Myslenski pg 1 6-23-22

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Myslenski
finishes 11th, LaMontagne,
21st at the
Nationals
It was a quick hitter for Woodstock Academy’s Magdalena Myslenski.
The junior traveled across the country to Eugene, Ore., to compete in the Nike National Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
She was there for all of 36 hours. But it was a productive day and a half as she finished 11th in the national event in the discus with a throw of 113-feet, 4-inches June 17.
Senior Keenan LaMontagne also traveled to Oregon to compete but had to stay a lot longer.
His discus competition wrapped up on Sunday afternoon and he finished 21st with a best throw of 157-11.
“It was the best experience I ever had relating to track and field,” Myslenski said. “The competition was some of the best in the country.”
Myslenski went into the competition seeded 19th.
“I didn’t expect to finish 11th or even in the top 15 but I threw a safety throw in my first attempt and only went up from there by executing my technique,” she said.
She finished just one spot from making the finals of the competition.
“I’m very happy for her. She was only 2 feet away from her personal best and really did well. Emerging elite by finishing 11th. That’s pretty good. She’s only a junior and will be able to come back next year,” LaMontagne said.
Had LaMontagne reached his personal best, a Woodstock school record of 175-8, he would have been in the top 10 or 15.
But it wasn’t to be.
“The circle was really slippery out of the back but I will have to watch my film and see what I was doing wrong. I’m disappointed with how I did. I got here, but I was hoping for a personal best (Sunday). There were a lot of butterflies,” LaMontagne said.
Both athletes got the chance to see and meet others from across the country.
“I found it amazing to throw against girls at my level from all over the country. It was pretty much a to-and-from trip just to go throw but it was definitely worth it. I was so grateful for the last-minute opportunity and really excited for my continued growth,” Myslenski said.
Even though he was there a lot longer than his teammate, LaMontagne didn’t see much more.
“It’s pretty much been all at the track. I’ve just been sitting here watching all the events. It’s really cool to watch the best of the best,” LaMontagne said.
He said it will also help him at his next destination, Bucknell University.
“I’ve had so many big meets this year. Everything I’ve done this year will help me for the future and the kids (in Oregon) are the ones that I will be competing against for the next four years,” LaMontagne said.

Arends Breaks Record
Woodstock Academy senior Linsey Arends put on a Centaurs track jersey for a final time early last week. And she made the most of it.
Arends took part in the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference girls’ steeplechase championship and broke the Woodstock record in the event in a time of 7 minutes, 58 seconds.
“It’s always tough to tell whether you will get one of the kids who will do spin moves off the water barrier and cannonball or if you will have someone who takes it seriously and will go out for a good run. They waffle a bit at the end of the season but (Arends) went at it hard. She practiced a lot, put a good amount of work into what she was going to do with the water barriers and the hurdles and put together a really nice race,” said coach Josh Welch.
The event was one of the two final track-and-field offerings of the season.
The CIAC pairs the boys’ and girls’ steeplechase events with the boys’ decathlon and girls’ heptathlon championships.
Arends broke the previous school record held by Carah Bruce by nearly a minute.
Arends wasn’t the only Woodstock Academy athlete to participate. Julia Coyle finished 20th (8:22) and Lauren Brule was 29th (8:38).
On the boys’ side, freshman Christian Menounos made the most of his first test in the steeplechase, equaling Arends with a 7th-place finish in 10:19.
“He did great,” Welch said. “A few of the guys ahead of him had two-mile times around 9:10 whereas Christian’s normal time is just over 10 minutes. So to get in there and hang with that pack was awesome. He’s young and he went out there and really battled with a lot of kids.”
Seven was a big number for the Centaurs in New Britain.
It’s also what junior Bella Sorrentino finished in the two-day heptathlon competition.
“She had set a goal for herself to finish in the top three and to get there, she would have had to have a personal best in absolutely everything,” Welch said. “That’s, obviously, tough to do in any given two-day stretch. She did a great job, getting personal bests in four of the seven events.”
Sorrentino started out fast, literally, recording her best 100m hurdle time of the season in 16.28 seconds for a fifth-place finish.
“She faltered a bit at high jump which is probably what pitched her back from being third or fourth. It’s tough to get everything to go right but the great thing was that she recovered well,” Welch said.
Sorrentino followed up the high jump with a first-place finish in the shotput that propelled her back into seventh place. She was in the same spot at the end of Day 1 after the 200-meter to qualify for the second day of competition. Sorrentino stayed in seventh after the first event of the second day, the long jump, moved up to fifth after the javelin and finished in seventh after the 800-meter.
She finished with a personal best 3593 points which is just about 300 points shy of the school record.
“If she had got right to her personal best in the high jump, she would have been right at the school record. She was only about a foot under her personal best in shotput and long jump. If she had got personal bests in those, she would have eclipsed the record by 200 or 300 points,” Welch said.
Sophomore Jillian Edwards, in her first attempt at competing in the heptathlon, finished 25th in the event with 2901 points.
“I’m going to look for some early-season heptathlon events next year where we can get them two swings at it rather than just the one, “Welch said. “Bella has a shot at qualifying for Nationals, too, because she is near the number if she has a great day.”
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

Spins
Woodstock junior Magdalena Myslenski spins in the discus circle in Eugene, Ore. Myslenski finished 11th in the Nike National High School Outdoor Track and Field championships June 17. Photo by Gerry LaMontagne/Woodstock Academy.

Gets Ready
Freshman Christian Menounos gets ready to take on the water barrier in the CIAC boys’ steeplechase championship last week at Willow Brook Park in New Britain. Menounos finished seventh in the competition. Photo by Josh Welch/Woodstock Academy.

Competes
Junior Bella Sorrentino competes in the 800-meter event at the CIAC girls’ heptathlon championship and finished seventh in the competition. Photo by Josh Welch/Woodstock Academy.
 
Navigates
Senior Linsey Arends navigates the water barrier in the CIAC girls’ steeplechase championship last week and finished ninth overall and set the Woodstock Academy school record in the event with a time of 7 minutes, 58 seconds. Photo by Josh Welch/Woodstock Academy.

Finish
Junior Magdalena Myslenski, left, and senior Keenan LaMontagne finished 11th and 21st respectively, in the girls’ and boys’ discus championships at the Nike National High School Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Photo by Gerry LaMontagne/Woodstock Academy.

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