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06/10/2024 02:09 AMIn the seven years since it had claimed the ultimate team prize in the Nutmeg State, the Hand boys’ outdoor track team has been loudly knocking at the door to championship glory. With a determined group that stemmed from a staunch senior leadership group, the Tigers kicked the door open and crossed that threshold.
The Tigers claimed the Class MM State Championship on May 28 by scoring 101 points at Willow Brook Park in New Britain. Hand outlasted runner-up East Lyme and its 98.33 points and Lyman Hall in third place (75.5 points). The victory marked the first state crown for the boys’ outdoor program since taking the 2010 Class L title. Hand also won the State Open crown in 2017, while being the Class MM runner-up in both 2021 and 2022.
“It felt great to get the victory, and a bit of relief, after finishing third last year and runner-up the previous two years,” said Head Coach Tim Geary. “The team championship was not decided until the final event. East Lyme led by 11.33 with two events left. The two events left were our best events: the triple jump with defending state champion Matt Kasper, and the 4X400 relay, which ran the 12th fastest time in state history this year. We outscored East Lyme 20-6 in the final two events to seal our first championship since 2017. Fifteen seniors led the way with their work ethic, dedication, and nurturing of the younger athletes. The team captains were Chris Bonavita, Liam Elliott, Kyle Hoffman, and Kasper. They were instrumental in the success both on and off the track this year.”
Hoffman took the top spot in the 400 dash with a Class MM record time of 48.23 seconds. Fellow senior Nathaniel Kraft was third for the event in 49.99 seconds, plus senior Cooper Dunsmore was 10th (53.2 ticks).
“All four years of being part of this team, our main goal was to win a state championship. Every year, we managed to come up just short, so it was the perfect storybook ending for my fellow seniors and I to finally achieve our goal on our last go-around,” said Hoffman. “We have some of the hardest working and most passionate guys in the state, and I can’t imagine any team deserved it more than us. Personally, I’ve always dreamt of becoming the 400 meter dash state champion. I came in second place the past two seasons, which made me come into this season wanting it more than ever. It felt so sweet to finally live out my dream, and being able to leave a mark by breaking the Class MM record made the day even better than I could’ve asked for.”
Junior John Daniels was tops for the 300 hurdles event, clocking in at 39.26 seconds. Elliott placed 10th for his performance with a time of 43.57 seconds. Daniels was then fourth for the 110 hurdles in 15.83 seconds, and then Elliot was again close behind at eighth (16.25 ticks).
In the 200, Hoffman found his way to fourth place in 22.37 seconds, then followed junior Aedan Virgulto in 22.86 seconds. Senior Gavin Wagner was a 12th-place participant for the race (23.54), and then sophomore Lucas Nolte was 23rd (24.17 second time).
Bonavita saw 10th with respect to the 800 dash, clocking in at a time of two minutes and 2.51 seconds. In the 3200, junior Jack Rickleman also came in 10th place (10:06.32), and then was senior Jacob Merenda (in 10:46.27), and senior Tyler Boucino (10:56.07).
For relays, the 4x400 group took home a state crown with a time of 3:21.35, performed by the collective efforts of Daniels, Kraft, Virgulto, Hoffman, Dunsmore, Elliott, and Bonavita. The 4x100 group was runner-up in Dunsmore, Virgulto, Wagner, sophomore Dashawn Winter, and Elliott (43.31 seconds). Lastly, the 4x800 team of senior Santiago Barrera, Boucino, sophomore Max Milliard, Bonavita, and junior Justin Li was eighth place (8:34.41).
Moving to the field events, senior Alexander Osterman finished ninth for the discus (130-8). In the high jump, sophomore Braydon Shields finished sixth (5-10). Sophomore Stone Leckey tossed the javelin to fourth (157-4) and then seventh was Osterman (151-6).
Senior Matt Kasper, after winning the triple jump title (45-8.75), was second for the long jump (21-6.5), Leckey came in 10th (at 19-6.5), and senior Eli Ackerman finished 15th (19-1.5). Winter leapt to 12th (39 feet-2 inches) in the triple jump.
Sophomore Sean Arms was the Class MM runner-up for the pole vault (14-0), and joining him were teammates of senior Ian Foster (fourth, 13-6), junior Nick Lyons (11th, 11-0), and sophomore Calvin Davies (13th place, 11-0).
On the day at Class MM, all event first-place finishers automatically qualified for the All-State Team.
Additionally for the 2024 campaign, six school records were broken this year in the 4x100 (time of 43.24 seconds) with Kraft, Dunsmore, Virgulto, and Hoffman; the 4x400 mark (3:20.34) with Daniels, Kraft, Virgulto, and Hoffman; Hoffman for the 400 (48.06 ticks), Daniels for the 300 hurdles (38.57 seconds); plus Kasper for both the long (22-0.5) and triple (46-6) jumps.
At the State Open on June 3 at the same venue, Kasper took the triple jump crown with a new personal best (46-8). The 4x400 crew was runner-up in a time of three minutes and 19.84 seconds.
“Ever since our first day of practice, the team had one goal in mind: to win the state championship. We knew we had the talent to put us in contention, so it was a matter of the guys stepping up when it mattered most, and they did that in a big way,” said Kasper. “Even outside of the captains, we had a great group of senior leaders who took on leadership roles. The team was super tight-knit throughout the year, which really contributed to morale. Although people look at track as somewhat of an individual sport, our team environment is what pushed us to the championship level.”
Elsewhere, Hoffman was fifth for the 400 (47.92), and Kraft was 23rd (in 50.91 seconds). Daniels came in 20th for the 300 hurdles (41.64). Osterman finished 13th for the javelin (154-7), Kasper came in 13th for the long jump (at 20-9), Arms was seventh best for the pole vault (13-6), with Foster 15th (12-6), plus the 4x100 relay was 15th (time of 43.65).
“I am extremely proud of this team, and I received many compliments on their sportsmanship and manners,” said Geary. “I also want to send a special thanks to new assistant coaches Ned Lynch and Jaime Calderone.”
The 2024 Hand roster is comprised of seniors Ackerman, Barrera, Bonavita, Boucino, Cooper Dunsmore, Elliott, Ian Foster, Hoffman, Alejandro Grenier, Ben Jacoby, Thomas Johnson, Kasper, Kraft, Merenda, Osterman, Andrew Ozimek, Wagner; juniors Jack Andrin, Nathan Boyd, William Butler, Daniels, Brayden Dooley, Blake Freeman, Kent Freeman, Matt Gentil, Chris Glaser, Noah Izzo, Eli Jacob, Luke Jacobsen, Mason Johnson, Owen Koczak, Li, Nick Lyons, Jack Rickelman, Virgulto, Max Wheeler, Carter Williams, Orion Brueckner; sophomores Milo Burch, Arms, Finn Barry, Grant Campbell, Pat Coulis, Davies, Theodore Giuliano, Liam Harris, David Jacoby, Leckey, Emmett Merschman, Milliard, Trey Newman, Beau Newton, Nolte, Dan Shenouda, Shields, Winter; plus freshmen Lorgan Carpenter, Brendan Cohen, Landon Corsello, and JJ Funk.