New Milford Rides the Green Wave Over Bunnell Boys

On Thursday May 20th, the New Milford High School Green Wave hosted the Bunnell Bulldogs in South West Conference boys track and field.

The afternoon was full of sunshine, temperatures in the 70’s, not a cloud in the sky, with low humidity. It was both teams' regular season finale.

The meet served as a tuneup for the powerful New Milford lineup in the upcoming South West Conference Championships on Tuesday May 25th.

For Bunnell, they were looking to add some additional qualifiers to bolster their lineup in a bid for the SWC Championship title.

Early on Bunnell stayed even with the New Milford squad but the experienced New Milford lineup steam rolled their way midway through this matchup.

Up first was the 4X800 Relay race, the Bunnell team of Armand Fabrizi, Vincenzo Fabrizi, Dominick Puzzo, and Gustavo Oliva ran unopposed in a time of 10:09 giving Bunnell the early lead.

New Milford evened things up in the 4X100 as the team of Nolan Freeman, Cole Allen, Connor Sterling, and Jonathan Tarbet bested the Bunnell team of Guido Llanos, Matthew Stewart, Mikail Francis, and Jonathan Gulish with a time of 45.0 seconds 1.94 seconds faster than Bunnell’s time of 46.94 seconds.

In the 110 Hurdle event, New Milford’s Jack Valentine cruised in with the win in a time of 17.3 seconds. Bunnell’s Maurice Neri was second at 19.7 seconds. Sam Harrington, making his season debut in the hurdle event, was third in a time of 22.4 seconds.

In the 100 Meter dash, Bunnell’s Stewart took first in a season best 11.3 seconds. In second place, New Milford’s Sebastian Brown at 12.0 seconds. In third place, New Milford’s Brett Kornhaas at 12.1 seconds.

The score was tied at 14 going into the 1600 Meter race.

In the 1600 Meter race, it was all Green Wave as Robert Harkin was first at 4:42 seconds. In second place, Tarbet at 4:49 seconds. In third place, freshman Ben Schipul at 4:50.

In the 400 Meter race, Bunnell’s Gulish took the top spot with a season best of 51.7 seconds. In second place, New Milford’s Sterling at 52.4 seconds. In third place, New Milford’s Nathaniel Cramer at 54.5 seconds.

Keeping Bunnell close on the scoreboard, in the 300 Hurdle event was Bunnell’s Neri with a win over New Milford’s Brown (52.1) in a time of 49.3 seconds. There was no third place finisher.

The results of the field events started trickling in with New Milford taking first and second place in the Javelin event. Sam Tarrant was first with a throw of 159’-2”. In second place, Parker Swinford at 120’-6”. In third place, Bunnell’s Jakub Olechno at 106’-0”.

It was all New Milford in the Discus event, in first Tarrant with a distance of 144’-0”. In second place, Jackson Caldwell at 105’-4”. In third place, Westin Doud at 97’-10”.

In the 800 Meter race, New Milford swept again and the rout was on, as Collin Walsh was first in a time of 2:08. In second place, Collin Swinfer at 2:14. In third place, AJ Taborsak at 2:16.

The 200 Meter race saw New Milford’s Tarbet in first at 22.5 seconds. In second place, New Milford’s Freeman at 22.71 seconds. In third place, breaking New Milford’s point scoring streak, Bunnell’s Stewart at 22.79 seconds.

Bunnell’s Stewart continued his afternoon’s success in the Long Jump event, as he took first place with a leap of 19’-11”. In second place, New Milford’s Ian McNulty with a distance of 18’-11.25”. In third place, with a season best, Bunnell’s Francis with a distance of 18’-5.5”.

In the High Jump event, Bunnell’s Olechno was first with a height of 5’-2”. In second place, at 5’-0” was New Milford’s Noah Deiterle. There was no third place finisher.

Back on the track in the 3200 Meter race, New Milford’s Caleb Cerra, a freshman, topped all with a time of 10:41. In second place, Bunnell’s Mario Oliva at 10:45. In third place, New Milford’s Ezra Rosenburg at 11:21.

In the Triple Jump event, New Milford’s Allan was first at 35’-11”. In second place, New Milford’s McNulty at 35’-6”. In third place, Bunnell’s Bolelembe Iboki with a distance of 29’-8”.

In the Pole Vault event, by pole vault attempt rules, Bunnell’s Puzzo was first at 8’-0”. In second place, by pole vault attempt rules, New Milford’s Dieterle at 8’-0”. In third place, by pole vault attempt rules, Bunnell’s Ryan Ortega at 8’-0”.

In the 4X400 Relay race, Bunnell’s team of Llanos, Neri, Francis, and Gulish took first place in a time of 3:49. New Milford’s team of Quinn Geier, Kornhaas, Brandon Campbell, and Cramer finished with a time of 3:59.

The final event in the afternoon was the Shot Put event. New Milford’s Christopher Bon Tempo launched a shot of 50’-6” to take first place. In second place, New Milford’s Tarrant with a distance of 44’-3”. In third place, New Milford’s Caldwell at 35’-10”.

Final score, New Milford 101 - Bunnell 47. Bunnell finishes the regular season at 3 wins, 6 losses.

Up next for Bunnell, at Bethel High School for the 2021 SWC Championships on Tuesday May 25th at 3:00 pm.