Naugy boys relay team claims Class L title

0
94

Naugatuck’s Muad Hrezi, seen above at the NVL indoor track championships in January, along with Collin Reilly, Jake Simons, and Nick Moriello set a school record in the 4-by-800 relay at the Class L indoor track championships. -RA ARCHIVE

NEW HAVEN — The Naugatuck boys’ 4-by-800 relay team shattered the school record and recorded the second fastest time in the state on their way to winning the Class L indoor track state championship.

Muad Hrezi, Collin Reilly, Jake Simons, and Nick Moriello broke the previous school mark by 16 seconds posting a winning time of 8:13.98. The relay squad now moves on to the State Open where they will come in with the second fastest time recorded in the four class championships that were held last week.

“The 4-by-800 team did an amazing job,” Naugatuck head coach Ralph Roper said. “They broke the school record by 16 seconds and recorded the second fastest time in the state. Collin (Reilly) ran his best time by six seconds in his leg of the relay. Nick (Moriello) was outstanding finishing his leg in under two minutes.

“It came down to the wire but we beat our preliminary seeding time by a full 13 seconds.” Roper continued. “It certainly was a worthy performance of a state championship.”

The Naugatuck boys team as a whole finished eighth in the Class L state meet with Windsor winning the overall title. Darien placed second, New Canaan third and Fitch of Groton was fourth.

“It was a good meet,” Naugatuck head coach Ralph Roper said. “We had our stumbles here and there but all in all we had some real good accomplishments.”

Hrezi raced to a third place finish in the 1600 with an effort of 4:33.69. It was a season best performance for Hrezi, according to Roper.

The 4-by-400 relay team of Patrick Alves, Isaque Monteiro, Moriello and Mike Nanadoum placed seventh adding to the Hounds overall point total.

Colton Wagner finished fifth in the pole vault at 11 feet with Kevin Ugalde taking 15th in the shot put and Nathaniel Buie finishing 17th in the long jump.

The Naugatuck girl’s team finished 19th overall at the Class L state championship meet with Darien winning the title and Windsor placing second.

Brianna Ritter scored all of the girl’s team points with a fourth place finish in the shot put at 31 feet, 11 inches.
Shannon Hale finished 19th in the 300 with Georgette Nixon taking 22nd place out of a field of 46 runners.

“Shannon and Georgette put up the fastest times of the season in the 300,” Roper said. “We had some outstanding performances against some very strong competition. Brianna scored all of our team points with a great effort.”

Jordyn Allen raced to a 15th place finish in the 1000 and came in 17th in the 1600 meters. Carla Soares had an outstanding performance in her leg of the 4-by-400 relay finishing up in 70 seconds according to Roper.

“Jordyn got out a little too fast in that first race,” Roper said. “That set the tone for the rest of her day but she shows a lot of heart when she is competing out there.”

When Roper reflected on the season as a whole, he viewed it as a successful one that will give the Greyhounds momentum heading into the outdoor track season.

“All in all I thought we had a good season. Finishing in second at the NVLs will certainly give us a fire in our belly going into the spring season,” Roper said. “We need to increase our strength, crank it up and be prepared to engage as we begin preparations for the outdoor season.”