Naugy girls make noise at Class L indoor meet

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NEW HAVEN — The Naugatuck girls indoor track team made its presence felt at the Class L indoor track championships.

The Greyhounds scored 24 points and placed seventh among 24 teams Feb. 15 at the Floyd Little Athletic Center. It was the girls’ best showing at states since a fourth-place finish in 2010.

Windsor won the championship with 66 points.

“We got some good pickups this season that helped us improve our depth,” Naugatuck head coach Ralph Roper said. “Rachel Huculak came back after sitting out last year, and the Sonski sisters, Emma and Lauren, have really been impact players.”

“Ally Murphy does what she does best and had a great run,” he added. “I think the girls really surprised themselves.”

Murphy raced to second in the 600 meters (1:38.66). She finished just behind Simsbury’s Elsa Martin, who set the Class L state record with a time of 1:38.64. Kyle Neretich placed third in the 55 hurdles (8.91).

Murphy and Neretich both qualified for the State Open.

The 4×200 team of Rachel Huculak, Murphy, Neretich and Emma Sonski took third (1:51.57), and the 1600 sprint foursome of Neretich, Krooss, Huculak and Murphy placed fourth (4:30.38). Both teams earned a spot at the State Open.

The 4×800 team of Lauren Sonski, Tori Lawson, Julia Kropo and Lauren Rupsis added another top-ten finish in Class L for the Greyhounds. The team placed ninth (10:45.68).

Murphy placed fourth in the 600 at the State Open on Feb. 22. Neretich wasn’t available for the State Open due to a previous commitment.

Liz Krooss filled in for Neretich in the 4×200 at the State Open, and Lauren Sonski took her place on the 1600 sprint medley team. The 4×200 team placed 15th at the State Open. The 1600 sprint medley team placed 17th.

The Naugy boys placed 22 out of 27 teams at the Class L meet with five points. Hillhouse won the championship with 76 points.

The boys were just shy a couple times of qualifying for the State Open.

Jonny Volpe had the best finish for Naugy, taking fourth in the 1000 (2:41.81). His time was a couple hundredths of a second away from qualifying for the State Open.

The same fate fell on the sixth-place 1600 sprint medley relay team of Matt Davy, Cameron Jacobs, Leo’Angel Lopez and Volpe. The team’s time of 3:49.55 was a couple tenths of a second off the State Open pace.

Tyvias Dippelhofer also just missed making the State Open in shot put. He placed seventh in Class L with a throw of 43 feet, 2 inches.

“The boys had a couple of chances to make it to [the State Open] but both times just finished one place short,” Roper said. “Sometimes it’s just a hit or miss in these situations. But we had a good year for our indoor teams and we are looking forward to continuing that success during the outdoor season coming up.”