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Woodstock Academy freshman Christian Menounos finishes in first place against NFA in the 3200-meter race in his first high school outdoor track meet. Photo by Marc Allard.
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Far left: Senior Keenan LaMontagne gets ready to launch the shotput. Left: Senior Ian Hoffman clears the bar on the way to a 9-foot, 6-inch finish, good enough for first place in the pole vault against NFA. Photos by Marc Allard.
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It was the win that Woodstock Academy coach Josh Welch was hoping for.
“The spirits are high,” Welch said after his Centaurs girls’ outdoor track and field team downed NFA in the season opener for both last week, 92-58.
“NFA is always a great program so getting a significant win over them points-wise says a lot about where we are as we prepare for Fitch, E. Lyme, and Waterford. It is always tough to read between indoor and outdoor as the change in season sees crossover athletes come and go. But with a win here it shapes our conversation and plans as a team as we tackle the next opponent. We know at this point we have a great shot at wins against Fitch and Waterford, and a fighting chance at East Lyme this year,” Welch added.
The Centaurs picked up the win thanks to a host of athletes getting a lot of points.
Bella Sorrentino, a junior, placed first in the 100 hurdles (16.8 seconds); was a member of the winning 4x100m relay (53.8 seconds) team along with Isabella Selmecki, Hailey McDonald, and Juliet Allard; finished second in the shotput (31-feet, 7-inches) and second in the long jump (15-6).
Fellow junior Magdalena Myslenski took first in both the discus (110-5 ¾) and javelin (91-7) and was third in the pole vault (7-6).
Linsey Arends won the 800m (2:28); joined Lauren Brule, Julia Coyle and Leila MacKinnon to finish first in the 4x800m (10:31.9) and also joined Selmecki, Talia Tremblay and Reegan Reynolds to capture first in the 4x400m relay (4:26.6).
Brule was first in the 3200m (13:13) and second in the 1600m with Coyle second in the 3200 and third in the 1600m. Sydney Lord helped the Centaurs sweep the points with a third in the 3200m. Tremblay was best in the 400m (65.2 seconds) with Selmecki in second. Jillian Edwards was second in the 100 hurdles.
A couple of freshmen also stood out in their first regular season meet with Mia Sorrentino winning the high jump (4-8) and Juliet Allard finishing second in both the 100 and 200-meter races.
In all, the Centaurs had 14 state-qualifying performances.
Boys’ Track: Back to Competition
For the first time in three years, the NFA buses rolled on to the South Campus of Woodstock Academy to compete in an ECC boys’ Div. I track and field event.
“I think it’s new to (his team). For me, it felt normal, but we also felt like we were going at them with some chances. It wasn’t a 130-18 meet or some score like that. It was nice to see the kids step up, score some points and do well,” said coach Peter Lusa.
The Wildcats won, 99-51, but the Centaurs had plenty of things they could point to as highlights.
Senior Ian Hoffman said, “This was our first official meet and NFA is some really good competition. It was just good to get back out there. The cool thing was that there were some (NFA) faces that I recognized from cross-country and I knew they would be good competition. To be able to race against them was awesome.”
Hoffman picked up a pair of first-place finishes, including one that got the Centaurs off to a good start. He, Vince Bastura, Owen Tracy and Christian Menounos won the 4x800 meter relay in 8:59.9. They qualified for States, just barely.
It was one of five state-qualifying performances on the day for the Centaurs. “It’s a new season but the (4x800 team) was really focused on that. They were cheering each other on and that will egg on the other kids,” Lusa said.
Hoffman also finished first in the pole vault where he cleared the bar at 9-feet, 6-inches. He was shooting for 10-6, his personal best during the indoor track season, but outside the wind is a factor. Hoffman also finished second in the 800-meter.
Fellow senior Keenan LaMontagne qualified for the States in both the shotput and discus.
His shotput of 48-feet, 2 ¼ inches was his personal best “by a bunch” according to Lusa and he also managed a personal best in the discus at 147-8.
Jeff Phongsa (11.2 seconds) and Braeden Emerson (11.6) both qualified for the States in the 100m dash. Lusa was also happy to see the Centaurs score the first three places in the javelin — Silas Strandson placed first, Chase Young was second and Jared Eaton third. Menounos also picked up a first-place finish in the 3200m.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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