Ledyard Girls Fall Short of 1st Track Title

The Ledyard High girls' track and field team, which finished 3rd in the Class MM championships Tuesday,  were not too many ifs and buts away from winning the program's first state title.

If star sprinter Emily Loy had not tweaked her hamstring, she might have won the 200 meter dash to give Ledyard enough points to slide past champion East Lyme. But coach David Tetlow ruled her out of the event in the best interests of his athlete and a 4x100 relay team hopeful of reaching the New Englands.

If top thrower Nathasha Griffith were not sick, she would probably have won the shot put and placed in the discus. But a weakened Griffith finished second in the shot.

And if Class MM were not nearly devoid of pole vaulting competition -- only 11 girls competed -- East Lyme would not have grabbed four of the top five places in the event to account for 25 of its 80 points.

"We didn't get any help from other teams in the pole vault, and East Lyme capitalized," Tetlow said.

Tetlow didn't dispute the Vikings essentially snatched a state title by dominating one event. Only one East Lyme pole vaulter reached 10 feet, the State Open qualifying standard. But instead of lamenting one that got away, the 34-year veteran Colonel coach welcomed the thought of making up the difference next year.

"Seniors accounted for just 10 of the 74 points, so I am looking forward to next year already," he said. "I'm also hopeful the 4x100 relay can make the New Englands. That would never happen if Emily Loy was not healthy, so I don't regret pulling her out of the 200. She wasn't at full strength."

Loy anchored the victorious 4x100 relay team, also including Kaylyn Bruciati, Chenoa Sebastian and Alli Loy. The Colonels won in 50.3, nearly a second slower than their ECC record time of 49.5 set 10 days prior. Loy's hamstring and Bruciati's foot injury cost Ledyard a second of time. They hope to shave off the tenths of seconds to place high in the State Open Tuesday and qualify for the New Englands.

Overall, Tetlow was pleased with the team's performance, particularly Sebastianm who elevated her phenomenal freshman season to win on the state stage in the 100 high hurdles, sophomore Kyle Fustini, who was second in the discus, and junior Cedar Nelson, who overcame a bout of  exhaustion after the ECC Meet to win the 3,200 meter run. The Colonels also got nice effort from freshman Lauren Scahill (third, 800) and junior Lindsey Ackley (third, 1,600).

"On the bus ride home we were scoring the meet and it was encouraging to know seniors accounted for just 10 of our points," Tetlow said. "We finished third for the second straight year, but this was a stronger showing and we hope to break through with all of our returnees next year."

The fact East Lyme and Ledyard contended for the title shows the dominance of Norwich Free Academy in the ECC Large. The Wildcats easily won dual meets and the ECC against Ledyard and East Lyme. It was nice to get out of NFA's shadow in Class MM.

"NFA is twice the size of East Lyme and three times as big as everyone else," Tetlow said. "They don't belong in the ECC size-wise, so it was nice to compete against schools of similar size."