Printer Friendly Version - Old Saybrook Girls’ Lacrosse Loses in Class S Semis; Girls’ 4x100 Relay Takes 2nd at State Open, New Englands

Senior Lily Cody and the Old Saybrook girls’ lacrosse team finished their season with a record of 19-2 after taking a 9-8 loss against Lauralton Hall in the Class S state semifinals on June 7. File photo by Kelley Fryer/Harbor News

The Old Saybrook girls’ lacrosse team saw its sensational 2022 season come to a close with a loss against Lauralton Hall in the semifinals of the Class S State Tournament last week. On June 7, the 2nd-seeded Rams squared off against No. 14 seed Lauralton Hall in the Class S semis and were edged out by a 9-8 score at Jonathan Law High School. Old Saybrook finished the year with an overall record of 19-2.

Lauralton Hall held a 6-1 advantage over Old Saybrook at halftime of their Shoreline semifinal showdown. The Rams embarked on a second-half comeback, but the Crusaders were able to hang one for the one-goal win to advance to the championship, marking Old Saybrook’s first loss in its last 13 games.

Senior Lily Cody scored 5 goals for Old Saybrook in the contest. Senior Chelsea Heinke, sophomore Amelia Sigersmith, and freshman Gretchen Kawekci had 1 goal apiece for the Rams. Senior goalie Sam Wakelee made 14 saves in net.

Old Saybrook had earned wins versus Haddam-Killingworth (17-7) and North Branford (15-13) in the first two rounds of the Class S State Tournament. The Rams also claimed their first Shoreline Conference title since 2015 with a 14-12 win victory North Branford in the final of the league tournament.

The Old Saybrook girls’ outdoor track team saw its 4x100 relay take second place at both the State Open Championship and the New England Championship last week, setting school records with both performances. The Rams also sent several other competitors to participate in the State Open meet.

Old Saybrook’s 4x100 relay team of junior Abby Colella, junior Avery Rueckert, sophomore Sanai Baker, and senior Anna Brodeur finished with a school-record time of 49.12 seconds on their way to earning runner-up honors at the State Open at Willow Brook Park on June 6. The Rams’ quartet only placed behind the team from Sheehan (48.50), scoring 8 points that put Old Saybrook in 29th place for the State Open standings.

Five days later, Old Saybrook’s 4x100 relay competed in the New England Championship at Willow Brook Park and claimed second place with a time of 48.37 seconds, breaking their own school record. Sheehan also finished first in this race by recording a time of 48.08. Old Saybrook’s 4x100 relay had previously finished first at the Class S State Championship, where they initially set the school record with a time of 49.34.

Rueckert also finished 12th in the 200-meter dash with mark of 26.27 for the Rams at the State Open. Rueckert had taken first place in the event at Shorelines (26.52) and placed fourth in the Class S meet (25.66).

Junior Christina Grace competed in the pole vault at the Open and came in 18th place by clearing the bar at 9 feet. Grace had finished third for the pole vault at Shorelines (8-0) and then came in fourth place at states (9-0).

Colella finished 24th in the 300 hurdles by clocking in at 52.34 seconds at the State Open. Colella won the 300 hurdles at the Class S State Championship with a time of 47.48.

Old Saybrook’s 4x800 relay of junior Catherine Minegar, senior Caitlin Wiley, senior Libby Stuart, and junior Molly Nygard finished in 23rd place with a time of 10:24.75 at the Open. They had previously finished in fourth at the state meet (10:32.99).

The Old Saybrook boys’ indoor track team was represented by a pair of athletes when the State Open Championship was held last week. Sophomore Bardh Thaci threw the discus and the shot put for the Rams, while senior Mitchell Dipalma ran the 110 hurdles at Willow Brook Park on June 6.

Thaci finished 11th in the discus with a throw of 113 feet-1 inch for Old Saybrook at the State Open. Thaci also recorded a toss of 43 feet-6 inches in the shot put to finish in 18th place. Thaci had previously finished second in the discus at the Shoreline Conference Championship (139-2) and the Class S State Championship (137-9). He also placed third in the shot put at Shorelines (40-9) and then came in fifth place in states (45-10.75).

Dipalma placed 22nd in the preliminaries of the 110 hurdles by crossing the finish line with a time of 16.92 seconds at the State Open. Dipalma had recently taken fifth place in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.77 seconds at the Class S State Championship.

The Old Saybrook boys’ golf team hit the links to participate in the Division III State Championship meet that was held at Fairview Farms Golf Course on June 7. The Rams finished in a tie for sixth place by recording a team score of 352 at the state meet.

Sophomore Rylan Murphy finished in a tie for 14th place by posting an 18-hole score of 81 for Old Saybrook at the Division III State Championship. Sophomore Drew Kulman came in 26th place with a score of 85.

Sophomore Connor Casella finished in a tie for 46th place by recording a score of 92 on behalf of the Rams at states. Sophomore Jacob Speed carded a 94 and finished in a tie for 51st place. Junior Adam Dower finished in a tie for 66th place with a score of 98.