BY KYLE BRENNAN
CITIZEN’S NEWS
The Woodland indoor track and field team couldn’t have been much happier with its performance at the Class S championships Feb. 12 at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven.
The Hawks finished fourth on the boys side and 11th on the girls side in the state’s largest division.
“Class S has 68 teams. For our boys to be fourth and for our girls to be 11th, we’re very pleased with our indoor season,” Woodland coach Jeff Lownds said.
The boys scored 36 points, tied with Coginchaug for fourth place. Only Stonington (56 points), Bloomfield (53) and Suffield (44) beat the Hawks.
Colin Slavin led Woodland’s effort with a silver medal in the 1,600 meters (4:38.40) and a fourth-place finish in the 3,200 (10:11.91). He set school records in both events and qualified for the State Open in the mile.
“He’s had a great season,” Lownds said.
Nate Swercewski placed fourth in the 600 in 1:27.53, good enough for a State Open berth. He was also 10th in the 300 (38.89).
Eric Meade was fourth in the 55 hurdles (8.29), also sending him to the State Open. He was set to compete in two events at the all-class meet Feb. 19 after qualifying in the high jump. Meade’s mark of 5 feet, 10 inches was good for a bronze medal.
The Hawks were also excellent in relays. The 4×800 group of Luca Cambra, Alex Farr, Cole Verrelli, and Chase Young was third in 8:47.11, and the 4×400 team of Cambra, Farr, Swercewski, and Young was fourth in 3:46.57.
Ervin Owusu was Woodland’s other top-10 finisher, placing ninth in the 55 hurdles (6.86).
“This is one of the better boys teams we’ve had here,” Lownds said. “We had a little bit of everything.”
The Woodland girls placed 11th with 12.5 points in a competition dominated by champion Bloomfield (92 points).
The Hawks will send two more athletes to the State Open: Chloe Poulos, who was second in the 1,600 (5:31.26), and Sarah Cooley, who placed fifth in the shot put (31-6.75).
Lownds was especially impressed with Cooley and fellow thrower Emma Swanson, who was seventh (30-8). Their marks would have placed them first and third in the Class LL meet.
“Sarah rises to the occasion,” Lownds said. “In a big meet, she steps up. Emma Swanson would have been third in Class LL, and she didn’t even score for us. That’s how tough the competition was.”
Other top-10 finishers for the girls included Chloe Poulos in the 3,200 (fifth, 12:21.06), Isabella Bianchini in the pole vault (sixth, 8 feet), and Kim Poulos in the 600 (eighth, 1:50.15).
Lownds said the return of indoor track this season after its cancellation last winter will lead to a more competitive spring season not just for the Hawks, but for most outdoor track squads.
“We had some talented athletes last spring, but I think performances all across the board — not just Woodland, but across the league and the state — weren’t as great as they sometimes are,” Lownds said. “I think that the performances will be better this spring because they had the opportunity to compete in the winter.
“The kids who do come to outdoor track, they’re grounded in that track mentality,” he continued. “We take indoor track seriously at Woodland, all the way back from when Tim Shea and Penny Miller coached here. In some circles, they think you’re just getting in shape for outdoor, but we’re trying to win championships. It means a lot more to the kids than people think.”
