Shelton High’s Elizabeth Herlihy leaped in the air and screamed for joy after the scoreboard printed her time of 8.81 in the 55-meter hurdle final at the Coaches Invitational this past Saturday in New Haven.
A senior captain, Herlihy had reset her school record, set the new mark to beat in Class LL, and best of all, she knew it.
Herlihy dashed up the stairs and into the stands, where she was greeted by hugs from parents, took selfies with teammates and high fives from head coach Scott Snell and the rest of the coaches.
Herlihy's run was the start of another strong day for the Shelton indoor track & field teams.
Coach Jayson Kymer stacked his 1600 sprint medley relay, and the boys didn't disappoint.
Junior Camerin Gumbs and senior captain Sean Sirisouk burned up the track in the first two laps with a time of 48.31. The baton passed to another senior captain, Matt Bean, who ran two laps of his own for 52.55. Junior standout Robert Dillon brought a new school record home for the Gaels with a 800 meter finish in 2:00.68 for an overall time of 3:41.53.
The time was best in the SCC for the day and good for third overall in the state-wide competition.
Shelton improved its marks all over the building.
Distance runners Maeve Sheldon and Anna Weissenberg had earlier come within seconds of Class LL qualifying times in the previous meet, and neither would be denied on this day.
A sophomore, Sheldon kicked her 1000 meter run into high gear on the last lap for a 3:21.55 finish.
Weissenberg also took an aggressive pace in the mile to qualify with a time of 5:47.35.
In other highlights for the Gaelettes, their 4x400 team of Herlihy, sophomore Haley Oko, senior Kelly Hurd, and junior Heather Garrett qualified for the LL's with a closing split of 63.4 from Garrett and an overall mark of 4:25.56.
In the field events, senior captain Lauren Pawlowski achieved a season best of 9 feet in the pole vault.
Yasmeen Dabiran finished fourth overall in the shot put with a toss of 33-02.25.
Kelsey Radzion qualified for the LL’s with a throw of 28-01.
The boys had plenty of highlights of their own.
Sophomore Erik Lorent was once again the fastest man in the building with a 6.55 first-place finish in the 55 meter dash.
Josh Sacoto ran a 2:45.81 in the 1000 to qualify for LL's.
Ed Radzion finished second in the shot put with a throw of 49-08.75.
Long jumpers David Samedi and Nicholas Andrade jumped 19-04 and 18-10, respectively.
Samedi also tied a season best in the high jump with a leap of 5-08.
The Shelton JV athletes will be competing at the SCC Novice Meet this coming Thursday in New Haven, while the Varsity personnel will head to the Yale Classic this Friday and Saturday.
The East Sectional Championships are held the following week, and both teams are poised for another run at their division titles.