“A very nice showing”

After traveling from Saugus to Cranston, R.I., Sachems Track Camp finishes third in track meet

  A group of 33 participants in the Saugus Sachems Track Camp – boys and girls ranging in age from six to 14 – finished third overall among 14 teams competing in last Saturday’s (July 16) Second Annual CLCF Summer Showdown in Cranston, R.I. The young athletes captured 16 first place medals, 16 runner-up awards and 11 third place prizes.

  “The meet director reached out to me to say we had a very nice showing,” track camp Coach Chris Tarantino said in an interview this week on his team’s performance.

  “He was impressed with our group in general and the way we competed in our events. He gave us some high praise,” Tarantino said. “Most of our athletes were 10 and younger. These are kids who wouldn’t be competing, otherwise, if not for competing in our summer camp.”

  Tarantino, a 1990 Saugus High School graduate who distinguished himself as a star while on the Sachems track team, has been running a track camp for more than 20 years. Tarantino teamed up with Stephen Boudreau – a 1965 Saugus High School graduate and track star who later was Tarantino’s basketball coach. The town’s Youth & Recreation Department sponsored the track camp, which included a six-week spring program with a one-week break and followed by a two-week summer program.

  Tarantino said most of his past track camps had competed in the Needham Youth Classic before it ended several years ago. The CLCF Summer Showdown is now filling the void left by the end of the classic. “I think it’s a good fit for our program,” Tarantino said.

  “I saw this as an event we can grow with,” he said.

  “All of the kids who competed in last Saturday’s meet contributed in some way to our third place finish. The top eight finishers in each event scored points. The top three kids got medals. The fourth, fifth and sixth place finishers got ribbons. Our kids dedicated themselves to the camp, worked hard and performed well. They are a very talented group,” he said.

  A lot of the families of the Saugus athletes drove down to Cranston last Friday to support the team, according to Tarantino.

  Years ago, many of the athletes who participated in Tarantino’s track camps were 13 and older. And for a number of seniors who participated, it was “the last hurrah,” he said.

  “Now, it’s a truly developmental camp involving non-scholastic age kids,” he said.

  They could be the future of the Saugus High track program for years to come, according to Tarantino.

  Below are the track meeting participants, broken down by age, event and finish.

  The Event Code: H = Hurdles; LJ = Long Jump; Jav = Javelin; TJ = Triple Jump; Shot = Shot Put; SMR = Sprint Medley Relay; SLJ – Standing Long Jump; HJ =High Jump.

Boys roster:

Aston Coviello – 14 – TJ (5th) LJ 100 200

Beau Grant – 9 – LJ Shot (4th) Jav 100

Braiden Grant – 7 – LJ (8th) Jav (7th) H (8th) 100

Brandon Szloch – 6 – SLJ (4th) H (1st) 100 (1st)

Brayden Giacobbe – 8 – HJ LJ Jav (8th) H

Bryce Grant – 6 – SLJ (6th) H (3rd) 200 (8th)

Domenic Bruzzese – 6 – SLJ (5th) 100 (2nd) 200 (2nd)

Exzadiel Rodriguez – 8 – HJ (2nd) Jav (1st) H (4th) 800 (1st)

Jonathan Bell – 7 – LJ (5th) Jav (5th) H (7th) 400 (8th)

Justin Bremberg – 14 – Shot (1st) Disc (2nd) 400 (8th) 800

Liam Marcus – 7 – LJ (6th) H 200 800 (2nd)

Luiz Sena – 8 – HJ (1st) Jav (6th) 400 (6th) 800 (3rd)

Luke Guercio – 9 – LJ (5th) Shot (1st) 100 (6th) 200 (5th)

Matthew Bell – 10 – HJ Jav (4th) H (2nd) 400 (6th)

Matthew Silipigni – 8 – LJ (7th) Shot (2nd) H (6th) 200

Nick DeMauro – 11 – HJ Disc (3rd) Jav (6th) 400 (6th)

Thomas Leblanc – 8 – LJ (1st) Jav (4th) 100 (6th) 400 (3rd)

Girls roster:

Aleah Bardos – 11 – shot (1st) Disc 100 200

Amelia Clark – 8 – LJ (6th) Jav (3rd) H (5th) 200

Ana Ristanovic – 6 – SLJ (1st) H (2nd) 100 (4th)

Annalisa Ferrara – 8 – LJ (2nd) H (1st) 100 (5th) 200 (6th)

Aubrey Viciere – 10 – HJ (2nd) Jav (4th) 100 200

Avalynn Giacobbe – 10 – HJ (3rd) Jav (3rd) 800 (4th) SMR (1st)

Cora Cottam – 9 – LJ (8th) H (7th) 100 200

Destiny Okoye – 12 – HJ (1st) LJ (7th) 100 (2nd) 200 (2nd)

Elizabeth Silipigni – 8 – LJ (7th) Jav (2nd) 100 H (4th)

Hazel DeFeo – 10 – HJ LJ (7th) H (8th) SMR (1st)

Jessica Bremberg – 16 – TJ (2nd) LJ (2nd) 100 (2nd) 400 (2nd)

Naomi Tarantino – 10 – HJ Jav (1st) Shot (3rd) SMR (1st)

Olivia Clark – 10 – HJ H (3rd) 100 SMR (1st)

Skylar Li – 10 – HJ Shot H 100

Yunauris Rodriguez – 11 – HJ (2nd) Jav (3rd) H (3rd) 400 (4th)

Zoey Ripley – 10 – HJ H 200 400 (4th)

  These athletes were a big part of the camp, but didn’t participate in the Cranston, R.I., meet:

  Girls: Alanah Sullivan, 9; Charlie Winter, 5; Claire Lowell, 7; Gigi Cottam; Kaylee Lacava, 9; Lily Waters, 8; Maggie Winter, 9; Maya Vrankic; and Sunny Brammer, 9.

  Boys: Max Libier, 8; Luka Ristanovic, 10; Zane Alhade, 7; Oscar Alhade, 6; Connor Waters,10; and Ryan MacDougall, 7.

  They Made It Possible: Tarantino wanted to thank the town’s Youth & Recreation Department for sponsoring and supporting this year’s track camp. He also wanted to thank his coaches: Kian McCabe, Sarah McGonigle, Nick Monaco, Jada Okoye, Kenny Okoye, Steve Boudreau, Ben Grant, Coach Steve and Emily Monaco.