Winter Sports Wrap-Up

Rocky Hill's Lilah Devine, Elizabeth Stockman, Victoria Bowers and Annie White shined on the local tracks and also combined for 3rd place in the distance medley at the Eastern States Championships in New York on Feb 20

Thanks to several nor’easters, which rocked Connecticut for a majority of March, the winter sports season was literally a blur. Once the dust---err---snow settled it ended up being one of the most entertaining and successful local seasons to date. Here’s a look back at a snowy season that was.  

Boys Basketball
Cromwell won the Division V state championship, defeating Wamogo 58-40 at Mohegan Sun on March 17. Noah Budzik led all scorers with 22 points in the victory, ending his senior season averaging a team-high 15.7 points per game. Budzik and fellow senior Reese Reyes (9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds) were named all-state following the program’s first title since 2009.

Rocky Hill back-pedaled into the Division IV tournament before steamrolling their way to the championship game with four road victories over higher-seeded teams. The Terriers fell to Kolbe Cathedral in the title game, but the team gave the locals a real life underdog story and earned the much-deserved name of Road Dawgs. Senior Andrew DiMatteo solidified the middle all season, earning all-state honors.

Wethersfield won 16 of 20 regular season games and a tournament game before falling to Glastonbury in the Division II quarterfinals. Mike Mozzicato earned all-state recognition following a very productive senior season.       

Girls Basketball
Wethersfield won 14 regular season games and added three tourney wins, including a thrilling 71-69 overtime victory over East Lyme in the Class L quarterfinals. Nicole Gwynn posted a triple-double (15 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) in the quarterfinals victory and the Eagles drained 15 three-pointers as a team. The Eagles were eventually ousted by Farmington in the semifinals but will return three starters next season.

Rocky Hill earned their first ever trip to the semifinals, winning 16 regular season games and three more Class M tournament games, including a historic 55-42 home victory over Stonington in the quarterfinals. All-state selection Nikki Lukens reached the 1000-point career mark in a gut-wrenching semifinal loss to East Haven.  

Cromwell won the Shoreline Conference championship, defeating Coginchaug 55-51 in title bout, following a 17-win regular season. The Panthers also won in the opening round of Class M action, but were upset in the second round by Career. Jenna Serrantino led the team in scoring, averaging over 17 points per game and earning all-state honors during her senior season.

Gymnastics
Wethersfield finished fourth in the Class M state finals at Pomperaug in late February. Madison Bradbury led the way for the Eagles, including posting an impressive 8.925 score in the floor exercise. Erin Nargi, Abby Sullivan, Sarah Gordon, and Jessica Pratt also performed at the event.
Bradbury and Sullivan went on to compete in the State Open on March 3. Bradbury placed 23rd overall, posting an 8.6 in the uneven bars to finish 12th in the event.

Ice Hockey
Newington co-op won 13 regular season games to qualify for the Division III tourney.  The Indians then defeated Housatonic-NW-Wamogo 3-2 in overtime to win in the opening round. Matt Lavoie scored the game-winning goal in the extra session, while Kyle Bucher and Ethan Ranger netted goals in regulation. The team fell in the second round to Southington. Ranger, who had a team-high 30 points, and goalie David Mix earned all-state honors. 

Following a 12-win regular season, co-op Wethersfield/Middletown/Rocky Hill/Plainville also won their opening round game in Division III, downing Brookfield/Bethel/Danbury 7-2.  Junior Ben Mroczka tallied a hat trick and freshman Aaron Cholewa added another goal and two assists. Trevor Piecewicz, who tallied a team-high 40 points, and defenseman Cameron Partridge, who had 224 steals, were selected to the all-state team.

Indoor Track
Rocky Hill sophomore Elizabeth Stockman continues to outrun the competition. Stockman won the 3200 meters at the Open Finals on Feb 17 at Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven. At the same event, Stockman combined with Lilah Devine, Annie White, and Maren Valente for a fourth-place finish in the 4x800 relay.

As a team, the Terriers finished at the runner-ups at the Class M championships in early February. Stockman won both the 1600 and 3200 meters at the event, while Devine, White, Valente, and Talia Carlone finished second in the 4x800. Victoria Bower also had a third-place showing in the 300 meter.

Cromwell’s Andraya Yearwood won the 55 meter dash and finished as the runner-up in the 300 meters at the Class S finals.

In the Class L finals, Middletown’s Garrett Dandridge won the 55 meters, while Wethersfield’s George Stoughton won both the long and high jumps.

Swimming
Wethersfield finished third overall at the Class M finals. Blake Fulton won the 100 freestyle and finished as the runner-up in the 100 backstroke. The senior joined forces with Caleb Skowronek, Austin Bovino, and Holden Hoon for a second place finish in the 200 medley relay, and a third place showing in the 400 freestyle relay with Skowronek, Hoon, and Shane Bresnahan.
Freshman Hadden Gault finished as second overall in the diving competition.

Wrestling
Wethersfield placed sixth overall at the Class L finals thanks to five top-five placements. Alec Arnold finished second in the 160 pound weight class, falling to Bristol Eastern’s Michael Barrett in the championship match. Austin Harnish (195) finished third, Michelangelo Bolorin (138) finished fourth, and Matthew Laurie (126) finished fifth.

At the same event, Middletown’s Elijah Cyr placed fifth in the 106 pound division.

In Class S action, Rocky Hill’s Thomas Dimatteo (220) took home fifth place.

Cheer/Dance
Wethersfield’s cheer team won the CCC-North and also posted a score of 142.7 to place 12th in the Class L championships.

Cromwell cheerleaders finished 7th in the Class S final, finishing with an overall score of 131.1.

Wethersfield’s dance team finished as the runner-up in the Pom Division at the state competition in Hamden on Feb 24. The host Green Dragons edged the Eagles to take the title.

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