The Old Saybrook outdoor track program was poised for another successful season in the spring of 2020. Unfortunately, those plans were foiled by COVID-19.

The Old Saybrook girls’ team was looking to claim its fifth-straight Shoreline Conference title on the heels of a 2019 campaign that saw the Rams take first place at that meet and then earn runner-up honors at the Class S State Championship. During the recent winter season, the Old Saybrook girls’ indoor team won Shorelines for the fourth year in a row and again placed second at states.

On the boys’ side, Old Saybrook came in third place at the Shoreline meet and then finished third in Class S last spring. This winter, the Rams were second at Shorelines and took fourth at states.

Girls’ Head Coach Pete Capezzone was hoping that Old Saybrook would get to compete in some sort of a season this spring. With that off the table, Capezzone’s returning athletes have to start thinking about how they are going to prepare for their next campaign.

“Now, we’re at a preseason training type of situation. We’re just asking them to continue on with that,” said Capezzone. “We had held out somehow that we were going to be able to do something for the seniors, but the season was stymied by this pandemic. Once they shut down schools, we knew it was game over. It’s unfortunate for these kids, but I know these kids are going to do great things in their future.”

Last year, the Old Saybrook girls’ outdoor team took first place at the East Hampton Bellringer Invitational, the Stafford Invitational, the Marty Roberts Invitational, and the Running Rams Invitational. The squad was led by now-senior Grace Hanratty, who claimed the Shoreline Conference title in the 400 and the 800 and then went on to win the 800 at both the Class S State Championship and the State Open. She later finished fourth in the 800 at the New England Championship.

Another standout performer for the girls’ team was Cate Coppes, who is also currently in her senior year. Coppes finished first in the 100-meter hurdles and placed second for the pole vault at the Class S outdoor meet. She then finished fourth in the pole vault at both the State Open and New Englands.

The girls’ team was equally impressive during the 2019-’20 winter season. One week after winning Shorelines for the fourth-straight year, Old Saybrook finished second at states with top performances coming from Hanratty, Coppes, and junior Hannah Sumby. Hanratty finished first in the 1,000-meter run, while Coppes also struck gold by winning the pole vault. Sumby took third place in the pole vault for the Rams.

“We had a lot of success last [spring], and that success carried over into the winter this year,” Coach Capezzone said. “Although we’re not going to be able to experience the thrill that would have been this year, I am looking forward to next year. We return a lot of quality athletes, despite losing our senior class. It would have been a nice sendoff for our senior class had we been able to compete.”

Other athletes on the girls’ team include seniors Allison Cody, Autumn Szucs, Grace McLaughlin, Julia Sultini, Liz Mariol, Jessica Stratton, Sydney Smirnow, Bailey Appiah, and Isabella Donohue; juniors Emily Stratton and Dylan Adams; and sophomores Anna Brodeur, Beldina Feratovic, Lia Francisckziewicz, Ashlyn Korpak, Avery Nosal, Molly Nygard, Libby Stuart, Caitlin Wiley, and Priscilla Gumkowski.

In addition to coaching, Capezzone is also a special education teacher at Old Saybrook High School. Like many people, he’s seen the differences between learning in person versus learning through a computer.

“It’s certainly different. It took a few weeks to get used to, but I think kids are making the adaptation to the distance-learning model,” Capezzone said. “We do a lot of Google Classroom meets, and I have a great support cast of para-professionals who have been incredibly helpful along the way. In some ways, distance learning has benefited these students, because there is a certain level of smaller classroom help. We are able to focus more directly on these kids.”

Similar to Capezzone, boys’ Head Coach Jan Merrill was expecting Old Saybrook to have a solid season this spring. The Rams were returning a strong contingent of seniors, including Luke Hanratty, Cody DeAngelo, and Cooper Luciani.

Hanratty finished first in the 400 at the Shoreline Conference Championship and then took first for the 800 at the Class S State Championship in the spring of 2019. Luciani placed second in the 300 intermediate hurdles at the state meet. Hanratty and Luciani also ran on the Rams’ 4x800 relay that finished first at both Shorelines and states.

Coach Merrill was eager to see Old Saybrook strive for more success in 2020. While she feels bad that her athletes can’t compete, Merrill feels even worse that her seniors won’t get to experience many of the things that typically come during someone’s last year of high school.

“I feel sorry for them, but I want them to hold their heads up,” said Merrill. “I’m more upset because they don’t get to graduate and celebrate together.”

With many talented athletes graduating, Merrill is turning her focus toward what Old Saybrook can accomplish in 2021.

“We’re very much looking forward to next year,” Merrill said. “It’s a downer that we couldn’t get a season in this year, because they were a strong class and a strong team, but we are looking forward to the challenges to come next year.”