that at the Open.”