Trio Of Newtown High Track Athletes Set School Records

By Anna Hodge

A trio of Newtown High School track and field athletes set school records in the South-West Conference championship qualifier meet at Wesleyan University in Middletown on January 7.

Reagan Cerney, a junior, set the 600 meter record in a time of 1:43.44, breaking the previous record of 1:44.27, set by Alison McEmber at the 2006 indoor State Open.

Seniors Peter Kerns and Lauren O’Connell also redefined their events’ records. Kerns reset his previous school mark in the 300 meter, which he set at the 2011 SWC championships with a time of 38.27. He beat that time Saturday, scraping off 1.05 seconds for a new record of 37.22.

Meanwhile, O’Connell improved her personal-best pole vault of 8 feet by two feet, reaching 10 feet and overcoming Lauren Sudbey’s school record of 9-6, set in 2009.

O’Connell, who has also set the school record in triple jump in outdoor track, is enthusiastic about her achievement.

“I was so excited to achieve my goal of breaking the indoor pole vault record,” she said. “I’m hoping to break more records in the future. I enjoy competing and would love to pole vault at the collegiate level.”

Newtown Coach Doug Russell was equally as happy about the team’s efforts. “We did exceptionally well on Saturday with the large number of boys and girls who qualified for SWCs,” Russell said.

The team will compete at the SCC Coaches Invitational in New Haven this Saturday, January 14. The next varsity meet for the team will be held next Monday, January 16 at Wesleyan.

The following are the athletes who qualified, or re-qualified, for SWCs or both SWCs and the Class LL state championships:

Boys: 55 dash: Peter Kerns 6.86 (SWCs & States); Brandon Capaldo 7.19 (previously qualified for SWCs); James Mooney 7.39 (SWCs); Trevor Carey 7.34 (SWCs). 55 hurdles: John Hampford 8.89 (SWCs & States); Chad Cullens 9.63 (previously qualified for SWCs). 300: Peter Kerns 37.22 (SWCs, States and new school record); Trevor Carey 39.00 (SWCs); James Mooney 39.56 (SWCs). 600: Dieter Gutbrod 1:31.45 (SWCs & States); Palmer Lintz 1:32.57 (SWCs); Rob Russo 1:32.78 (SWCs). 1000: Pat Sullivan 2:47.00 (SWCs & States); Jordan Hensel 2:53.31 (SWCs). 1600: Jake Feinstein 4:39.17 (SWCs & States). 3200: Jake Feinstein 10:09.02 (SWCs & States); Jordan Hensel 10:30.83 (SWCs). Long Jump: Brandon Capaldo 19-5 (SWCs & States); John Hampford 17-8 (SWCs); Peter Kerns 17-3 (SWCs). High Jump: Brandon Capaldo 5-6 (previously qualified for SWCs). Pole Vault: Shaun Mangold 11-6 (SWCs & States); Spencer Erhardt 10-6 (SWCs & States)

Girls: 55 dash: Brittany Tolla 8.13 (SWCs). 55 hurdles: Melissa Buccino 9.34 (SWCs & States); Zoe Eggleston 9.57 (previously qualified for both States & SWCs); Lydia Beiter 9.85 (previously qualified for both States & SWCs). 300: Brittany Tolla 46.44 (SWCs & States); Brooke Newton 46.59 (SWCs & States). 600: Reagan Cerney 1:43.44 (SWCs, States and New School Record). 1000: Jenny vanVeen 3:24.21 (SWCs & States). 1600: Katie Burns 5:56.61 (SWCs); Hannah Schwartz 5:58.27 (SWCs); Brianne Moulder 6:02.33 (previously qualified for SWCs). 3200: Katie Burns 12:51.82 (SWCs); Hannah Schwartz 12:52.52 (SWCs); Erin Begg 12:57.35 (SWCs); Jenny vanVeen 12:57.91 (SWCs); Brianne Moulder 13:01.21 (SWCs). Long Jump: Lauren O’Connell 15-3.5 (SWCs & States); Reagan Cerney 14-10.75 (SWCs & States); Abby Blakeman 13-9.5 (SWCs). Shot Put: Amy Anyoha 33-2 (SWCs & States). High Jump: Brianna Hart 4-10 (SWCs & States). Pole Vault: Lauren O’Connell 10 (SWCs, States and new school record).

Junior varsity qualifiers from Tuesday’s meet at Newtown Youth Academy are as follows: 55 Hurdles: Jill Vazquez 10.2 (SWCs); Sam Boland 9.0  (SWCs); Molly Arneth 10.1 (SWCs); Kevin Gorman  9.5 (SWCs). 55 Dash: Jimmy Liedlien 7.2 (SWCs); Chris Arnone 7.1 (SWCs); Jason Ferrari 7.3 (SWCs). High Jump: Cortney Beckett  4-8 (SWCs and Class LL).  Shot Put: Amy Anyoha 35-4 (SWCs and Class LL)