WATERBURY’S WEEKLY ROUNDUP #6: Williams top male sprinter/hurdler at NVL indoor meet

Edward (EJ) Williams was named Top Male Sprinter/Hurdler of the Meet
at Monday’s NVL Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Below, Joel Guzman with his third place medal.
(Photos courtesy of Sacred Heart athletics)

City athletes put together some great efforts at Monday’s NVL Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven.

Edward (EJ) Williams of Sacred Heart put together the best evening of an athlete from a Brass City school. Williams took home the lone first place finish, claiming the top spot in the 55-meter hurdles in 7.88 seconds. Williams finished second in the 55 dash in a time of 6.68 seconds.
For his efforts, Williams was named the Top Male Sprinter/Hurdler of the Meet. Not a bad evening for someone who is just a sophomore.
Here’s how the meet went, by school:
Sacred Heart — The Hearts had several strong efforts besides Williams. Joel Guzman placed third in the 300 meters and Jonathan Warren was fourth in the 1000. For the girls, Jenna French was fourth in the 1000 and Rachel Guay fifth in the 3200. The Sacred Heart boys finished sixth as a team, the girls 12th.

Crosby — Megan Holland was second in the 300 for the Bulldogs, who had a great evening in relay events. The 4×800 and sprint medley relay teams each placed third. The 4×800 team was made up of Tolany Velez-Pastrana, Caesar Martinez, Kevin Montenez and Mekhi Arline. The sprint medley team consisted of Evinn Campbell, Arline, Velez-Pastrana and Elijah Lewis. The 4×400 relay of Velez-Pastrana, Martinez, Montenez and Arline finished fourth. The Crosby boys finished seventh as a team, the girls 10th.

Kennedy — Marc Anthony-Telusma had a pair of Top 5 finishes for the Eagles.
Anthony-Telusma was third in the 55 dash and fifth in the 300. Telusma was also part of the 4×200 relay that finished fifth. That team also had Jorge Rivas, Elijah Nelson and Rivera Martin. Andry Evangenlista was sixth in the 1600. For the girls, the 4×200 relay of Klani Brathwaite, Leslie Dennis, Doretha Johnson and Jordyn Wilson placed third. Johnson was sixth in the 55 dash and Wilson sixth in the 300. Kennedy was ninth as a team in girls, 10th in boys.
Wilby — Bryan Oliveira picked up a pair of third place finishes in distance events for the Wildcats. Oliveira was third in the 1600 and 3200. Dwayne Blackwood took fourth place in the 300. For the girls, Alana Daunis finished fifth in the 300. The Wilby boys finished ninth as a team, the girls 13th.
Holy Cross — Mark Auguste took third place in the 55 hurdles and Chris Flynn was sixth in the 600. The Holy Cross boys finished 11th as a team.

Sacred Heart after Friday’s win at Torrington. (Sacred Heart athletics)

BOYS SWIMMING AND DIVING
Sacred Heart: It was a great week for the Hearts.
Sacred Heart started with a 95-85 win over Crosby/WCA on Wednesday. Friday brought a road meet against Torrington. The Hearts were again up for the challenge and won 87-78. Sacred Heart improved to 7-2 on the season. All-State junior Dan Walsh continues to help lead the Hearts, who put Crosby/WCA and Torrington away before both meets went exhibition.

Crosby/WCA: The co-op lost 95-84 to Sacred Heart on Wednesday.
Holy Cross defeated Kennedy 93-75 in a meet held Wednesday.
The Eagles came back for a 87-77 win over Jonathan Law on Friday in Milford.

Wilby: The Wildcats are idle this week. Wilby’s next meet is at home Tuesday against Seymour.

BOYS BASKETBALL
There were three wild games in the city Friday night.
WCA took down Holy Cross 75-73 at home on two Marquan Watson foul shots with 4.7 seconds left in regulation. Sacred Heart needed overtime to beat Wilby 75-67 in the Reggie O’Brien Gymnasium. Crosby defeated Kennedy 95-90 in overtime behind a massive 41 points from Jeremiah Kendall. No easy games in the Brass City for boys hoop squads.
Here’s how the rest of the week went for Waterbury boys teams:
Sacred Heart — The Hearts began the week with a 62-47 road win over WCA on Wednesday. The overtime win over Wilby on Friday got Sacred Heart to 13-0 on the season. A balanced attack, led by 24 big points from Legend Johnson, was key for the Hearts. Raheem Solomon and Isaiah Gaiter also reached double figures for Sacred Heart, according to a report submitted to The Zone.
The Hearts face another test Monday night when Holy Cross comes calling at Alumni Hall.
Holy Cross — Speaking of those Crusaders, they should have chips on their collective shoulders after back-to-back tough losses.
After knocking off Woodland 80-59 Monday, Holy Cross lost 77-73 to Kennedy and 75-73 to WCA. The Crusaders are 12-3, but head coach Ryan Olsen wants much more consistency from his team. Time will tell which way Holy Cross goes.

Legendary head coach Nick Augelli is now
tied for second all-time in wins in state history.

Crosby — The Bulldogs are 11-4, and why should anyone be surprised with a team led by Nick Augelli.
The veteran coach is now tied for second all-time in the state in victories behind St. Joseph (Trumbull) legend Vito Montelli, according to Joe Palladino of the Waterbury Republican-American. Augelli doesn’t get there, however, without a wild overtime win over Kennedy. Kendall was huge, but Miguel Rivera and Tarique Foggie were keys to the win as well.
Crosby won all three of its games this past week, knocking off Watertown (92-41), Wilby (80-72) and Kennedy.
Kennedy — The Eagles began their week with wins over Seymour (90-67) and Holy Cross, but lost a tough one to Crosby on Friday.
Tyairus Sands and Lashawn Smith both scored 25 points for Kennedy in the Crosby loss, according to Palladino’s report. The Eagles sit a solid 12-3, and two of those three losses were close.
WCA — The Spartans sandwiched wins over Wolcott and Holy Cross around a loss to Sacred Heart and are 9-6.
This team has a lot of talent and can be very dangerous the rest of the season. Watson can be a tank under the basket, Matt Torres can light it up beyond the three-point line, and Jadan Battle can get to the basket with the best of the guards in the NVL. Look out for the Spartans.
Wilby — Talk about an arduous two-game stretch.
After pasting Oxford 83-47 Monday, the Wildcats had to deal with Crosby and Sacred Heart back-to-back. Wilby hung tough in both games, losing 80-72 to Crosby and 75-67 in overtime to Sacred Heart. Christian Harris, Eddie Hightower and Nasir Smith were the key cogs offensively in the upset bid against the undefeated Hearts.
Wilby is 6-8, but has a win over WCA, plus close losses to Kennedy and Sacred Heart. Don’t overlook the Wildcats.
Kaynor Tech: The Panthers took down Wolcott Tech (76-32) and O’Brien Tech (57-49) on the road to run their winning streak to three games.
Max Chabot was the offensive catalyst against Wolcott Tech, then Tyler Fengler took over against O’Brien Tech. Kaynor Tech ran its record to 4-10.
hursday 

Chase: The Highlanders lost a close one Wednesday, 43-41 at the Marvelwood School.
Chase also lost Saturday against Storm King School and is 2-10. There was no score reported for Friday’s game against Christian Heritage School on the team’s schedule.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Holy Cross hadn’t lost a NVL game this season going into Wednesday night’s road showdown against Kennedy.
That streak continued as the Crusaders blew out the Eagles 64-34 inside Jack Taglia Gymnasium. Meah Austin, Idalis Miranda and Izzy Plant all reached double figures in points for Holy Cross.
For Kennedy, it was the second loss this season to their city rivals.
Here’s how the rest of the week went for both teams:
Holy Cross — The Crusaders used a monster second quarter to beat Woodland 53-44 at home on Monday.
Holy Cross closed out the week with a 51-36 road win over WCA on Friday. The Crusaders are 15-1 with four regular season games left.
Kennedy — The Eagles began their week with a buzzer-beating 47-45 loss to Seymour on the road Monday.
After a second straight loss to Holy Cross on Wednesday, Kennedy rebounded with a 60-38 road win over Crosby. Joyce Benton and Raegon-Shirling Davis both scored in double figures in the Crosby win. The Eagles are 12-5 with three games left.
Sacred Heart: The Hearts rocked WCA on Wednesday at home by a score of 53-38. Treasure Coleman, Hayley Tucker, Aamya Rivera and Victoria Santiago led the Sacred Heart offense against WCA.
On Friday, Sacred Heart blew out Wilby 75-31 to get to 11-5 on the season. Tucker, Santiago and Coleman led the way.

Kaynor Tech: The Panthers held their annual “Pink Game” for breast cancer awareness Thursday, and they hammered CSC foe Wolcott Tech 50-15.
Egypt Santos, Cassie Couture and Sarah Wisniewski led the offense.
Kaynor rocked O’Brien Tech 51-18 on Friday to get to 11-5. Wisniewski and Couture again led the offense.
WCA: The Spartans lost their first game of the week, 59-52 at Wolcott.
Wednesday brought a second straight loss, 53-38 at Sacred Heart. Kendra McPherson and Armani Weaver led the offensive attack.
WCA lost 51-36 to Holy Cross on Friday. The Spartans are 5-11.
Crosby: The Bulldogs began the week with a close 60-56 home loss to Watertown on Monday.
Crosby responded with a 49-26 whacking of city foe Wilby on Wednesday on the road. Tiahna Pulliam, Gloria Vergelli, Erica Soares, Da’Ahjah Heath and Leyda Colon all got in the act on offense.
Friday brought a 60-38 home loss to Kennedy. Crosby is 5-10 with five games left in the season.
Wilby: The Wildcats lost games to Oxford and Crosby at home on Monday and Wednesday, then they were defeated by Sacred Heart on the road Friday.
Chase Collegiate: The Highlanders rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to nip Forman 41-40 at home on Wednesday.
Sammi Dassatti, Phoebe DeRiu-Crowley and Sam Crone led the Chase offensive attack.
The Highlanders claimed a second straight exciting win on Friday, beating Christian Heritage 37-35 in overtime. Dassatti led the offense, and her 3-pointer sent the game into overtime, according to a report on The Zone. Maddie Patrick’s foul shots with five seconds left in overtime gave Chase the win. The Highlanders are 4-7.

WRESTLING
Thomaston/Litchfield/Holy Cross lost 54-15 to Oxford on Thursday.
Chase lost dual meets to Suffield Academy and the Brunswick School. The Highlanders are 3-13 on the season.