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05/23/2020 12:00 AMName a sport, and there is a good chance that Branford senior Nolan Scott has played it. Football, basketball, and lacrosse are just a few of the sports in which Nolan has competed. While each sport features its own specific intricacies, there is a common theme among all of them—the art of running.
Nolan’s love of running took him to the track at Branford. Nolan joined the boys’ track program as a freshman and, while he’s participated in other sports, track is the one that Nolan has done in all four of his years with the Hornets.
“I’ve always been a runner, but I really started when I got to high school. I was always out doing some sort of running, and I was always out playing sports,” says Nolan. “Playing lacrosse, I realized that I was good at running, because that sport involves a massive amount of running. I never really got tired during games. I tried out for the track team once I got to high school, and I loved it.”
While he’s always had an interest in running, Nolan was inspired to sign up for track by his mother Cynthia. Nolan’s mom ran track when she was in high school and wanted her son to have the same types of experiences that she did.
“She was a sprinter, and she fell in love with the sport the same way I did,” Nolan says. “Track is a very different grind than other sports. It’s a mental battle. She encouraged me to take part in that. At the time, I wasn’t the most mature kid, and she knew that one way or the other, track would help me mature and drive me to become a better person.”
Nolan immediately liked the vibe when he joined the Branford boys’ outdoor track team. He quickly noticed that all of his teammates were excited to be there, no matter what events they were doing. Nolan says that his teammates’ enthusiasm made his transition to track that much easier.
Nolan played football at Branford as a freshman and also played basketball in his first two years at the high school. In his junior year, he decided to compete for the indoor track team. Nolan enjoyed his first two seasons with the outdoor team so much that he wanted to double up on the sport.
“As a freshman, I was just doing track because my mom wanted me to do it and I was interested in doing it, but I was not really viewing it as my main sport. I was still playing basketball and football, which I thought I enjoyed more at the time,” says Nolan. “Since my junior year and senior year definitely, track illuminated my strong suits, and it became way more important to me. Everything I did in my high school career revolved around track. I wake up, stretch, go for a run, get my schoolwork done, and went right back to the track. Anything I talk about is going to revolve around track. I enjoy it so much.”
Nolan typically ran the 400 and the 800 for the Hornets. He also contributed to school-record performances while competing in the 4x400 and 4x800 relays. During his junior season, Nolan was a member of three record-breaking relay teams: the indoor 4x400 (3:34.61), the outdoor 4x400 (3:27.91), and the outdoor 4x800 (8:01.11).
Although all three records are special to Nolan, he says that breaking the outdoor 4x800 record at last year’s Glenn D. Loucks Memorial Games was perhaps the most exciting moment. Later the campaign, the relay took first place at the Class MM State Championship.
“Our coach had taken us up to White Plains, New York. We went up there with the main focus to break the school record,” Nolan says. “After we all finished, we were all waiting for the times and realized we broke the record by six seconds. We knocked it out of the park. It was really humbling and nerve-wracking, knowing that all the work that went it and all the time we put into it finally paid off.”
In his senior year, Nolan was named one of Branford’s captains for both the indoor and outdoor teams. Nolan had dreamed of becoming a captain since he first stepped foot on the track and felt honored to receive that distinction as a senior.
“I was very glad to be picked as captain. Most people who do athletics throughout high school have a goal to become a captain. That was definitely one of my goals,” says Nolan. “I felt I was deserving of it. I’ve put in a lot of work, but at the same time, I was very glad that my peers felt I was also deserving of it. I am very grateful to be captain.”
Head Coach Rich Biondi saw Nolan continually get better throughout the past four years, calling him “one of the greatest runners in Branford history.” Biondi also has high praise for how Nolan performed in the captain’s role.
“Nolan is a great kid. He works hard. The other kids really respect him in terms of his work ethic,” Biondi says. “He’s not a yeller or screamer as a leader. His leadership style is more by example. There was no question that Nolan was our leader of the team. He challenged himself as much as he challenged the others. He was a team guy.”
When he graduates from Branford, Nolan plans on attending Southern Connecticut State University to compete for its track and field program. Nolan will be majoring in athletic training and minoring in nutrition.
After competing in various sports at Branford, Nolan found that track was the one that suited him the best. While his mother was the one who encouraged him to give the sport a shot, once Nolan got out there, he knew that the track was exactly where he wanted to be.
“Every four years, I see the athletes at the Olympics and other great track runners. It’s a great honor to see those guys and, even though I’m not running the same times, we are doing the same things,” Nolan says. “It’s a great feeling knowing that, being a track athlete, I’m pushing myself mentally every day with every run and any training that I do.”