By Ella Franzman – Sports Editor

Jonathan Law Dean of Students Mr. Ragaini has been appointed interim Athletic Director, replacing Mr. Sarullo who recently accepted a position at Staples High School. 

Ragaini will continue to work as the Dean of Students until the end of the year as well. After a formal search ended without the selection of a new AD, the administrative team asked Ragaini if would be willing to fill in for the remainder of the year. 

“I love being the Dean of Students at Law, however, everyone knows I love sports,” Ragaini said. “This will be a good opportunity to get my feet wet a little and for me to see if I enjoy the role of Athletic Director.”

Ragaini is very sad to see Sarullo leave, but he knows that he left the athletic program in great shape and he can’t wait to step in. 

“The reason this decision was made is because he fits exactly what we need right now as far as supporting students, coaches and families as we continue the interview process to find a permanent replacement for Mr. Sarullo,” Principal Mr. Darcy said. “Rags has built so many relationships with everyone and I know he’ll be able to do the job as we move on.”

Ragaini, whp played baseball at the University of Connecticut, has three children – Nico, Bella, and Taya. Nico is a Division I football player at the University of Iowa and will be completing his final season next year, Bella is a junior at the University of Iowa who in high school played volleyball, basketball, and was All-State in track, and Taya is a senior at East Haven High School where she cheers. 

“Rags has experienced athletics from the role of a player, coach and parent and cares so much about our student athletes,” Law softball coach Mrs. Blude said. 

There was a committee of many different people – staff and coaches from Law, Central Office staff, coaches, teachers, parents, and student-athletes – who interviewed several external candidates for the Athletic Director position over the past few weeks. By the end of the process, it was decided that they were not comfortable moving forward with any of the candidates and needed to re-post the position.

They then decided to move forward with Ragaini as interim Athletic Director. 

Ragaini said he will lean on the rest of Law administrative team for help. Assistant Principal Mr. Hoggatt and Principal Darcy are both former Athletic Directors and  Assistant Principal Mr. Marko also has a lot of experience with high school sports as he was a successful basketball coach in Fairfield. 

“The administration will help me with some of the Dean responsibilities on those busy days when there may be game cancellations, issues with the buses, or any athletic concerns,” Ragaini said. 

Ragaini is excited to get started and to work with Law’s spring coaches. He’s also hoping to make the transition as smooth as possible. 

“We have many veteran spring head coaches which will be key as I step into this role,” Ragaini said. 

Law’s spring coaches are thrilled with Ragaini’s new role.

“Rags, a.k.a. the Dean of Winning, has always been a big advocate for Law sports,” outdoor track coach Mr. Beler said. “This role will allow him to help lead the Law sports program on a positive and upward trend.”

Girls tennis coach Mr. Kulenych agreed.

“Rags is the perfect fit for this position,” Kulenych said. “He bleeds black and gold, he knows our school and our student-athletes, and his passion for sports is obvious. We are all looking forward to working with him to continue the success of all of Law’s sports teams.”