NEW HAVEN, Feb. 12 – Six weeks ago, the team didn’t exist. On Wednesday, the newly-formed Canton High boys indoor track team brought home its first trophy.
The Warriors didn’t have a single champion at Wednesday’s NCCC indoor track and field championship meet but they had two individuals and two relay teams finish second as Canton finished an impressive second in its first-ever competition.
Tolland had 112 points to win its second NCCC title in the last four years while Canton scored 75 points and became the first team other than Tolland, Ellington and Suffield to break into the top two since the mid-1990s.
After a pair of fourth place finishes the past two seasons, the Canton girls team moved up to third place at the NCCC meet with two individuals finishing second and two individuals and three relay teams taking third.
Tolland easily won its fourth straight league championship with 167 points. Suffield was second with 87 with Canton finishing with a school-record 62 points.
Canton coach Tim O’Donnell was pleased with the effort by the boys and girls. Several school records were broken and many personal bests were achieved. Additional athletes qualified for this week’s Class S championship meet in New Haven.
BOYS: If not for a petition by girls on the indoor team, there may not have been a chance for the boys to compete. They submitted a petition to the Board of Education in December asking for the boys to get permission to compete. On Dec. 18, the board unanimously voted to approve a team for the boys.
Brian Magna (1,000 meter) and Luke Talbot (long jump) each finished second along with the 3,200 relay and the 1,600 meter relay teams.
Magna came from behind to take the lead with about 100 meters to go but Tolland’s Ryan King responded and retook the lead with 50 meters left to finish in 2:39.35 and beat Magna by 0.28 of a second. Magna’s time of 2:39.62 set a new school record.
Magna had a good race in the 1,600 as well. He finished fourth with a school record time of 4:40.37 and was closing on the leaders. But his kick was too late and he was about two seconds off the place. Erik Nystrom finished sixth in 4:47.47.
In the long jump, Talbot competed for just the second time and finished second with a leap of 18 feet, 8.5 inches. David Kucia was fourth in 17-11.75 inches.
Canton’s 1,600 meter relay team (4×4) was just 0.49 seconds out of first place with a time of 3:45.50. Tolland won the race in 3:45.01. Talbot, Matt Casey, Dylan Petruskevicious and Chris Hyde ran for the Warriors.
Canton’s 3,200 meter relay team of Kevin Kurnat, Casey, Sean Murphy and Petruskevicious finished second with a time of 9:13.16.
Nystrom finished third in the 3,200 with a time of 10:23.56 and qualified for the Class S championships along with Kucia, who set a school record with a time of 8.87 in the 55 hurdles.
GIRLS: Tyisha Alexander set a new school record in the high jump with her leap of 4-8, good enough for second place. In the 600 meters, Deanna Nappi set a new school record with her second place time of 1:50.22.
Amanda Bronson qualified for the Class S championships with her time of 12:28.97 in the 3,200 meters, good enough for third place.
Canton’s 1,600 meter relay team of Alessandra Summa, Katie Bussiere, Frances Klimczak and Nappi finished third and set a new school record of 4:36.33.
Camila Rich also set a new school record in her qualifying run in the 55 high hurdles. Rich qualified for the finals with a time of 10.28, good enough to earn a spot in the Class S meet as well. Rich finished seventh with a time of 10.49.
Summa set a new school record in the 55 meters with her time of 8.01 seconds, good enough for sixth place. Bussiere took third in the 1,000 meters.
Canton had three girls in the top seven and five in the top 12 of the shot. Rachel Schwartzmann finished fourth with a throw of 28-3 while Katherine Eich was fifth in 26-10.
2009 NCCC Indoor Track & Field Championships
at New Haven Athletic Center
BOYS
Team results – 1. Tolland 112, 2. Canton 75, 3. Enfield 67, 4. Stafford 64.33, 5. Ellington 53.66, 6. Coventry 52, 7. Granby 14, 8. Suffield 11, 9. East Windsor 10, 10. East Granby 6
55 meters: 1. Scott Bradick, Stafford 6.78, 2. Andrew Buanno, Enfield 6.89, 3. Travis McNulty, Enfield, 6.91; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 4. Luke Talbot 6.98, 7. Chris Hyde 7.09
300 meters:1. Kyle Suprenant, Coventry 38.47, 2. Ry Wolfel, Enfield, 38.57, 3. Clairborne Jones, Ellington, 45.67; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 5. Chris Hyde 39.06, 6. Ryan Gallagher 39.21
600 meters: 1. Paul Arute, Tolland, 1:29.45, 2. William Baker, Ellington, 1:29.63, 3. Dylan Petruskevicious, Canton 1:30.15
1,000:1. Ryan King, Tolland, 2:39.35, 2. Brian Magna, Canton 2:39.62, 3. Josh Tranes, Tolland, 2:41.90; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 8. Matt Casey 3:01.48
1,600: 1. Chris Reynolds, Suffield, 4:38.05, 2. Connor Gagliardi, Tolland, 4:39.43, 3. Brian Fowler, Tolland, 4:38.86; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 4. Brian Magna 4:40.37 (school record), 6. Erik Nystrom 4:47.47
3,200: 1. Ryan King, Tolland 12:02.59, 2. Josh Trares, Tolland, 10:09.45, 3. Erik Nystrom, Canton 10:23.56; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 6. Kevin Kurnat 11:01.68
55 hurdles: 1. Matt Szymanski, Stafford, 8:18, 2. Dylan Yurgei, Coventry, 8.35, 3. Ben Dagg, Coventry, 8.45; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 5. David Kucia 8.87 (school record), 10. Simon Frez-Albrycht 9.45
4×200 relay: 1. Stafford 1:38.57, 2. Coventry 1:40.40, 3. Enfield 1:41.77; 5. Canton (Chris Hyde, Tyler Plourd, Ryan Gallagher, James Solomon) 1:42.63
4×400 relay: 1. Tolland 3:45.01, 2. Canton (Luke Talbot, Matt Casey, Dylan Petruskevicious, Chris Hyde) 3:45.50, 3. Enfield 3:49.31
4×800 relay: 1. Tolland 8:47.47, 2. Canton (Kevin Kurnat, Matt Casey, Sean Murphy, Dylan Petruskevicious) 9:13.16, 3. Ellington 9:22.65
1,600 sprint medley relay: 1. Stafford 3:59.11, 2. Tolland 3:59.25, 3. Enfield 4:03.95; 4. Canton (Tyler Plourd, Kevin Kurnat, Ryan Gallagher, Brian Magna) 4:03.99
Long jump: 1. Alex Carr, Tolland 19-1¾, 2. Luke Talbot, Canton, 18-8½, 3. Shaun Morrisson, Coventry, 18-8¼; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 4. David Kucia 17-11¾
High jump: 1. Brendan Dutton, Granby 5-10, 2. Shaun Morrison, Coventry 5-10, 3. David Rapuano, East Granby 5-6; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 9. James Solomon 5-0
Pole vault: 1. Nathan Uricchio, Enfield 12-0, 2. Ed Baker, East Windsor 11-6, 3. Matthew Stephan, Ellington 11-0
Shot: 1. Gary Feldman, Ellington 45-5, 2. Dakota Waterman, Enfield 42-6, 3. Colin Glasson, Canton 41-9½; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 7. Wesley Nichols 39-2
GIRLS
Team results – 1. Tolland 167, 2. Suffield 87, 3. Canton 62, 4. Ellington 54, 5. Coventry 51, 6. Stafford 28, 7. Enfield and Windsor Locks 5, 9. Granby 4, 10. East Windsor 2
55 meters: 1. Clairborne Jones, Ellington, 7.49, 2. Kesley Adamson, Tolland 7.49, 3. Callie Smith, Tolland 7.74; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 6. Alessandra Summa 8.01 (school record), 8. Kate Talbot 8.13
600: 1. Erin Sullivan, Tolland 1:49.17, 2. Deanna Nappi, Canton, 1:50.22, 3. Chelsea Peck, Suffield, 1:51.11; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 8. Cheyenne Douglas 1:55.50, 10. Monique Gauthier 1:59.42
1,000: 1. Megan MacBryde, Coventry, 3:15.14, 2. Sarah Wilson, Suffield, 3:16.58, 3. Katie Bussiere, Canton, 3:17.78
1,600: 1. Megan MacBryde, Coventry, 5:30.98, 2. Erin Connelly, Tolland, 5:36.98, 3. Allison Landry, Ellington, 5:37.97; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 5. Frances Klimczak 5:44.87, 6. Amanda Bronson 5:52.32; 10. Nicole Batan 6:03.30
3,200: 1. Erin Connelly, Tolland, 12:02.59, 2. Megan MacBryde, Coventry, 12:18.86, 3. Amanda Bronson, Canton, 12:28.97; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 9. Nicole Batan, 1:25.69
55 hurdles: 1. Holly Chamberlain, Suffield, 9.50, 2. Audrey Corbin, Tolland, 9.65, 3. Alyssa Wagner, Suffield, 9.67; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 7. Camila Rich 10.49
4×200 relay: 1. Tolland 1:53.09, 2. Suffield 1:58.71, 3. Ellington 1:59.95; 5. Canton (Elise Minichiello, Katie Talbot, Tyisha Alexander, Alaina Casioppo) 2:04.39
4×400 relay: 1. Suffield 4:28.22, 2. Tolland 4:34.74, 3. Canton (Alessandra Summa, Katie Bussiere, Frances Klimczak, Deanna Nappi) 4:36.33
4×800 relay: 1. Ellington 10:26.38, 2. Tolland 10:31.75, 3. Canton (Nicole Batan, Frances Klimczak, Alaina Casioppo, Monique Gauthier) 11:11.23
1,600 sprint medley relay: 1. Tolland 4:38.68, 2. Suffield 4:39.94, 3. Canton (Katie Talbot, Deanna Nappi, Tyisha Alexander, Katie Bussiere) 4:52.25
Long jump: 1. Holly Chamberlain, Suffield, 15-11¼, 2. Chelsea Hunter, Suffield 14-9½, 3. Heather Kitteridge, Tolland, 14-9¼; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 4. Elise Minichello 14-4½, 6. Alaina Casioppo 13-8, 10. Rose Minichiello 13-3
High jump: 1. Nicole Fortin, Stafford 4-8, 2. Tyisha Alexander, Canton and Amanda Morrison, Tolland 4-8; 9. Camila Rich, Canton 4-6
Pole vault: 1. Amanda Morrison, Tolland 7-6, 2. Stephanie Oliver, Coventry, 7-0, 3. Kristen Tetreault, Tolland 6-0
Shot: 1. Angie Maher, Tolland 35-1, 2. Kelsey Degiacomo, Tolland 29-7, 3. Kristen Stewart, Coventry, 29-0; Other top 10 Canton athletes: 4. Rachel Schwartzmann 28-3, 5. Katherine Eich 26-10, 7. Kerry Van Schaack 25-10, 9. Dorina Werner 25-7
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.
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