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03/10/2024 11:01 PMThe North Branford boys’ and girls’ indoor track teams saw several tremendous personal high water marks across many events this winter. They also garnered greater respect among their Shoreline and Class S brethren, with several high placements in the postseason.
At the Shoreline Conference Championships on Feb. 2 at the Floyd Little Athletic Center, senior Aidan Chittenden performed well in the shot put (53'10.5”). His throw made him the Shoreline Champion, a new school record holder, and the Shoreline record holder, as well. Senior Sam Gott stood out in the 55 meter prelims. He set a new school record and a new personal record (PR), when he finished in a time of 6.61. In the finals, he placed third with a time of 6.91.
On the girls’ side, junior Destiney Christie competed in the 55, finishing in second place with a time of 7.67. This was a personal record time, and garnered her Second Team All-Shoreline honors. Sophomore Sophia Sorrell took fourth in the high jump (4’8”), which was a new personal record.
A week later at the Class S State Championships at the same venue, Gott took the 55 runner-up spot in 6.7 seconds. Chittenden was then fourth for the shot put, with a 50 foot-1.75 inch heave. Head Coach Mike Rabuffo was certainly amazed by the postseason efforts of Gott and Chittenden, though he noted the team collectively continued the advancement of the program towards prominence.
“Our goal for the season was to grow the team and compete for Shoreline and state championships. I also had the goal of qualifying athletes for Nationals,” said Rabuffo. “Luckily Sam Gott and Aidan Chittenden were able to qualify in the 60 dash and shot put, respectively, for New Balance Nationals in Boston, some of the only to qualify in school history. With a young and new team, I was also hoping to advance the returning members, while strengthening the new ones to build the program up.”
In terms of major moments and achievements this winter campaign, North Branford saw three school records being broken this year. The boys’ 4x100 relay team set a new mark in 1:39.41 with Gott, sophomores AJ Sigel, Brandon Longo, and senior Lars Peterson, along with Gott in the 55 dash, and Chittenden in the shot put with their Shoreline showings. Chittenden’s throw also beat the previous Shoreline record.
For the girls at Shorelines in relays, the sprint medley team, comprised of Christie, freshman Juliana Stimpson, Sorrell, and junior Daytona Kamienski placed fifth, with a personal record time of 4:52.26. In the 4x200, Sorrell, junior Riley Cole, Stimpson, and Christie placed fourth, with a personal record time of 1:58.41. In the 4x800, sophomore Meghan Tang, junior Idalis Lucero, sophomore Star Colon, and Kamienski ran a personal record time of 12:26.32, finishing in fifth place.
“I'd say it was an unprecedented season for success,” Rabuffo said. “We are still rebuilding, but the program is slowly getting better every year. The team developed well this year. Everyone on the team had a personal record in an event, whether it be an individual event or a relay team. I couldn't be more proud of everyone's success and progress. The team developed well off the field, as well. I was happy to see many kids form friendships and find time to learn more about each other.”
In addition to earning a berth to Nationals, Chittenden was named First Team All-Shoreline, while Gott was Second Team All-State. Christie also made Second Team All-Shoreline for the girls.
Rabuffo was also quick to praise the efforts of his senior leaders and appointed captains for their dedication to both their own craft, and also bolstering the abilities of other colleagues around them at their various events.
“The seniors had an immense impact on the team. Sam Gott, senior captain, had a great impact on many of the freshman sprinters, always supporting them and helping to explain any workout. He also always led by example. The same goes for Lars Peterson, who was instrumental on the 4x200 relay team as anchor while also being a leader amongst the distance runners, as he also ran the 600,” said Rabuffo. “Senior captain Aidan Chittenden also was important in developing the throwers. Him and Samuel Custodio helped to make practice easier and understandable to the new female throwers. Logan Barrett was new to high jump, but so helpful to Sophia Sorrell. He topped out at 5' 0 this year, but still came to practice to be a training partner to Sophia in preparation for Shorelines and Class S State Championships. The seniors were very special this year, and I was so lucky to have them.”
The prospects look bright for 2024-2025, particularly on the girls’ slate for the Thunderbirds, who do not lose any athletes to graduation. While the boys will say goodbye to a terrific tandem in Gott and Chittenden, they will look to capitalize on the trend of growth within the roster.
“Next year's team will likely be better on the girls’ side. We have no seniors currently, so hopefully with returners like the current 4x200 team in Lily Ardito, Sophia Sorrell, Destiney Christie, and Juliana Stimpson, the team will only continue to improve. I think many of the freshmen will continue to get better, as they already started off very strong,” said Rabuffo. “Hopefully a year's time will allow myself and the other coaches to find each athlete's perfect event where they will be the most successful. The boys’ team will likely be suffering, as our two top guys in Sam Gott and Aidan Chittenden will be graduating. Hopefully we can get a new crop of freshmen to join, and hope that underclassmen will mature as they become juniors. We will continue to do the best that we can. Track is always a small program at North Branford, but this year we had 40 members on both the boys’ and girls’ teams. I hope to continue to grow the program, while also continuing to develop the current members.”
The boys’ roster this season was comprised of seniors Gott, Chittenden, Barrett, Samuel Custodio, Peterson; juniors Ethan Helff, Jordan Keil; sophomores Taylor Bliven, James Criscio, Gregory Ferraro, Michael Goodmaster, Matthew Klouman, Luca Landino, Longo, Sigel; plus freshmen Finn Duggan, and Sonny Salvati.
The girls’ roster included juniors Ardito, Christie, Cole, Samantha Ferraro, Kamienski, Tina Lin, Lucero; sophomores Colon, Madison DiStefano, Sofia Ludington, Cassidy Navarrete, Ashlyn O'Rourke, Destiny Rivera, Sorrell, Tang; along with freshmen Baindu Lahun, Autumn LeBeau, Kate Macauley, Skye Pancak, Alexandra Sigal, Stimpson, Iris Troqe, and Aubrey Weld.