All-Area Girls' Track & Field Profiles

• NFA senior Yana Babbitt successfully defended her javelin title at the ECC meet, won the Irv Black Invite and finished unbeaten in dual meets with a top throw of 122 feet, 7 inches. She was voted Most Valuable Senior in helping NFA win ECC and Class LL team titles and earned the Coaches' Award for Best in Field. Babbitt, who earned eight varsity letters during her career, will further her career at Division I Liberty University in Virginia.

• Montville junior Natalie Bowens is the school record holder in the long jump and triple jump, and helped the Indians set a school record in the 4x100 relay. Bowens won ECC championships in both jumping events, then captured the Class M title in the long jump (16 feet, 11 3/4 inches) and placed second in the triple jump (35-7 1/2). Bowens is an honor student who also plays volleyball.

• Griswold sophomore Alyssa Brehler won the ECC championship in the 1,600 and followed that up with a second in the 1,600 and third in the 3,200 at the Class M state meet. Brehler, The Day's 2011 Athlete of the Year in girls' cross country after winning the Class SS state title and finishing 12th in the New England meet (the top Connecticut finisher), is a high honors student and a member of the National Honor Society.

• Bacon Academy sophomore Sierra Cameron won the Class MM state title in the long jump with a personal best leap of 17 feet, 4 1/2 inches. A two-time team MVP during the indoor season, Cameron is an honor student, won Bacon's Advanced Drawing Award in 2012 and the Alan Gibson Award for athletics and academics.

• Montville junior Sonja Campbell won the ECC shot put championship (35 feet, 6 inches) and bettered that throw (35-8) to place third in Class M, where she also placed sixth in the discus. A member of the soccer and indoor track teams, Campbell is an honor roll student and a peer mediator at the high school.

• East Lyme junior Eva Christensen won the Class MM state championship in the 3,200 (11:18.39), more than seven seconds faster than her qualifying time, and was also part of the Vikings' 4x800 relay team that placed second in the ECC meet. She placed sixth in the 2011 Class L cross country meet and was a member of East Lyme's Class L state champion 4x800 relay team during the indoor season. Christensen, an honor student, rides horses and is involved in 4-H.

• Ledyard junior Kylie Fustini broke the ECC meet record in the discus (133 feet, 2 inches), then followed that up by winning the Class MM state meet, finishing fifth at the State Open and sixth at the New England Championships. Fustini was also All-ECC in volleyball and basketball and was a captain in both sports. She has been a high honor student all three years, is a member of the National Honor Society, won Ledyard's Mt. Holyoke Book Award and is president of the school's Key Club.

• NFA junior Brianna Lenehan won titles in the 800 and 4x400 relay at the ECC meet, then helped the Wildcats capture the Class LL title by placing second in the 800, 1,600 and 4x400. Lenehan was also fourth in the 1,600 and fifth in the 800 at the State Open, placed eighth in the 800 at the New England meet, where the 4x400 relay team placed fifth. Lenehan, The Day's All-Area Athlete of the Year in indoor track, is a high honor student and a member of the National Honor Society.

• NFA sophomore Camille McKenzie captured the ECC championship in the 300-meter hurdles (46.89 seconds) and was also a member of the Wildcats' school record-setting 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams. The 4x400 team, which also earned All-Area honors, finished second in the Class LL meet and third in the State Open.

• Ledyard senior Cedar Nelson finished an outstanding career by winning the ECC championship at 3,200 meters in 11:20.63, qualifying for the State Open for the third straight year. Nelson also finished sixth in the State Open cross country meet during the fall. A high honor student, Nelson was named a Ledyard Scholar (Top 10 in her graduating class) and Ledyard's Scholar-Athlete. She will attend Villanova University to study nursing.

• NFA junior Dyshelle Pemberton set school records in the 200 and 400, capturing the individual 400 titles in the ECC (58.92 seconds) and Class LL (57.24) as the Wildcats won both team titles. She was also a member of The Day's All-Area 4x400 team. Pemberton is an honor student.

• NFA junior Erin Schaeffer was the dominant high jumper in the area, winning the ECC title (5 feet, 4 inches) and Class LL title (5-2) while finishing fifth in the State Open and 12th in New England. She was inducted into the National Honor Society this year.

• Ledyard sophomore Chenoa Sebastian didn't lose an ECC meet in the 100-meter hurdles all season, then had a solid postseason by winning the ECC championship (16.19 seconds), finishing second in Class MM (15.38) and fifth at the State Open (15.47). She is a two-time All-Area choice.

• NFA senior Allie Sullivan won the ECC and State Open titles in the pole vault, both with leaps of 11-6 and leaves as the ECC record-holder in that event at 12-0 1/2. She was second in Class LL. Sullivan will compete next year at Notre Dame, following her dad and two sisters to the university. She is a highest honors student and a member of the National Honor Society.

• NFA's 4x100-meter relay team of Brittany Grabill, Lauren Knerr, Brianna McClafferty and MiaLynne Park played a key role in helping the Wildcats capture ECC and Class LL state team titles. The relay team won both meets, running a 49.63 in the ECC meet, and also finished seventh in the nationals. Grabill, a junior, was named Sports Person of the Year and by the Norwich Hall of Fame, finished third in the Class LL long jump, fourth in the triple jump, and is an honor student. Knerr, a freshman, also placed eighth in Class LL in the long jump and made the high honor roll. McClafferty, a junior, is also an honor student. Park, a sophomore, is an honor student who is also in the National Spanish Honor Society.

• NFA's 4x400-meter relay team of Brianna Lenehan, Dyshelle Pemberton, Camille McKenzie and MiaLynne Park won the ECC title, finished second in Class LL, third in the State Open and fifth in the New England championship, where it broke its own school record in 3:57.50. Lenehan (800), Pemberton (400), McKenzie (300 hurdles) and Park (4x100 relay) were All-Area selections in other events, too, as the Wildcats won team championships in the ECC and Class LL meets.

• Old Saybrook's 4x800-meter relay team of Alexis Henry, Erin Daley, Mary Kate Czepiel and Cori Reid won the Class S championship in 9:44.00. Henry, a senior, also competed in distance events for the Rams. Daley, a junior, is a scholar-athlete and honor roll student at Old Saybrook. She was also a member of the Class S championship 4x400 relay team and was a second team All-Shoreline Conference pick in cross country in 2011. Cziepel, a senior, was a first-team All-Shoreline pick in cross country in 2011 and two-time all-state pick in the 4x800. A scholar-athlete, a high honor roll member and winner of the St. Anselm Book Award, Cziepel will attend Boston University. Reid, a junior, also plays soccer and basketball (she received the Coaches' Award in both sports), was a second team All-Shoreline pick in soccer and was also a member of the Rams' Class S champion 4x400 relay team. She is a scholar-athlete, a member of the high honor roll and winner of the Elmira College Key Award.