Verona High School’s girls and boys winter track teams competed at the Super Essex Conference championships on Saturday and took home several medals. The girls team placed second overall in a field of 15 Liberty Division teams, while members of the boys squad captured three first place finishes, two second places and broke two VHS winter track records, for an overall third place finish.
The girls team finished first in three events. The 4 x 400 meter relay team of Alex DeVivo, Clara Frizzi, Brianna Rigney and Kate Ashley was the top time in that event at 4:27. Ashley, who recently committed to running track for the College of the Holy Cross next year, also finished first in the 400m with a time of 61.5. Lily Benanchietti took first place in girls pole vault, clearing 8’0”.
Verona girls also captured four second-place medals. Two of them went to Bridget O’Donnell, who had a 5:57 time in the 1600m and a 12:50 finish in the 3200m. Karen Andre took second in high jump with a 4’4” jump and Rebecca Katsios took second in pole vault when she cleared 7’6”. Verona also captured third place in girls pole vault when Francesca Esposito cleared 7’0”.
Brianna Rigney took fourth place in the 800m with a time of 2:38, while Julia DiGeronimo took fourth in the 3200m at 13:21. Selena Caraballo finished fourth in shot put, with a throw of 27’7”, while the novice distance medley squad of Rebecca Seubert, Lucy Hogan, Lindsey Rawding and Arianna Tietjen captured fourth with a time of 15:39.
The girls had four fifth place finishes: Alex DeVivo in the 400m (64.7), Karina Squilanti in the 1600m (6:15), Veronica Valera in the 3200m (13:31) and the novice sprint medley team of Emma Zalewski, Gillian O’Donnell, Alex Friedman and Emma Hogan (5:15). Verona girls also competed in the 55m and 200m (Faith Fauerbach, Angel Fauerbach and Madison Nigro), the 55m hurdles (Carolyn Feeley), shot put (Jenna DaRin and Gabriella Petti), high jump (Alex DeVivo and Chelsea Gruskin), 400m (Karen Andre) and 800m (Clara Frizzi).
The boys team, meanwhile, made its mark by breaking two school records. Owen Fogarty broke his own school record from last winter of 12’6″ by clearing 13’6″. Aidan Murphy broke the 200m indoor record, running it in 24.00. Fogarty’s height was good enough to make him the SEC Liberty Division pole vault champion, while John Lermi took second place in that event.
The Verona boys team also captured a first place finish in the 1600m, thanks to Mike Maglione, while Isaac Skrivanic took first in shot put, throwing 45 feet 9 3/4 inches. Maglione, a senior who is one of the team’s captains, also finished second in the 3200, while co-captain Chris Robinson took fourth in that event.
David Navarro took fourth place in both the 800m and the mile, while Vincent Hogan took fourth place in the 400m with a time of 54:53.
The teams’ next big outing will be the Essex County Relays on January 2, 2019.
Here is our SEC Liberty Division Shot Put Champion! Congratulations to Junior Isaac Skrivanic, 1st place throwing 45 ft 9 3/4 inches! Great debut throwing in winter track! pic.twitter.com/Lfqv18971U
— Verona Boys XC/Track (@VHSBoysXC_Track) December 22, 2018
