May 8, 2008
Bunnell has upper hand in some events
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by Rocco Paul Valluzzo
Pilot
Sports Editor
rocco@thereddingpilot.com
While its strength would earn it valuable points in some areas the Joel Barlow High girls track team needed some in others when it hosted undefeated Bunnell.
The Falcons had the upper hand in certain events, such as the relays and throwing events Bunnell was dominant in the sprints and jumps. It did not fare badly in the remaining events as well, amassing enough points for a 74-56 win on Thursday, May 1.
“I knew they would be a strong team,” said Barlow head coach Dan Spinner. “We held our own in the field events.”
Barlow had little to worry about Immaculate, which was also at the meet, easily winning 128-17.
The Falcons started off well, winning the first two relays. Fiorella Johnson, Kelly Haines, Holly Ray and Emma Kiefer combined to finish in 10 minutes, 43 seconds, more than half a minute ahead of Bunnell. Callahan, Meredith Loesch, Dylan O’Halloran and Molly Calzone ran the 4x100 in 55.2 as the Falcons took first there as well.
But Bunnell used certain events to catch up, including the 100 high hurdles. The Falcons managed third here with Mel Torres running a 17.6
Dominating the 100 meters, the Bulldogs took the top three spots. They did not do badly in the 200 as well with a one-two finish. Johnson earned Barlow’s points here with a 28.1
Two of the top three spots in the 300 intermediate hurdles belonged to Bunnell with Barlow’s Zoe Wheeler right in between with a second-place time of 52.0. For the middle distance events the Falcons managed a third in the 400 with Loesch finishing in 1:06.1 and Haines placing second in the 800 in 2:34.
If Immaculate had strength it was the distance events. It won the 1,600 and the Falcons took third with Johnson finishing in 5:43, two second behind Bunnell. The Mustangs went one-two in the 3,200 before Ray was third in 13:17. Kiefer followed two seconds later, which helped earn points against the Bulldogs.
Making it a sweep of the relays, Johnson, Haines, Maddy Fones and O’Halloran ran a 4:27 to win that event.
Both Bunnell and Barlow had their strengths in the field events. The Falcons won the javelin with Ourania Bletsas managing a throw of 116 feet, seven inches. Third went to Melissa Touma with 91’ 2”.
Another Falcon first was in the discus, which featured Kinsey Girardi’s throw of 88’ 2”. In the pole vault and triple jump the Bulldogs dominated, sweeping both, and took the top two spots in the high jump. They won the long jump as well but here the Falcons placed second with Touma leaping 15’ 10” and Wheeler going 14’ 3”.
Now 6-2 overall, the Falcons finish the regular season on Monday at Masuk and also take on Oxford and Pomperaug.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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