Track Athletes Set More Records

By Anna Hodge

The Newtown High School girls’ and boys’ Indoor Track teams successfully competed in an invitational and a SWC developmental meet this past week, as athletes to set new school records and qualified for championships. On Saturday, January 14, while at the Southern Connecticut Conference Coaches Invite Indoor Track and Field Meet at the Floyd Athletic Center in New Haven the boys’ team took sixth out of 45 schools with 29 points and the girls placed 30th out of 44 teams. The teams then continued their competition on Monday at an SWC developmental meet at Wesleyan University.

At the invitational, the athletes gave notable performances, both individually and as relay teams. Peter Kerns improved upon his current school record (which he set the previous week) in the 300 meter run, with 37.14, scraping .08 of a second off of a 37.22 finish.

The 4x200 meter relay team, comprised of Brandon Capaldo, Jimmy Mooney, Trevor Carey, and Kerns set a new school record in the event. The team, finishing in 1:38.45, broke the previous record of 1:39.91, set in 2009. 

Meanwhile, Dieter Gutbrod, Jordan Hensel, Palmer Lintz, and Pat Sullivan broke the school record in the 4x800 meter relay. The team of senior athletes finished in 8:32.49, taking 5 seconds off of the previous school record of 8:37.4, set in 2007.

On the girls’ side of the event, Lauren O’Connell tied her record of 10 foot performance in the pole vault, which she set the previous week at an SWC developmental meet at Wesleyan.

On Monday, the teams competed for their second time at Wesleyan University in Middletown. Athletes reset their records or matched those of years past.

In the 600 meter run, Reagan Cerney reset her record in the event with 1:43.17, shaving off hundredths of a second from her previous record of 1:43.44, set the previous week. Lauren O’Connell again tied her record 10 foot effort in the pole vault, which she set the previous week and matched days earlier at the SCC Invite. In the high jump, Hunter Bassett tied the high jump record of 5-8, matching the mark also held by Rich Frankonis in 1988, Kevin Bonacci in 2009, and Austin Puleri in 2011.

The team will compete on both Friday and Saturday at the Yale Invitational at the Coxe Cage Indoor Track facility in New Haven.

The following athletes qualified, or re-qualified, for SWC or both SWC and Class LL state championships, on Saturday, Monday or Tuesday’s JV meet at Newtown Youth Academy:

Boys: 55 Hurdles: John Hampford  8.67 (SWC & States), Chad Cullens  9.56 (SWC), Brandon Capaldo 7.08 (SWC). 300: Peter Kerns  37.14 (SWC & States), Jimmy Mooney 39.35 (SWC). 600: Dieter Gutbrod  1:30.71 (SWC & States). 1000: Pat Sullivan 2:45.92 (SWC & States). 1600: Jake Feinstein 4:27.22 (SWC & States), Pat Sullivan  4:48.42 (SWC). 3200: Jake Feinstein 9:53.40 (SWC & States), Jordan Hensel  10:26.80 (SWC). Long Jump: John Hampford  17-10.5  (SWC). High Jump: Hunter Bassett  5-8 (SWC & States). Pole Vault: Spencer Erhardt  11-0  (SWC & States). Relays – 4x200: 1:37.84 (SWC & States). 4x800: 8:32.49 (SWC & States).

Girls: 55 Hurdles: Molly Arneth 10.37 (SWC). 300: Brittany Tolla  44.98 (SWC & States), Brooke Newton 46.03 (SWC & States). 600: Reagan Cerney 1:43.17 (SWC & States). 1000: Jenny vanVeen 3:16.91 (SWC & States), Erin Begg  3:23.63 (SWC & States). 1600: Katie Burns 5:44.45 (SWC & States), Hannah Schwartz 5:57.43 (SWC), Brianne Moulder 5:53.15 (SWC). 3200: Burns 12:19.44 (SWC & States), Schwartz 12:44.68 (SWC), vanVeen 12:49.23 (SWC), Moulder 12:36.49 (SWC & States). Long Jump: Lauren O’Connell 15-8.75 (SWC & States), Abby Blakeman 15-00.0 (SWC & States). Pole Vault: Lauren O’Connell 10-0 (SWC & States), Mackenzie Lapp 7-0 ( SWC). Relays – 4x200: 1:56.18 (SWC & States), 4x800 10:36.56 (SWC & States).

JV qualifiers: 55 Parker Lintz 7.3 (SWC); Shot Put: Maddie Erhardt 26 (SWC).