If You Say You can, You will, So Says Samantha Coimin

Over the course of two days Samantha Coimin accomplished an ecstatic adrenaline filled 48 hours by participating in the 2023 Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) Girls Heptathlon and graduating from Bunnell High School.

Coimin, in only her second year as a track and field athlete, was determined to qualify and enter the heptathlon at the conclusion of the 2022 outdoor track and field season. The inquisitive athlete perfected her craft with summer and fall training sessions in 2022.

While she garnered several medals in the both the South West Conference and CIAC track and field finals in 2022 she wanted more in 2023 and beyond.

That goal was achieved in 2023 during the indoor season where she placed second in the Long Jump Event in the SWC and was a top 15 finisher state wide.

In the 2023 Outdoor SWC finals she achieved a 3rd place finish in the Long Jump Event, 2nd place in the Triple Jump Event, and a 4th place finish as part of a 4X100 Relay team.

The Class L finals were on May 31st where she took 5th place in the Triple Jump Event which automatically qualified her for the CIAC State Open in the Triple Jump.

In the State Open, on June 5th, she finished 12th out of a field of 25.

Coimin now had 7 days to train for the seven event heptathlon being held on June 13th which was also the day she was scheduled to be part of the 2023 Bunnell High School graduation commencement.

Heavy rains moved the graduation from the 12th to June 13th.

Facing a tough decision Coimin traveled north with her coaches, Coach Ken Poisson and Coach Barbara Poisson, to New Britain's Veterans Park where she put it on the line. She was not going to waste the hard work, the training, or the goal she set and the will to participate in the heptathlon.

There was also the chance she could be back in time to join her classmates for the graduation ceremony.

Tuesday's action started at 10:00 am with Coimin opening her heptathlon quest in the 100 Meter High Hurdle Event. Coimin took the 29th spot with a time of 18.67 seconds and 422 points in the point scoring system.

The second event for Coimin on the day was the High Jump Event. She took the 8th spot and 544 points.

The third event was the Shot Put Event where she took the 19th spot and 322 points.

The fourth and final event on the day where she took the 4th spot and 747 points was in the 200 Meter Dash.

At the end of day one Coimin was 16th overall.

Now Coimin was heading home to get ready and be on time for the awarding of her high school diploma. As the saying goes, "It's all in a day's work". Coimin would not have it any other way.

Coimin is set to attend Southern Connecticut University this fall and will be competing for a spot on their track and field team.

The interesting thing about Coimin is she started out in track and field in her junior year with the indoor team and took a liking to the sport. Athleticism seems to be a natural fit for her as she has excelled with each of the four short seasons she was involved in.

After the ceremony was over it became a short night's rest and back up to New Britain at 6:00 am for an 8:00 start.

On Wednesday the remaining three events could move Coimin up in the standings especially with one of the events being the Long Jump. It was the first event of the day.

In the Long Jump Event, Coimin raked in 530 more points with a 16-oo.50 jump and a 4th place finish.

The second event of the day was the Javelin Throw Event. Coimin picked up 235 more points and a 21st place finish.

The third and final event was the grueling 800 Meter Race to conclude the day and the heptathlon for Coimin. She took the 14th spot and 563 more points for a two day total of 3373.

With the 3373 total in points she moved up to the 13th spot overall and to top it off she had personal bests in 5 out of the 7 events. That's quite a statement made for a goal she set.

Coimin's brief high school career is now over but keep and eye out for her name as she looks to go from a Bulldog to an Owl and an exciting college career.