Farley, Spignesi Take 1st for North Haven in West Sectionals
Robert Farley won the 55-meter hurdles, while fellow senior Eric Spignesi claimed first place in the pole vault for the Indians’ boys’ outdoor track squad at last week’s SCC West Sectional Championship. The Indians scored 42 points and came in sixth place at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Jan. 23.
Farley ran a time of 8.14 seconds to place first in the preliminaries of the 55 hurdles and move on to the finals at sectionals. Then in the finals, Farley finished in 8.05 to beat out East Haven’s Evan Damian (8.38) for first place. Spignesi took first place in the pole vault by clearing a height of 12 feet, finishing ahead of runner-up Aidan Kropiwnicki of Branford, whose best height was 11 feet-6 inches. Farley finished fifth (10-6) in the pole vault, and senior Jacob Wurm came in sixth (10-0).
North Haven took six of the top eight spots in the shot put on the day. Junior Kyle Maruca finished second in the event with a throw of 43-10.25. Following Maruca were junior Matt Mullen (4th, 42-4.25), junior Luke Maurca (5th, 42-1.25), junior Dominic Borrelli (6th, 38-9.25), junior Josh Blumenthal (7th, 37-5.75), and sophomore Anthony Vigliotto (8th, 35-5.5).
In the 55 hurdles, junior Ethan Testa advanced to the finals by finishing sixth in the preliminaries with a 9.23. Testa then placed seventh in the finals while bettering his time to a 9.15. Senior Kevin Spencer finished eighth in the prelims with a 9.57. Freshman Jack Pollard finished eighth in the 600-meter run (1:33.70), while senior Jobin Valiyaveettil took 10th in the 3,200 at 11:15.45.
In relays, North Haven’s 4x800 of seniors Jack Opramolla, Valiyaveettil, Jackson Frank, and sophomore Patrick Rourke finished fifth (8:55.15); the 4x200 of Wurm, senior John Crispi, Pollad, and senior Jianni Snipes took sixth (1:42.75); the 1,600 sprint medley relay featuring Testa, freshman Mike DeVilliers, junior Zach Gibbs, and sophomore Aaron Barbiero also placed sixth; and the 4x400 of Pollard, Farley, Wurm, and DeVilliers came in seventh place with a time of 3:46.89.