Expectations remain high for Hawks

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The Woodland indoor track team will be led by seniors, front row from left, Ava Capuano, Lisa Thrasher, Kailyn Accetura, Clara Drozdowski, Haleigh Resnick, Kelsey Mitchell, Lauren Lombardo; back row from left, Nicholas Giammattei, Paul Pronovost, James Laliberte, Jeff Giusto, Colton Cronin, Ryan Soda, Jeff Webster and (missing from photo) Brandon Clifford. –ELIO GUGLIOTTI
The Woodland indoor track team will be led by seniors, front row from left, Ava Capuano, Lisa Thrasher, Kailyn Accetura, Clara Drozdowski, Haleigh Resnick, Kelsey Mitchell, Lauren Lombardo; back row from left, Nicholas Giammattei, Paul Pronovost, James Laliberte, Jeff Giusto, Colton Cronin, Ryan Soda, Jeff Webster and (missing from photo) Brandon Clifford. –ELIO GUGLIOTTI

BEACON FALLS — Expect another competitive season for the boys and girls of Woodland’s indoor track team.

On the girls’ side, it’s the strive for five straight NVL titles. For the boys, some of the top runners in the NVL return.

The girls will have four all-NVL performers from last year back, including three seniors — Clara Drozdowski (mid-distance), Haleigh Resnick (relays and sprints) and Lisa Thrasher (relays and high jump). Other seniors include Lauren Lombardo (high jump, long jumps and 55 hurdles), Kelsey Mitchell (long distance), Kailyn Accetura (long distance) and Ava Capuano (55 hurdles, long jump and relays).

Thrasher (600 meters), Drozdowski (1,000 meters) and Mitchell (3,200 meters) all won individual NVL meet events.

The Hawks broke a school record in the 4-by-400 relay that included Thrasher, Drozdowski and Resnick — in addition to NVL indoor MVP Jazmyn Menzies, who graduated in 2015.

Among the juniors, all-NVL selection Erin Machado (mid-distance), Gianna Polletta (sprints and relays), Samantha Plasky (pole vault and relays) and Jordan Williams (55 hurdles and jumps) all return.

The sophomore class includes Emilie Noreika (pole vault and mid-distance), Alli Cianciolo (jumps), Casey Donnelly (high jump and 55 hurdles), Christina hart (shot put), Amanda Bernardo (shot put), Brianna Vallejo (shot put) and Erika Michie (sprints and relays).

“We return several all-NVL and state qualifiers and look forward to another successful NVL season,” Woodland girls head coach Jeff Lownds said. “We also look to improve on our state level finishes.”

The boys will have two senior captains, Colton Cronin and Jeff Giusto, who were part of NVL event-winning relay teams. Cronin specializes in sprints and was on the 4-by-400 team, while Giusto was on the 4-by-800 winners and will be a key long distance runner.

Fellow seniors Brandon Clifford (jumps and hurdles), Greg Fagan (sprints), Nick Giammattei (sprints), James Laliberte (throws) and Jeff Webster (sprints) will also be in the mix.

The junior class features Keith Bodnar (throws), Mark Crowley (mid-distance), Matt Giaquinto (long distance), Paul Jones (long distance), Isiaih Miller (mid-distance), Tyler Orloski (hurdles) and Julio Quintero (pole vault)

Look for sophomores Tom Bucciffreo (long distance), Matt Luxeder (mid-distance), Sean Mardin (jumps and sprints), Ben Nuss (sprints), Tom Smith (jumps and sprints) and Craig Starkey (pole vault) to contribute.

“The NVL is a very competitive league,” Woodland boys coach Tim Shea said. “Even though we graduated a lot of points. We expect to be competitive. Kids have been working hard. We need to develop some skill event kids and stay healthy. Hopefully we are in the conversation come the end of the season.”