Athletes In Region Shine in Relays

This past Friday and Saturday saw more than a dozen teams from across the region competing at the Ledyard Relays at Ledyard High School.

The large meet included schools of different sizes and consequently did not give the school teams a score at the end of the day.

The relay events give the competitors the chance to work in teams of four in the various track events and even in field events, where the winning teams are decided by adding the total distances they can vault, leap or hurl.

There are records on the books going back to the 70’s when Ledyard Coach Dave Tetlow conceived of the event. And every year, those hard-won victories are put to the test from the new field of contenders.

This year saw a new record in the 4x800 relay, set by the team from the team from Daniel Hand High School, which finished in a blistering time of 8:01.7, knocking more than 10 seconds off the record NFA set in 2007.

Ledyard and Montville, who don’t compete against one another in the ECC, had the chance to run their formidable teams against one another this year. Montville is shooting for a fourth win in its league this year, while Ledyard has an established reputation as a track powerhouse. Next year also, Ledyard will be moving into Montville’s league—a new threat.

The Montville Indians saw many notable performances, including second place in the event mentioned above, closing out the 4x800 relay in a time of 9:10.4.

The 4x400 meter relay belonged to Montville, with a 3:34.2 victory for the Indians’ boys’ team and a 4:11.2 for the girls. Fitch High School’s Sarah Kate Parizo finished with just over a second behind Montville’s Shatajah Wattely, who closed the race for the team.

Montville scored a third in the 400-meter shuttle relay for the girls, in a time of 1:15. The unconventional event had the teams running up and down twin lanes of hurdles that were in opposite directions.

Competition was tight for the on the men’s 3,200, which raced a field of 35. Dan Fields of Lyman Memorial took the day with a time of 10:10.5. Montville’s Jesse Joseph crossed the line in 10:45 for third. He had also run on the second place relay team. Ledyard’s Andrew Kline managed a 10:52 for the 2-mile event. Joseph and Kline had run in a pack with the fourth place finisher of Lyman Memorial, who was a part until the momentum separated them for the finish.

“It’s breezy out there today,” said Joseph, admitting that he had wanted a faster time. Friday’s warm temperatures, coupled with the dry conditions made it easier for runners to get dehydrated. Over eight laps, even a mild wind can be a huge sap to runners’ strength on the open track. Joseph said he tried to draft off the other runners to lessen the effects of the wind.

Kline, on the other hand, said that he had felt good throughout the race, and was not overly affected by the wind conditions. Back in the cross-country season, he had finished races around eight or ninth place, but now through hard training, he had become one of Ledyard’s top distance runners.

For the girls’ race, Cedar Nelson of Ledyard took down the Varsity 3200-meter run in a time of 12:17.2, with teammate Lyndsay Ackley not far behind for third place in 12:33.7.

Both Ackley and Nelson also raced in the girl’s 4000-Meter Distance Medley for a third place finish in a time of 13:20.1—behind East Lyme and Fitch.

“I felt really good in the beginning,” said Nelson. “It starts to get harder and harder each lap.”

For the start of the race, she and Ackley had run in a pack with runners from Waterford and Stonington, but managed to lose the others in the final, brutal laps.

Ledyard girls lead the field in the 4x100 meter relay, logging a time of 51.1 that beat out Fitch by a tenth of a second. Ally and Emily Loy shared the victory with Chenoa Sebastian and Kaylyn Bruciati.

Ledyard boys came away with a victory in the 1600 meter sprint medley, taking a 3:49.3 finish.

Field events went in teams of three and saw some more wins for Ledyard. The Ledyard girls scored a victory in shotput, lead by Natasha Griffith who threw 37 feet five inches for third, and contributed to the team win with a net distance of 96 feet, four inches.

In discuss, the Ledyard girls took second, with Kylie Fustini throwing a total distance of 102 feet, four inches for third place.

On the Ledyard boys’ side, Josh Lawrence threw discus 118 feet and 11 inches—leading the throwers to second place in the event.

For full results, click here.