In her first track season, soccer star shatters 400-meter Class S record
Sydney Segalla put on a remarkable performance Tuesday on the track at Willow Brook Park in New Britain.
She got something to eat.
And then she went out and scored a goal for her CFC United premier team in a 3-1 win over FSA of Farmington in Bethany.
“Yeah, I am very sore today,” the 5-foot-11 senior from Housatonic Valley Regional said.
The aches of Wednesday were well earned on Tuesday.
Not only did Segalla sweep the 100, 200 and 400 meters at the CIAC Class S championship, she set meet records in 100 and 400. Her 100 time of 11.90 broke the Class S record of 11.93 set by Terry Miller of Bloomfield in 2019.
Her 400 time of 52.96 seconds was nothing short of stunning, shattering the Class S record of 56.29 and nearly breaking the state record of 52.67 by Precious Holmes of Hillhouse from 2012.
Several parents approached Segalla at the meet to tell her how great it was to watch her. She had photos and videos sent to her.
“A lot of kids who run track and field started following me on Instagram and DMing me, ‘You're insane.' Stuff like that.”
This is Segalla's first season participating in track.
It was the third time she ever ran the 400. Digest that information. Now consider this. “I almost missed the 400,” she said.
She went over to the starter's table to get the number to put on her leg.
“The guy gave me a sticker for Lane 5, Heat 7,” she said. “But it was my 200-meter number. I was standing there and I'm thinking, ‘Wait, there aren't enough girls here for a Heat 7.' And the ones who were there standing around were in
sneakers. I was confused.”
The girls were at the line in “set” position when the official suddenly waived them off and put Segalla into the race.
She promptly popped a 52.96. Amazing.
And now we have a potentially epic battle in three events at the State Open between Segalla and Danbury senior Alanna Smith, who won the 100, 200 and 400 last June and all three events later Tuesday at Willow Brook in the Class LL meet.
Segalla is from Salisbury, the northwesternmost town in Connecticut where Litchfield Country greets the Berkshires. And while there is a certain romance in a kid whooshing in out of nowhere from one of the quiet corners, it would be incorrect to call Sydney Segalla an unknown.
She is an All-State soccer player at Housy. When Boston College announced its strong six-women signing class in November, it was noted Segalla was ranked 99th overall nationally, 33rd overall forward and first overall in the Northeast Region by Top Drawer Soccer. She would go on to pick up two assists in the 2021 All-American Game in Knoxville in December.
Segalla also was a 1,000-point basketball scorer and selected CHSCA Class S All-State.
When the signups for this spring at Housy popped up on her phone, she signed up for track. Athletic director Anne MacNeil explained Sydney actually had registered for outdoor track for three years, but her soccer always conflicted. Signups turned into scratches.
“She told me to make sure this year that she didn’t quit,” MacNeil said. “That she didn’t back out.”
The records will show she didn’t quit.
“My main thing in soccer is speed,” Segalla said. “So I had an idea that I’d be pretty good at track. But I didn’t know I’d could get that time I did in the 400.”
Segalla knows the top soccer players in the state. She doesn’t know Alanna Smith.
“I have seen her stats,” she said.
GameTimeCT Player of the Year for 2021 Outdoor and 2022 Indoor, Smith won the 2021 State Open with times of 12.03 in 100, 24.19 in the 200 and 56.78 in the 400.
On Tuesday, Smith won the 100 (12.13), the 400 (55.65) and the 200 in a meet-record 24.65.
Smith won her 100 prelim in 11.95 with a .4 tailwind, while the finals was run into a 1.4 head wind. Segalla won her prelim in 11.9 with a 2.9 tailwind and again 11.9 in the finals with a 2.0 tailwind.
Smith ran a meet record 24.65 in the Class LL 200 into a 1.5 mph headwind, while Segalla ran a 23.95 with a 4.1 tailwind. Anything above 2.0 is considered wind-aided, so Miller’s 24.47 Class S mark from 2019 stands.
You can look at the wind. You can look at Smith’s experience and argue she may hold off Segalla in the 100 and 200. The 400? What can you say? Smith came in with a 54.94 seed and won in 55.65. Segalla had run a 55.24 and bettered her PR by 2.28 seconds.
“I’m really bad at blocks,” Segalla said. “I’m the last one to come out of the blocks. It’s not until three strides later that I start passing people. The first meet I had no idea what I was doing. I’m definitely going to be working on the blocks this week.
“I think I can go faster (in the 400), especially if someone is right next me. I might use blocks for the 400. I haven’t used them. People think I should.”
Chad Segalla has regularly attended his daughter’s meets this spring. Kimberly, who excelled in the 400 in Illinois in high school, was able to watch Sydney compete in track for the first time Tuesday.
“My dad was off the roof, he was so excited about it,” Sydney said. “On the way to the soccer game, he was chatting up a storm. Last night, he was trying to find my mom’s best time. I’ll let you know if he finds it.”
Precious Holmes went on to run at South Carolina. Alanna Smith is committed to run at Tennessee. Major track schools.
What might Segalla do with this sudden surge on the track?
“I don’t know,” he said. “There is a slight possibility of furthering it, which I’d be interested in if it came along. Right now I’m planning to play soccer at Boston College.”
Her older sister Lauren was a standout soccer player at Housy and later at West Virginia. Ava, who’ll be a freshman at Housy, and Ryan, who’ll be in the eighth grade, both play soccer for CFC. Ava said she’s going to run track, too.
“I really wanted to play soccer in the ACC,” Sydney said. “I really liked the coach (Jason Lowe) and my class is the first one fully recruited by him. Location was important, too. My grandparents and parents can come watch me. Boston is a great place to be.”
Because of COVID, Lauren, who had a redshirt season because of an injury, actually could have played a sixth year. Sydney said she tried to convince her to play for BC, but it was a no go. Lauren is finishing her master’s in psychology.
It’s more than 50 miles from her family home in Salisbury to Bethany for club soccer. We’re talking 75 minutes if traffic and weather is good. Twice a week, games on weekends, more than half the year …
“A lot of hours in the car,” Segalla said. “A lot of homework. A lot of missing stuff because you’re randomly playing teams from New Jersey on the weekend.
“When I first started playing for CFC, we all said where we were from. I told them and everyone said, ‘Where is that?’ No one had any idea.”
They know Sydney Segalla on the soccer pitch in Connecticut.
And come Monday at Willow Brook Park in the State Open they’ll know her on the track, too.