The Darien Times

Wave close Class L runner-up

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 12:03 PM

Boys Indoor Track

Darien came in second at the Class L meet.

And it was a close finish for the indoor track state championship at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven on Monday.

Windsor edged DHS 62-58 at the meet contested by 25 teams. Third was New Canaan with 46.

“This meet was a battle,” Wave coach Tyson Kaczmarek said. “And our guys gave it their all. They knew how much was at stake for our team, and they really came through.”

The lead swapped back and forth between Darien and Windsor, and even New Canaan pushed up from third, with the outcome in the ether into the final event, the 4x400 relay.

“We have so many talented athletes, and today they did what they’re capable of,” Kaczmarek said. “Coaches Al, Ben, Kevin and I are really proud of the team.”

Nicholas Lombardo won in the high jump with a leap of 6-00 making all-state.

“He had a major meet for us,” added Kaczmarek. “Coach Al saw the talent in him last year. He stepped up.”

Co-captain Charlie Baird placed second in the 3200 in 9:58.13 and co-captain Matt Pik ran 1:25.99 for third in the 600. Brian Davey was fourth in the 1000 in 2:42.88, co-captain Michael Johnston fourth in both the 1600 (4:39.81) and the 3200 (9:59.92).

“We finally came together as a team,” Kaczmarek added. “The guys competed.”

Nearly winning was fully frustrating though.

“They were genuinely disappointed at the end,” Kaczmarek said. “It was a tough meet to lose as we were right there.

“We came up short, which we hate doing, but we left it all out there.”

The horse race

Darien trailed 58-56 going into the 4x400.

Windsor had taken the lead two events prior with a 1-2 finish in the 300, followed by a second place finish in long jump.

Lombardo came up fractions of an inch short of moving into the top three in long jump and ended up seventh.

Darien rallied in the 3200 to gain 14 points, cutting Windsor’s lead to two.

“We knew the meet was going to come down to the 4x400 if we were to have a shot,” Kaczmarek said. “We just wanted to get to that point and we did. We knew we had to beat Windsor in the 4x400 to have a shot.”

Trailing most of the way in the 4x400, Darien fought back with each leg as Windsor began to fade after jumping out to an early lead.

Windsor’s anchor held on to a one-place lead though, despite a massive effort by Pik to catch the Windsor runner as he split 52.3 for 400 meters, an indoor best for Pik.

Wave Peaks

Co-captain Corey Eppley was fifth in the 300 in 37.16, co-captain Michael Coe, fifth in the 1600, right behind Johnston in 4:42.99 and freshman Alex Ostberg, in his first Class L meet, was fifth in the 3200 in 10:04.36.

Patrick McDonald was sixth in high jump (5-08.00) and Windsor Hall sixth in pole vault (10-06.00).

“Strategically, we were in great position,” said Kaczmarek. “Our entries were near perfect based on the field. We used our depth and had a legitimate chance of scoring in all events. That’s how you win a state meet. We want to build this same depth outdoor.”

Darien was third in the 4x200 relay with Lombardo, Pik, Elliot Helgans and Eppley, the 4x400 was fifth with Billy Siemers, Helgans, Harlan Smith and Pik. The sprint medley took third with C.J. Raia, Helgans, Smith and Davey.

“This meet is a big momentum builder for outdoor for us,” Kaczmarek said. “We came together as a team today. Everyone wanted to win.”

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