By Alex Baluha – Staff Reporter

The athletes from the Jonathan Law boys and girls track team made their mark at the Southern Connecticut Conference meet (SCCs) on May 14.

Despite not coming in first place for the meet, over twenty Law athletes did well enough to qualify for the state meet, which will be taking place at the end of May.

“I’m really proud of how [the team] did,” said head coach of the boys team Mr. Beler. “We’re bringing the nation back, baby!”

Most notably for the boys team, junior Zack Toto placed first in the open 400 meter, the boys 4×100 took first, and the 4×400 relay team, consisting of Toto, and juniors Soukhith Khamhoung, Ryan Dennis, and Ryan Siddall, came in first as well.

“I’m pumped for states now that I know we can do well,” said Toto. “I’m confident that we’re going to win in the 4×4 and I’m one of the top 400 runners too.”

Toto is now ranked 6th for the 400, and 3rd for the 200. Also, the 4×100 team, made up of seniors Justin Sherrick, Jason Bindner and Joe Piselli, and junior Najee Smith, is seeded first for states.

“I knew going in that we were going to be able to win,” said Piselli, “and we broke the meet record with a time of 43.6 seconds which shows that all of our hard work paid off.”

Members of the boys team were not the only ones to prove how competitive they can be. The girls team also had many great performances.

“Everyone that came did great,” said assistant girls coach Ms. Pirrello. “If we keep this us we’re going to do even better at the SCC championship and states meets.”

Everyone on the girls relay teams – 4×100, 4×400, and 4×800 – were able to qualify for the state meet. The 4×800 runners, made up of juniors Valerie Hiller and Caitlin Prete, sophomore Ciara Hayden, and senior Abby Shackett, were even able to surpass the school record.

“I like being able to say that I’m a record holder now,” said Shackett. “It’s kind of surreal, but I’m proud that we did it.”

With records being broken left and right, it’s safe to say that this year’s track program is doing great things. As long as things continue to go as planned, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Law athletes continuing to make a name for themselves at the big upcoming meets.

(photo courtesy southernconnecticutconference.org)