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Track Meet
Woodstock’s Eliza Dutson sets the javelin free. Photo by Marc Allard.
The outdoor track season is headed into its final stages.
The Woodstock Academy boys’ and girls’ track teams finished up the season with a meet in Killingly May 8.
It was the last regular season meet of the year and it will be followed closely behind by the Eastern Connecticut Conference championships on Saturday at East Lyme High School.
“It should be fine,” Woodstock Academy boys coach Pete Lusa said of the short time between meets. “Frankly, we were concerned with there being too much time between (the) Waterford (meet last Wednesday) and the ECC (championship) Saturday. I was hoping for our make-up meet at Killingly to be on Monday instead of Tuesday, however it was not to be.”
Lusa feels the Centaurs will have a couple of athletes who will be able to make an impact come Saturday.
Mark Dumas (shotput), Connor Huda (discus), and Natanael Colon (sprints) could all place in the confer
ence championship meet.
The girls’ team could have a few more in the mix.
“Championship meets have different rules and scoring than dual or tri- meets, I do think we can make some noise (Saturday),” said coach John Ywarsky. “Kennedy Davignon should score in the 100 and 200 (meters). Ashleigh Angle will score in shotput and 300 hurdles. Eliza Dutson may score in 300 hurdles and javelin. If Maddie Grube nails down (the) triple (jump), she could get us points in it, the long jump, and 100 hurdles. That’s not even counting distance, where Stella DiPippo, if she is healthy, can contend in the 1,600 and 3,200 (meters). Hannah Matsas and Megan Gohn should score, and Alexia Bourbeau could sneak into the scoring for the 3,200 as well. I’d like to see us get into the top five or six teams. I think we’re a year away from really being a top three team, but we should definitely have success.”
The Centaurs celebrated Senior Day during their last home meet last week.
The girls just lost to Waterford on the South Campus track, 80-70.
“I’m fairly happy with their performance,” Ywarsky said. “The result really came down to relays, flipping the results would have guaranteed at least a tie with Waterford. Distance did well, despite our number one runner (DiPippo) being sidelined.”
The Centaurs (1-3, 1-2 ECC Div. II) won the 4x100 meter relay, but lost in both the 4x400 and 4x800.
Gohn captured the 1,600 meter while Matsas took first in the 3,200.
Grube was a winner in both the long and triple jumps while Lindsay O’Dea placed first in the high jump.
The Centaurs also did well in the throws.
Paula Hernandez led a sweep of the javelin with a throw of 99-feet.
“Hernandez is starting to get the hang of her events; her performance in javelin and shot have improved since the first meet,” said Ywarsky. “We currently have three girls who can throw javelin over 90 feet; Hernandez, Eliza Dutson, and Rachel Salmon.”
Boys’ Track
The boys were paced by Colon who won all three sprint events, but the Centaurs fell short to the Lancers 85-65.
Colon won the 100m (11.18 seconds); 200m (23.3) and 400m (52.8).
“Natanael is coming into his own on the track. He is focused and challenging himself to achieve his best times. Senior year has a way of assisting that focus and drive, and for an athlete with his ability, it is the perfect environment,” Lusa said.
Dumas won the shot with a throw of 46 feet, 3 inches while Huda captured the discus, hurling it 117-5. Lucas Couture cleared the pole vault in 9-6 to capture first-place honors for the Centaurs (0-4, 0-3).
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director