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02/13/2023 03:04 PMIndoor track has a very unique type of season because there are no dual meets. Every competition is invitational-based, with multiple teams involved. These meets always prove to be a test for teams to see how they stack up to others in the fold.
The North Haven Nighthawks were small in numbers this season but gave it their all in every meet.
On Feb. 4, the team competed at the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) Championships at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven.
Head Coach Marc Celmer was impressed by how his team did among the competition, specifically highlighting the boys’ shot put team.
“That was the best team shot put performance probably ever for the indoor team,” said Celmer. “We had six boys who went to the meet; five of them set personal records.”
Of those six athletes who participated on the boys’ side, Ethan Anderson (senior), Yousef Gebril (senior), Matthew Helwig (sophomore), Dillon Songhurst (junior), and James Studley (junior) not only finished in the Top 10 but also set personal records.
Anderson finished first, throwing 49-05.00 feet; Gebril finished second, throwing 48-05.75 feet; Helwig finished sixth overall at 41-09.50 feet; Songhurst finished ninth overall (39-09.00 feet); and Studley finished 10th overall, throwing 39-08.00 feet.0
The girls’ team was a bit smaller than the boys this season, but what made them so special was the effort they gave every time they stepped on the track, especially at the conference meet.
“The girls’ team was always small from the beginning of the season,” said Celmer. “The girls always gave me their best effort, and they did that again at the meet.”
In the 600-meter run, Rebecca Ford (junior) finished 17th overall with a final time of 1:57.46. Daniella Rapuano also competed in this race, finishing 19th with a final time of 1:57.68.
Ford, Anna Mortali (junior), Rapuano, and Payton Orosco (senior) competed in the girls’ 4x400 meter relay and finished ninth overall, with a final time of 4:47.70.
For the boys’ team, aside from Anderson, Gebril, Helwig, Songhurst, and Studley setting personal records, there were several other athletes that accomplished that feat, as well. The boys also produced a First Team All- Conference and Second Team All-Conference player, respectively.
“Blake Butler and Conor Rourke set personal records for hurdles in the meet,” said Celmer. “Ethan made First Team All-Conference, and Yousef was Second Team All-Conference.”
Butler (senior) competed in the 55-meter hurdles and finished with a time of 9.92. Rourke also competed in this race and finished 13th overall with a final time of 9.48.
Most of the athletes on the boys’ team are members of the Nighthawks football team that recently won their first state championship title this past fall. Celmer knows it can be a tough transition going from a rigorous football season right to indoor track.
“The boys’ team has progressed since the Western Sectional meet. There have been quite a few boys that have qualified for states. The one concern I have is that I have a lot of football players on my team,” said Celmer. “A lot has been asked of them because they have been physically active with one team since July. With no break from football to indoor, that is asking a lot of them. When indoor is over, we put no pressure on them so that they can prepare for the outdoor season.”
On Feb. 11, the Nighthawks boys’ team competed in the Class M State Championship. The girls did not attend this meet due to not qualifying during the SCC Championships. Celmer was happy overall with how the boys performed at states.
“It went well, we had a lot of personal records set by the boys. They ran hard, and they threw well,” said Celmer. “It was a good meet. The 4x800, all four boys set personal records for their 800 splits. They broke the nine-minute barrier, going under nine minutes, which is something that we have not done in a while.”
In the 4x800 meters, Tyler Wurm, Matthew DeNardis, Anthony Signor, and Nico Boyle represented North Haven. They finished with a final team time of 8:57.81 and 12th overall.
“I would say that the 4x8’s performance was a real highlight of the season. That to me shows a lot of guts by those four boys,” said Celmer. “They had some hard workouts to do during the week, but they came back on Saturday, and they just let it go. I told them that ‘You have to dig deep out there, and you can’t hold anything back’, they responded to that, and did their job very well.”
Wurm competed in the first leg for the 4x400 and also set a personal record in that split. Boyle was very active in a variety of events that he had qualified for in the meet.
“He decided that he was going to run the mile, and set a personal record in the mile,” said Celmer. “Nico sets himself to a very high standard and demands a lot out of himself. He did a great job, and I am very proud of him.”
Jake McCreven got into the finals for the hurdles and finished seventh overall, with a final time of 8.37, beating his previous record from the SCC Championships, which was 8.51.
Six shot putters entered the state meet: Anderson, Gebril, Songhurst, Chayse Mangino (senior), Studley, and Helwig, and five set personal records.
“Ethan, Yousef, Dillon, Chayse, and James set personal records,” said Coach Celmer. “Three of them made the finals. Ethan finished third, and Yousef finished fourth. I was very pleased with the day, and they had a great meet.”
Overall, there were over 10 personal records that were set by the boys’ team on the day. Celmer was pleased with how everyone performed during both the SCC Championships as well as the state meet.
On Sat. Feb. 18, Ethan and Yousef will be competeing at the State Opens indoor track meet for shotput.
For the boys’ team the athletes include Anderson, Matthew Crispi (senior, hurdles), David Frost (senior, spinter/long jump), Gebril, Mangino, Daniel-Mark Thomas (senior, sprinter/long jumper), Wurm, Boyle, Charles Coughlin (junior, distance-mile), Jack Green (junior, distance-mile), Daniel Malone (junior, utility and spinter), McCreven, Liam Millan (junior, spinter/long jump), Luke Reilly (mid-distance), Albert Rotondo (junior, shotput), Signor, Songhurst, Studley, Eric Vetrano (junior, hurdler), Andrew Bautz (sophomore, mid-distance), Russell Collins (sprinter), Khristopher Molyneaux (freshman, hurdler), DeNardis, Helwig, Noah Holt (sophomore, long spinter), Jace Matthew (sophomore, pole vault), Jack Notaro (sophomore, hurdler, sprinter, long jumper), Joey Solimene (sophomore, distance), Daniel Broggi (freshman, hurdler), Emeka Dimkpa (freshman, shotput), Jeremey Eddie (freshman, sprinter), Kristopher Molyneaux (freshman, hurdler), Shawn Nesmith (freshman, shotput), Max Pugliese (freshman, long sprinter), Darek Samsel (freshman, hurdler), and Ty Zemba (freshman, shotput).
The girls’ team includes Noami Dimkpa (senior, sprinter), Carina Esposito (senior, sprinter), Orosco, Ford, Jade Lewis (junior, hurdler and sprinter), Anna Mortali (junior, mid-distance), Shen Wan (junior, hurdler, sprinter), Truly Whichard (junior, sprinter), Andrea August (sophomore, mid-distance), Grace DeNardis (sophomore, mid-distance), Giada Garofalo (sophomore, sprinter), Amalia Morizio (sophomore, team manager, mid-distance), Daniella Rapuano (sophomore, mid-distance), Sofia Kanakis (freshman, shotput), Natalie Pause (freshman, hurdler), and Rachel Sajan (freshman, sprinter).