Printer Friendly Version - Girls’ Swimming Extends Winning Record, Volleyball Falls in State Quarters

H-K senior Liv Macaluso placed first and qualified for states in the 100-yard butterfly, as the Shoreline Co-op girls’ swimming and diving team defeated Rocky Hill 102-72 on Oct. 15. Photo courtesy of Alison Karam

H-K volleyball hosted Portland on Oct. 14 and won 3-0. Caley Napoletano had 11 digs, and Ava Mazzotta had 19 assists.

Two days later, the team traveled to Hale Ray and took a 3-2 loss. Lauren Wiese had 14 kills, and Mazzotta had 11. Caiohme Sweeney had five blocks. For digs, Napoletano had 31, Mazzotta had 25, Olivia LaTorre had 22, Grace Natanzon had 21, and Jayani Bennett had 13. Mazzotta had 27 assists.

The Cougars closed out the regular season on Oct. 21, hosting Lyman Memorial and winning 3-0. Napoletano had 22 digs, and Mazzotta had 11 digs and 15 assists.

H-K hosted Morgan in the Shoreline Conference Tournament on Oct. 24 and won 3-0. Wiese had eight kills, and Mazzotta had nine aces. Mazzotta had 16 digs, while Bennett had 12, and LaTorre and Napoletano each had 10. Mazzotta added 17 assists.

The team then played host to Hale Ray in the semifinals on Oct. 26 and lost 3-2. Mazzotta had 13 kills, Wiese had 11, and Bennett had 10. Napoletano recorded 38 digs, Mazzotta had 32, Grace Natanzon had 19, Bennett and Sweeney each had 17, and LaTorre had 11. Mazzotta had 29 assists, and Natanzon had 11.

H-K entered the Class S State Tournament as the No. 4 seed. After receiving a first-round bye, the Cougars hosted No. 13 Montville in the second round on Nov. 6 and won 3-0.

Napoletano and Mazzotta were named to the All-Shoreline Conference First Team this fall. Wiese earned a spot on the Second Team, and Sweeney was an Honorable Mention.

The Shoreline Co-op girls’ swimming and diving team defeated Rocky Hill 102-72 on Oct. 15 to extend its winning record to 5-0. High school swimmers from Haddam-Killingworth, Valley Regional, Lyme-Old Lyme, and Old Saybrook combined to take first and third place in the opening 200-yard medley relay and held the lead for the remainder of the meet.

Prior to Rocky Hill, the team won dual meets against Ledyard (93-76), Windsor Locks (86-84), Suffield (96-65), and Waterford (95-81).

“As proud as I am of the wins, I’m even prouder of how well these girls have come together as a team that supports and encourages each other,” said Head Coach Alison Karam. “This an awesome group of girls in and out of the pool.”

Five team members have already automatically qualified for this year’s state championships: Liv Macaluso (H-K-senior), Claire Johnson (Valley-freshman), Phoebe Spallone (Valley-freshman), Maggie Miller (H-K-junior), and the team’s only diver, Bethany Erkkila (Valley-junior).

Competing for Shoreline Co-Op in the Rocky Hill meet were: Aria Cummings (freshman, H-K), Erkkila, Johnson, Elsa Shatraw (sophomore, H-K), Emma Wakelee (junior, Old Saybrook), Gianna Dabkowski (sophomore, H-K), Lauren Thebeau (freshman, H-K), Maddie Cummins (freshman, Lyme-Old Lyme), Miller, Olive Forristall (sophomore, H-K), Olivia Campo (senior, H-K), Macaluso (senior, H-K), Spallone, Rose Dimmock (junior, Lyme-Old Lyme), Sasha Dziebel (junior, Old Saybrook), Sofia Campo (senior, H-K), Sophia Langer (sophomore, H-K), Veronica Pypa (senior, H-K), and Zi Abbott (sophomore, H-K).

The 200-yard Medley Relay team of Johnson, Sofia Campo, Macaluso, and Dabkowksi took first place, and the team comprised of Shatraw, Forristall, Pypa, and Spallone took third. Miller won the 200 freestyle, and Macaluso qualified for states in the 200 Individual Medley (IM), Forristall took second in that event.

In the 50 freestyle, Dabkowski took first place, Dimmock took second, and Dziebel took third. Erkkila placed first in the diving. In the 100 butterfly, Macaluso placed first and qualified for states, while Johnson qualified for states and placed second. Miller won the 100 freestyle, and Spallone placed third. In the 500 freestyle, Shatraw took second, and Thebeau took third.

The 200 freestyle relay team of Dabkowski, Sofia Campo, Miller, and Macaluso placed first. Their third place counterparts were Dimmock, Wakelee, Dziebel, and Pypa. Spallone won the 100 backstroke and qualified for states, and Johnson placed second. Forristall won the 100 breaststroke, while Sofia Campo took second. In the 400 freestyle relay, the second place team was Miller, Olivia Campo, Spallone, and Johnson. In third place was Shatraw, Thebeau, Dimmock, and Forristall.

H-K boys’ cross country competed in the Shoreline Conference Championship on Oct. 17 at Hammonasset State Park. The team placed second overall, as they lost a tough battle to Hale Ray by a score of 40-52. This was only the Cougars’ second time not winning the team championship in the last 11 years. The boys were led by senior co-captain Jack Cozean, who placed fourth in the race with a time of 15:33 for the flat three-mile course. Following him was junior Dan McCourt in fifth (15:35), as both H-K runners earned First Team All-Conference honors. Next to finish for H-K was junior Cash Smigel in 11th (15:58), sophomore Evan Berardino in 14th (16:11), junior Alex Fredericksen in 18th (16:14), and senior co-captain Matt Lara in 19th (16:16).

In the JV race, the H-K boys’ team dominated the competition, as they scored a mere 17 points to win the team title. They were led by a 1-2-3 finish of freshman Fischer Norton in first (17:04), sophomore Paul Birkmeyer in second (17:09), and sophomore Tyler Traczyk in third (17:48).

Cozean, McCourt, Smigel, Berardino, Fredericksen, and Lara all made the All-Shoreline Conference Team for the Class S state champions.

Several runners found themselves on the All-Shoreline Conference Team for the dominant H-K girls’ cross country team, including Charlotte Behnke, Grace Mitchell, Julia Downing, Amelia Riggs, Keira Sehl-Albert, Delaney Aronson, and Emilia Schweitzer.

H-K football traveled to Coginchaug/East Hampton/Hale Ray on Oct. 25 and won 28-14. Tyler Napierkowski scored on a 51-yard run two plays after recovering a fumble late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

The game was a close affair until Napierkowski's late heroics. H-K led 7-6 at the half, and the score was knotted at 14-14 after three quarters. A critical scoring drive in the fourth quarter proved the difference, as the Cougars moved the ball 72 yards and finished with Napierkowski's one-yard plunge to go ahead for good.

“We were coming off of a long bye week and haven't played in over two weeks,” said H-K Head Coach Tyler Wilcox. “We had to shake off a little rust, and Coginchaug played us tough. So I was pleased that we were able to work through some adversity and come out on top. The way the kids kept working and eventually turned the game in our favor in the second half is a testament to their character.”

The team then hosted Cromwell-Portland on Nov. 1 and took a 34-28 loss. A 64-yard touchdown pass from Michael Sitaro to Jack Nolan in the fourth quarter proved the difference in the come-from-behind win for the co-op of Cromwell/Portland (6-1). Napierkowski led Haddam-Killingworth (5-2) with three rushing touchdowns.

The game was a back-and-forth affair, with Cromwell leading 19-7 early in the second quarter only to have H-K take a 28-19 lead in the third quarter. Even as the Panthers scored on Nolan's go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, the Cougars drove the ball from their own 25-yard line to their opponents' 20-yard line with under four minutes to play. H-K's final drive ended with an incomplete, fourth-down pass with a minute left.

“The outcome was disappointing, but the effort was not,” said Wilcox after the game. “We fell behind by two scores early, and the kids could have packed it in that point, but they didn't. They fought hard to the end against one of the best teams in the conference and came up just a bit short. We've got more football to play this season, so I'm confident they'll rebound.”

On Nov. 9, the Cougars traveled to Windsor Locks Suffield East Granby and won 41-6. Ryan Rafferty scored two touchdowns, including an 80-yard pass reception and a one-yard run, and intercepted two passes to lead the Cougars.

H-K took control of the game in the second quarter by scoring on three consecutive possessions and taking a 28-0 lead into halftime. The Cougars essentially put the game away the first time they touched the ball in the second half with Napierkowski's 49-yard touchdown run. Also scoring for H-K were Gunnar Howes (twice) and Joseph Slane.

"We took a little time in the first quarter to get our legs under us, but we were firing on all cylinders after that," said Wilcox. “Now we have to take the momentum into our final two games of the season.”

Wilcox noted Riley Schipritt's heads-up play right before halftime when he knocked down a pass on a Windsor Locks' fake punt deep in their own end. The Cougars took over and scored on the last play of the second quarter to set the tone for the rest of the game.

Ava Ramino was named to the All-Shoreline Conference First Team for H-K field hockey. Della Krete-Cacase, Peyton McDonald, and Chloe Engler were named to the Second Team, and Madalynn Catalano was an Honorable Mention.

Jordan Duncanson earned a spot on the All-Shoreline Conference Second Team this fall for H-K girls’ soccer, and Payton Rich was an Honorable Mention.

Seraphin Merriam and Tetsuya Imai landed on the All-Shoreline Conference First Team for H-K boys’ soccer. Tristen Edwards earned Second Team honors, and Michael Perry was an Honorable Mention.