The Wilton Running Club qualified five athletes for the National Junior Olympics to be held in Lawrence, KS from July 24-30. Each athlete had to place in the top eight finishers in the CT association meet, and top five in the Region 1 meet held in Fitchburg, MA this past weekend.   The USATF Region 1 is comprised of 11 associations in eight states from New Jersey to Maine.

Shelby Dejana was the big story for the WRC by qualifying in four events in the 13-14 year old division:  second in the 200-meter hurdles in 29.08; second in the 4×100 relay in 52.91; 3rd in the 100 meter hurdles in 15.44 and 3rd in the 100 meter dash in 13.02. Dejana also competed in the Pentathlon and placed third in that event with 2,265 points. Her 200 meter hurdle time is ranked 11th in the country this year.

“Shelby had a fantastic weekend,” says Coach Kevin Foley   “She competed in nine total events and eleven event heats over two days and excelled in them all.” “She is an inspirational athlete and we are very proud of her”, continued Foley.

The weekend was not without drama for the WRC as the 13-14 division 4×100 team of Elena Tan, Ashley Nicoletti, Dejana and Abby Ota was interfered with by a competing team; however, they still managed to come in second in a club record time of 52.91 and qualify for the national meet.  The WRC team was edged out by a team from Valley Stream, NY by .16 seconds.  “We were seeded #1 and undefeated going into this meet and there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that had the interference not occurred we would still be #1 and undefeated in the region,” commented Foley.  “It is what it is and credit goes to each of the girls for keeping their composure and making it a photo finish at the end”, Foley said.

The other qualifier for the WRC was Sam Kurian who qualified in the 11-12 division 400M dash in a time of 1:07:68 to finish in fifth place.   “Sam ran a smart race and finished with a PR.  It was a great performance on his part”, said Foley. Dre hoKurian also placed 7th in the 11-12 division 800 meter in a time of 2:34:36 and another PR for him.

Additional Region 1 competitors for the WRC were as follows:

Boys Divisions:

William Arnold (9-10) – 13th in the 1500 meter
Vihan Jayawardhane (11-12) – 8th in the 400 meter
Brivic Sato (11-12) – 11th in the 400 meter
Dev Madhavani (11-12) – 12th in the 1500 meter
an Rupprecht (13-14) – 6th in the 3000 meter; 11th in the 1500 meter
Thomas Arnold (13-14) – 8th in the 3000 meter; 13th in the 1500 meter
Michael Biondo (13-14) – 9th in the Discus; 10th in the Shot Put
Wooder Thoby (15-16) – 18th in the 100 meter; 13th in the Shot Put and 11th in the Long Jump
John Wise (15-16) – 19th in the 100 meter; 18th in the 200 meter and 10th in the Shot Put

Girls Divisions:

Caitlyn Garcia (11-12) – 19th in the 400 meter
Tara Slovinski (11-12) – 20th in the 400 meter
Abby Ota (13-14) – 11th in the 100 meter
Ashley Nicoletti (13-14) – 7th in the Long Jump; 12th in the 200 meter and 19th in the 100 meter
Elena Tan (13-14) – 9th in the 800 meter; 8th in the 4×400 relay
Hailey Looney (13-14) – 12th in the 800 meter; 8th in the 4×400 relay
Olivia Flatt (13-14) – 8th in the 4×400 relay
Cailyn Goetz (13-14) – 8th in the 4×400 relay