Roundup
Sorrentino
finishes 4th;
D’Alleva-
Bochain sets
school record
Woodstock Academy’s Bella Sorrentino had one last moment to cherish as a high school student-athlete.
The Centaurs senior, three days after graduating, put on a Woodstock Academy jersey for a final time and traveled the CIAC Heptathlon championship.
She placed fourth overall in the two-day, seven-event competition.
“The girl that won (Audrey Kozak of Shelton), I think is in the top three in the country which is ridiculous and (Meg Barnouw of Fairfield-Warde) is right behind her. She was facing nationally-ranked competitors so the fact that she was up in the mix with those kids is pretty amazing,” Woodstock Academy coach Josh Welch said.
Sorrentino finished with 3717 points, just 112 points behind the Woodstock Academy school record set by Emily Swenson in 2009.
The finish, however, is likely the best for a Centaur as Swenson finished sixth in the competition that season.
“She was shooting for third, shooting for the school record, she was just shy of those two things but to have everything come together in the course of two days is really hard,” Welch said. “She was a fierce competitor out there. Watching her run her last laps in the 800-meter (the last event of the competition), you could tell she was all in. It was awesome to see her end on a high note.”
Sorrentino was first among competitors in the shotput where she had a personal-best throw of 35-feet, 9-inches on the first day of the competition.
“It was fun to see her get that personal best and I think she got one in the 800 (where she finished 12th in 2:40. 19). It was a great spot (the shotput) for her to pick up a bunch of points,” Welch said.
Sorrentino was eighth overall in the 100-meter hurdles (16.36 seconds); ninth in the long jump (15 feet, 4.75-inches); 13th in the javelin (71-11); 15th in the 200-meter race (27.82 seconds) and 26th in the high jump (4-4.25).
Sorrentino will continue her track and field career at Southern Connecticut State University.
Junior Jillian Edwards finished 27th overall.
There was another highlight as freshman Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain, in her first attempt in competing in the CIAC Steeplechase, finished ninth overall and broke the Woodstock Academy school record in the event by almost four seconds.
“That’s a tough race to just jump into and try out. So, it was great to get a freshman on the hook and give this thing a swing. I didn’t have a whole lot of expectation there but I know she is a great competitor and was going to have a good time and it would be cool for her to have the experience,” Welch said.
D’Alleva-Bochain was seeded 11th in the slow heat, meaning 30-plus overall, and finished in the top-10 in 7 minutes, 54.48 seconds.
It was also her first-ever 2-mile competition in high school.
“It was cool and unexpected because I, honestly, did not have a two-mile time that was real. I just kind of went out and tried to have fun and see what happened because I only learned hurdles like five days before (the competition),” D’Alleva-Bochain said.
But, she now has motivation to continue.
She finished just about 25 seconds shy of qualifying for the national high school championship in the event.
“That is now a big goal to have happen by my senior year,” she said.
The hardest thing she found about the event was that the hurdles in steeplechase are a little more rigid than those in a normal hurdle event.
“You have to stay focused on every barrier. If you nick it, you’re down and there goes your race. That happened to a kid in front of me in the last 100-meters,” D’Alleva-Bochain said.
She didn’t immediately know that she had broken the school record previously held by Linsey Arends.
“I was texted by a teammate when I was driving home because no one realized it. I just started laughing because I thought it was funny because it was steeplechase and I had really expected nothing,” she said.
That won’t be the case in 2024.
“We’re going to plan to train for that a little in advance, too, to see if she can get to national level qualifying. It was a big surprise. I knew she would do well. I didn’t know she would do that well,” Welch said.
On the boys’ side, senior Liam Wilcox competed in the CIAC Decathlon and finished 30th overall with 3967 points.
His best finish was 10th in the pole vault where he cleared 10-feet and tied for 14th in the high jump where he cleared 5-4 ¼.

College Choices
A large group of Woodstock student-athletes announced recently where their next four-year adventure will be.
Thirteen members of the Class of 2023 gathered inside the Alumni Fieldhouse to make the announcement of where they will attend college and participate in athletics at the next level.
“I think of when you all got here as young, small children and how afraid you were and then the confidence and the growth that came because of your involvement with athletics. You learned how to be a good human being, worked hard individually and worked hard collectively, that’s what got you here. I appreciate everyone coming out for this ceremony which really represents hours and years of dedication to get where you are and we are very proud of all of you,” said associate head of school Holly Singleton.
Those who made the announcement included:
Morgan Bonin (Volleyball at Western New England University)
Evan Roy (Football at Nichols College)
Liam Wilcox (Track and Field at Nichols College)
Gabe Viau (Soccer at Eastern Nazarene)
Tessa Brown (Track and Field at Bentley University)
Keynila Hochard (Ice Hockey at Plymouth State)
Kaden Murphy (Baseball at St. Joseph University)
Carter Saracina (Football and Track and Field at Plymouth State)
Alyson Bunning (Field Hockey at Regis College)
Noah Page (Soccer at Eastern Connecticut State University)
Jared Eaton (Track and Field at Southern Connecticut State University)
Isabella Sorrentino (Track and Field at Southern Connecticut State University)
Zach Gessner (Lacrosse at Rivier University)
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

Senior Bella Sorrentino gets ready to make her run in the javelin competition at the CIAC Heptathlon championship.

Junior Jillian Edwards clears the bar in the high jump competition.

In his last high school athletic competition, senior Liam Wilcox competes in the shotput portion of the CIAC Decathlon championship.
Photos by Michelle Verilli/Woodstock Academy.

Senior Bella Sorrentino, fourth from left, finished fourth in the CIAC Heptathlon Championship. Photo by Josh Welch.

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