For the Haddam-Killingworth boys’ outdoor track team, this spring was much of the same results with a senior class that certainly went out on top before departing the Cougars’ den.

Head Coach Matt Diglio’s squad sprinted, leapt, and threw to another perfect 10-0 dual meet regular season—the Cougars’ third consecutive year accomplishing that feat. Once the postseason began, the Cougars used stellar senior performances that included the triumphant 4x800 all-senior squad of Luke Gersz, Peter Brandon, Steve Bogdan, and Eric Davidson (8:17.07) to help spark their second straight Shoreline Conference Crown on May 22 with 109.5 points.

“It was tough to come back this year after a bunch of losses from the previous year’s success, but this senior class was really successful,” said Diglio. “The guys set goals and challenged themselves. They were hard workers, and it says a lot about this group to win the conference title two years in a row. Overall, this team had great performances and a great coaching staff as well.”

While HK had “senior leaders” rather than captains, it possessed its share of athletes that lived up to the billing in their final spring with runners Brandon, Gersz, Bogdan, Davidson, and Eric Dornfeld, along with thrower Pat Dougherty and jumper Colin O’ Brien.

“They covered a wide variety of events this year,” said Diglio on his seniors. “They have been with the program for a long time, so they knew the expectations going into this season. They really set the tone for the rest of the team and the season.”

Within postseason competition, Dougherty led the Cougars, as he claimed the Cougars’ first state title in throwing since 2004 by capturing the javelin crown at the Class M State Championship on May 29 (162-10) on his way to collecting First Team All-State honors. Dougherty notched First Team All-Shoreline recognition, as did each member of the victorious 4x800 squad, after he also won the javelin title at the Shoreline Championship (160-10).

In terms of team awards, Brandon and O’ Brien (State Open qualifier for the 4x400 and triple jump) shared the team MVP distinction, while Davidson—who decreased his mile time to 4:36 and two-mile mark to 10 minutes—took the Most Improved Player honor. Junior Ethan Kovach (3rd in the 400 at Shorelines; 51.71) earned the Best in Track hardware, while on the other side of the spectrum, Dougherty claimed the Best in Field award.

“Peter was out top distance runner after very successful cross country and indoor track seasons this year,” said Diglio. “Colin was a multi-event guy, as he did the high, long, and triple jumps, along with being on the 4x400 relay team. Eric came off a great cross country campaign and really impressed me with his improvements and stepped it up. Ethan was new to the outdoor season, but he was a top sprinter with great versatility.”

Knowing his squad would be in a three-way dance for the conference’s top spot with Old Saybrook and East Hampton, Diglio was equally proud of his team for taking another flawless journey to the Shoreline’s summit during the campaign throughout April and early May.

“We certainly met our goals that we set before the season began,” said Diglio.”We again finished unbeaten in dual meets, and we had a lot of great seniors that came through to help win at Shorelines. We overcame some injuries during the season, and we did it.”

As HK will again have to overtake multiple departing graduates, it looks to a bright future that includes Kovach and freshman Cameron Garrelts (5th in the 400 and 8th for the 1,600 at Shorelines), who are hopeful to continue the championship legacy of HK track.

“We lose a tremendous amount of point scorers,” said Diglio.” It’s early to tell, yet it will be a rebuilding year next spring. We will see where we are during winter, but we have a bunch of kids coming back.”