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06/24/2024 01:06 AMFor the East Haven girls’ outdoor track team, it may not have looked like they made big splashes in the talent pool of the postseason. Yet when going a little more in depth at the individual results, the Yellowjackets saw recognition on some state, Open, and even regional levels of competition.
At the SCC Eastern Sectional Championships on May 13 at Lyman Hall, the Yellowjackets finished sixth out of 10 teams with 52.6 points. East Haven followed that up at the conference’s championship meet a week later at Amity by placing 13th with 22 tallies out of 20 total SCC schools. For the Class MM State Championships in New Britain on May 28, the Yellowjackets finished 20th with 13 points.
In terms of top point scorers for the girls’ group this season, senior Erica Canfield led the pack with a total tally of 155.5 points. Right behind her was a sophomore in Mallory Boney, amassing a 153.1 score. In third was another senior in Lanie D’Auria at 143.5, and then classmate Aniya Franklin (104), and senior Jill Sperduti (74.25).
East Haven had additional letter winners, which are athletes that tallied at least 12 points on the campaign. Those included sophomores of Ava Panico (35.25 points), Gianna Dilapi (32.75 for a score), Sarai Murphy (with her 202.25 score), Mei Shnan (at 16.25), junior Mercilyn Ackom-Brew (an even season score of 15), and sophomore Ariella Guadalupe (14.25 for her numbers).
The Yellowjackets had several girls qualify for state championship action. Canfield highlighted that class with a plethora of events, which included the 100 and 300 hurdles, 100 meter dash, long jump, triple jump, high jump, and 4x100 relay. Joining her on the 4x100 relay track that day were Panico, Dilapi, Dinola, and freshman Kiley Mazzucco.
Boney also made states for the 100 hurdles, high and long jumps, plus the javelin. D’Auria was a qualifier for the 100 and 200, along with the long jump and 4x100 group. Franklin also earned the right to toss the shot put and discus on the states’ stage.
Yellowjackets’ Head Coach Rusty Dunne explained that each of those state-level athletes just showed the entire Nutmeg State the product of their maximum efforts they give every single day on the East Haven campus.
“Erica Canfield is a fabulous athlete who could literally compete in every event,” said Dunne. “She is tough and competitive and broke multiple records during the indoor season. She is one of the best all-around athletes we ever had in girls’ track and field. This year, she qualified for six events for outdoor and five indoor events for the state championship meets. Aniya Franklin is a wonderful kid and a very athletic thrower and quite graceful. To make the State Open is incredibly tough, and she did it, and she had a great career. Jill Sperduti made herself good! What a grinder! She is a tenacious worker, coachable, and intelligent. Lanie D’ Auria was a level 10 gymnast, a college level gymnast, that came out her senior year. She is strong, powerful, and fast! She will now continue her track and field career as a sprinter and jumper at Vasser. She is a great student, and we got lucky with her!”
Boney and Franklin also made their way to the State Open Championship in the javelin and shot put, respectively, with Boney moving onto the New England Championships. Boney placed seventh for the javelin with a 111-04 toss at the Open. Boney capped off a sensational sophomore season that saw her also claim an SCC crown in the javelin. She additionally took the top slot in the javelin section of the heptathlon (32.37m).
“Mallory is just a sophomore! What an athlete she is,” said Dunne. “She placed in the javelin at the Class MM Championships and at the State Open and qualified for the New Englands. She was also First Team All-State in the heptathlon. She's just scratched the surface.”
Wrapping up the accolades for the 2024 slate were the team awards. Canfield garnered Most Valuable Athlete, whereas Boney took home the Coaches Award, and D’Auria was bestowed with the Sportsmanship Award.
In closing, Dunne was quite proud of the progress made by the girls on all fronts and all types of events. He also spread some great praise around to a tremendous brain trust of assistant coaches at his disposal.
“The girls worked hard, and we had good numbers,” said Dunne. “We had a lot of letter winners, and it's not easy to letter. Our running group got better all year and so did our throws. We had a great sophomore and freshman group. East Haven boys’ outdoor track Head Coach Jim Vicario is one of the finest coaches I've ever seen, and I've been coaching for 45 years. Coach Bob Davis has worked with our sprinters, hurdle athletes, and jumpers for close to 30 years now. He's on a different planet; he's something else. And assistants Reinaldo Martinez and Niam Coward are great young coaches.”
The 2024 East Haven roster was comprised of seniors Canfield, D’Auria, Franklin, Sperduti; juniors Ackom-Brew, Genesie Alvarez, Samara Pasolini, Vania Zarate; sophomores Boney, Adrianna Burdick, Giulia D’Onofrio, Dilapi, Guadalupe, Mariangel Letriz, Kamiyah Marsh, Olivia Moody, Murphy, Kaylee Orellana, Panico, Madison Paolella, Shnan, Isabella Velazquez; plus freshmen Angel Bryant, Mahia Cruz-Jiminez, Azalea Cuville, Ella Dinola, Mazzucco, Jaelyn Navarrete, Adamaris Pasolini, Meghan Serrano, and Alexia Urbaez.