Girls’ Swimming and Diving

The Haddam-Killingworth girls’ swimming and diving team capped off its regular season by earning an 87-46 win over Suffield in a home meet on Nov. 2. The Cougars finished their dual-meet campaign with an overall record of 6-3 after claiming first place in every event during last week’s meet against Suffield at H-K High School.

Senior captain Kristen Thebeau qualified for states in the 100-yard backstroke by winning the event with a time of 1:08.83 for H-K versus Suffield. Thebeau also took first place in the 100 freestyle at the meet. Sophomore Liv Macaluso crushed her previous state-qualifying time in the 100 butterfly by posting a mark of 1:08.86 in a victorious performance.

Senior captain Jo Houska delivered first-place finishes in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley for the Cougars. Freshman Maggie Miller won both the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle. Junior Peyton Tyler earned first place in the 50 freestyle to help H-K prevail.

The Cougars swept all three relay events on their way to the win. H-K received first-place performances from its 200 freestyle relay of junior Emma Sajus, Houksa, Miller, and junior Layla Hayward; the 200 medley relay of Thebeau, Houska, Sajus, and Macaluso; and the 400 freestyle relay featuring Miller, Hayward, Sajus, and Macaluso.

The other athletes who contributed to H-K’s victory versus Suffield were senior Aleysha Braw-ley, sophomore Olivia Campo, sophomore Sofia Campo, and sophomore VV Pypa.

H-K will be participating in the Class S State Championship this week. The Class S Diving Championship will be held at Sheehan High School at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9; the Swimming Trials are on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. at the Cheshire Community Pool; and the Class S Swimming Championship will be held at Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m.

Field Hockey

The Haddam-Killingworth field hockey team qualified for the Class S State Tournament by claiming a victory over Wamogo in its regular-season finale last week. On Nov. 3, the Cougars hosted Wamogo and won the contest by a 1-0 score to solidify their place in states. H-K completed its regular season with an overall record of 6-8-1-1.

H-K is the No. 20 seed in the Class S bracket and will face No. 13 seed Westbrook-Old Lyme in the qualifying round on Monday, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. at Westbrook High School. With a victory, the Cougars would move on to play at No. 4 seed Immaculate in a first-round game on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. A win there would send H-K to the quarterfinal round on Thursday, Nov. 10.

The Class S state semifinals are being played on Tuesday, Nov. 15 and Wednesday, Nov. 16. The state final will be hosted at Wethersfield High School on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Girls’ Volleyball

The Haddam-Killingworth girls’ volleyball team faced Valley Regional in the quarterfinals of the Shoreline Conference Tournament last week. The Cougars took a defeat against Valley in the matchup to put their overall record at 13-8 entering the Class S State Tournament.

On Nov. 1, No. 5 seed and two-time defending champion H-K traveled to Deep River to play No. 4 seed Valley Regional in a Shoreline Conference Tournament semifinal match. The Warriors won the contest by a 3-1 final behind set scores of 25-15, 25-17, 20-25, 25-19.

Junior Reese Timothy posted 16 assists to go with 10 kills, 3 blocks, and 3 digs for H-K in the contest. Senior Kaleigh Bodak had 16 assists with 6 kills and 3 aces, while junior Samantha Minickene finished the match with 9 kills, 7 digs, and 6 aces.

Senior Payton Yazmer recorded 9 digs and also had 9 kills for the Cougars. Junior Annabelle Zajac had 5 digs, and sophomore Caley Napoletano punched up 4 digs in the matchup.

H-K now gets ready to play in the Class S State Tournament as the No. 13 seed. The Cougars are hosting No. 20 seed Wright Tech in the first round on Monday, Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. and, with a win, would advance to play at No. 4 seed East Hampton for a second-round match on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m.

The Class S quarterfinals are on Friday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. The semis take place on Tuesday, Nov. 15; and the state final will be played at East Haven High School on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Girls’ Cross Country

On the heels of claiming its third-straight Class SS state title, the Haddam-Killingworth girls’ cross country team competed in the State Open Championship hosted at Wickham Park in Manchester on Nov. 4. H-K finished in 11th place as a squad by totaling a score of 253 points at the Open.

Freshman Grace Mitchell led the Cougars’ pack by finishing in 41st place at the State Open Championship. Mitchell ran a time of 20:51 on her way to taking 41st place for H-K. Mitchell had previously finished in second place at both the Shoreline Conference Championship (19:07) and the Class SS State Championship (20:26), helping the Cougars finish first as a team at both meets.

Senior Isabel Berardino claimed 46th place for the Cougars in the State Open. Berardino timed in with a mark of 20:58 en route to her 46th-place performance.

Junior Sydney Adelberg finished in 89th place (22:08) while representing H-K at the Open. Freshman Delaney Aronson finished in 91st place (22:21), and sophomore Keira Sehl-Albert came in 96th place (22:16). Senior Chloe Lacoss finished in 145th place (23:37), while fellow senior Kira O’Brien finished in 156th place (23:57) for the Cougars.

Boys’ Cross Country

The Haddam-Killingworth boys’ cross country team was represented by a pair of athletes at last week’s State Open Championship meet. Sophomore Jack Cozean and senior Alex Lara hit the trails for the Cougars when the State Open took place at Wickham Park on Nov. 4.

Cozean finished in 112th place for H-K at the State Open Championship. Cozean recorded a time of 18:04 on his way to placing 112th on behalf of the Cougars.

Lara ran his way to a 138th-place finish in the State Open. Lara crossed the finish line with a mark of 18:37 to finish in 138th for the race.

Football

The Haddam-Killingworth football team hit the road to play the undefeated Sport & Medical Sciences Academy co-op squad on Oct. 4. The Cougars took a 34-9 defeat in the contest at Rockville High School and now have an overall record of 4-4 on the year.

SMSA scored held a 12-0 lead over H-K after the first quarter and was up 20-0 at halftime. The Tigers added two touchdowns in third quarter to bring a 34-3 lead into the fourth on their way to improving to 8-0 this year.

Senior Tate Callender scored H-K’s touchdown in the game and also had an interception on defense. Junior Wyatt Solosky kicked a field goal for the Cougars.

SMSA used a 57-yard touchdown run to score the first points of the night in the opening quarter. The Tigers later hit on a 56-yard TD pass for a 12-0 advantage through one. SMSA went on to score on a 5-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to bring a 20-0 advantage into intermission.

SMSA returned the opening kickoff of the second half for an 81-yard touchdown to go up 28-0. Later in the period, the Tigers connected on a 52-yard TD pass to make it 34-0.

Solosky put the Cougars on the board when he hit a 37-yard field goal during the third quarter. Solosky’s kick put the score at 34-3 entering the fourth.

Callender rushed for a 4-yard touchdown for H-K in fourth quarter. SMSA stopped the Cougars on the 2-point run and ultimately won the contest by a 34-9 score.

H-K is currently in the No. 9 spot for the Class S State Playoff rankings in which the top eight clubs qualify. The Cougars will finish their regular season with three-straight home games. H-K is hosting Coventry-Windham Tech-Bolton-Lyman on Friday, Nov. 11; Capital-Achievement on Friday, Nov. 18; and Valley Regional-Old Lyme in the annual tussle for the Principal’s Cup on Tuesday, Nov. 22. All three matchups kick off at 6:30 p.m.

Girls’ Soccer

The Haddam-Killingworth girls’ soccer team is opening play in the Class M State Tournament this week.

The 15th-seeded Cougars, who have an overall record of 8-5-2, are hosting No. 18 seed Norwich Tech-Holy Family for a first-round game on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. With a win, H-K would move on to face the winner of No. 2 seed HMTCA and No. 31 Lewis Mills in the second round on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m.

The Class M state quarterfinals are being played on Friday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. The semifinals will take place from Tuesday, Nov. 15 to Thursday, Nov. 17; and the Class M state championship game is being hosted at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford on either Saturday, Nov. 19 or Sunday, Nov. 20.

Boys’ Soccer

The Haddam-Killingworth boys’ soccer team will be competing in the Class S State Tournament that gets underway this week.

H-K, which has an overall mark of 7-7-1, is playing a first-round road game versus No. 12 seed Bolton in the state bracket on Monday, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. If the Cougars prevail, they will face the winner of No. 5 seed Old Saybrook and No. 28 Westbrook in the second round on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m.

The Class S quarterfinals are on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 2 p.m.; and the semis will take place from Tuesday, Nov. 15 to Thursday, Nov. 17. The Class S state final is being played at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford on either Saturday, Nov. 19 or Sunday, Nov. 20.