Bunnell's Stewart Garners Two Medals at SWC Championships

On Tuesday May 25th the South West Conference presented the 2021 track and field championships at Bethel High School’s Ralph DeSantis Field.

On a mostly sunny afternoon with temperatures in the 70’s and the occasional southery breeze all fourteen SWC teams gathered for the top athletes within the conference in an eighteen event showcase of talent.

As the State of Connecticut returns to normalcy, and Covid restrictions now being reduced, a large crowd witnessed the top qualifiers from each team present their talents. In order to qualify, athletes had to attain the minimum standard, as determined by the CIAC Class S standards, in each event they were entered in. An athlete cannot participate in more than four events.

The South West Conference gives awards to the top six finishers in each of the eighteen events with the first place finisher being declared the 2021 Champion. In each event, team scoring goes one point for eighth place, two points for seventh place, three points for sixth place, four points for fifth place, five for fourth place, six points for third place, eight points for second place, ten points for first place. Following each event award winners were presented with their achieved medallion.

Up first on the track was the 4X800 Relay race. The Bethel Wildcats team of Jason Robinson, Luca Cazzaniga, Caleb Funk, and Louis Marcantonio won the top spot in the conference in a time of 8:14. The runner up was the New Milford team of Robert Harkin, Connor Delpha, Collin Walsh, and Jonathan Tarbet with a time of 8:23.

In the 4X100, the Weston team of Doug Phillips, Tyler Schiffer, Matthew Bigelow, and Jack Spencer won the event in a time of 44.13 seconds. The Stratford team of Kaleb Lafontant, Elijah Brown, Patrick Bennett, and Jaden Lazaro was runner up in a time of 45.03 seconds.

In the Javelin event, New Milford’s Sam Tarrant was first with a throw of 170’-01”. Runner up went to Weston’s Kevin Joyce with a throw of 140’-06”

New Milford’s Tarrant went on to a first place finish in the Discus event as well with a toss of 143’-01”. Runner up was Bethel’s Payton Bell at 125’-7”.

In the 110 Hurdles, Weston’s John Cassol was first at 16.25 seconds. New Milford’s Jack Valentine was the runner up at 17.48 seconds.

In the 100 Meter dash, New Milford’s Nolan Freeman was tops at 11.36 seconds. Weston’s Jack Spencer was the runner up at 11.45 seconds.

The 1600 Meter race saw New Fairfield’s Patrick Gibbons take a commanding lead from start to finish and a first place finish in a time of 4:18.10. With the mark, Gibbons set a new meet record. He broke the previous record (4:18.36) set by Weston’s Steven Tyler in 2017. The runner up went to Bethel’s Cazzaniga with a time of 4:28.

Over in the High Jump event, Weston’s Nate Luchetta was first with a height of 5’-10”. The runner up went to Thai Sapenter, of Immaculate, with a height of 5’-8”.

In the 400 Meter race, New Milford’s Jonathan Tarbet placed first with a time of 49.90 seconds.
The runner up and this afternoon’s photo finish of the day went to Joel Barlow’s Luke Vechiarelli as he survived a hard charging Gulish (50.66), of Bunnell, at the finish line with a time of 50.65 seconds.

With the third place finish Gulish was presented with an SWC medal for his effort.

In the 300 Hurdle event, Weston’s Cassol took the title in a time of 41.37 seconds. The runner up was Pomperaug’s George Grom with a time of 43.36 seconds.

The Long Jump event went to Weston’s Matthew Bigelow with a jump of 20’-10.75”. The runner up and the start of a two medal day was Bunnell’s freshman Matthew Stewart with a season’s best jump of 20’-4.50”.

Stewart went on to race in the 200 Meter and place fifth earning him a medal for his accomplishment giving him two medals on the day.

In the 200 Meter race and breaking a SWC Championship meet record was New Fairfield’s Jared Tomesetti in first place with a time of 21.99 seconds. The runner up was Weston’s Spencer at 22.03 seconds. Both beat the 2019 record time (22.15) set by Masuk’s Conor Mahony.

In the 800 Meter race, another exciting race , Bethel’s Marcantonio was tops at 2:03.03. The runner up was Pomperaug’s Timothy Monahan at 2:03.11.

In the Triple Jump event, Immaculate’s Sapenter was first at 42’-0”. The runner up went to Bethel’s Diego Sarabia with a distance of 41’-5”.

The Pole Vault event saw Weston take the first two places and a lead in team scoring as Bigelow topped all at 14’-6”. The runner up was teammate Jake Fine at 13’-0”.

Back on the track in the 3200 Meter race, New Fairfield’s Gibbons with a show stopper run of 9:48. The runner up was Bethel’s Cazzaniga at 10:03.

In the Shot Put, New Milford’s Christopher Bon Tempo was first, by inches, with a launch of 47’-10.50”. The runner up was Masuk’s Jake Rosati at 47’-4.25”.

The final event of the afternoon was the 4X400 Relay race. Pomperaug’s Grom, Michael Fillippelli, Drew Rosenhiem, and Monahan were first with a time of 3:39.77. The runner up team was Stratford’s team of Brown, Lazaro, Bennett, and Dominic Gomes with a time of 3:40.68.

In team scoring, it was the Weston Trojans being crowned as the 2021 SWC champions once again with a final total of 163 points. The runner up was the New Milford Greenwave with a final point total of 134.

Up next for Bunnell, next Wednesday, June 2nd, at Willow Brook Park in New Britain where they will send Jonathan Gulish, Matt Stewart, Mario Oliva, and Jakub Olechno on to the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class MM finals at 10:00 am.