GOOD Morning Wilton features Wilton High School sports results and updates, provided by the WHS Athletic Department, including write-ups from coaches, teams and boosters. Scores and results are also compiled from CIAC and FCIAC when available. Additional materials of interest can be submitted to GMW for consideration submitted via email. 

The following report contains updates from May 13-19. Any results from contests after those dates will be reported in the next update.

Message from the Athletic Director

Hello Warrior Nation!

Here we are finishing the final week of the regular season and the start of the FCIAC tournament. Congratulations to the boys and girls tennis teams, the boys and girls lacrosse teams, and the boys and girls track and field teams, for qualifying for the FCIAC tournament and the CIAC tournaments. Baseball still has a chance for a spot in the FCIAC tournament, and girls golf is sitting in fifth place. If all goes well they will also both be in the FCIAC tournament. We wish all the student-athletes and coaches the best of luck.

Finally, congratulations to Elijah Ackerman and Amelia Hughes for being awarded the 2022 CIAC Scholar-Athlete Award.

Baseball

Wilton 1-Trumbull 7: Max Jarvie had an RBI double for Wilton, which dropped to 10-8.

Wilton 2-Darien 1: Cole Silvia and Jarvie had two hits each for the Warriors. Mike Fischetti had the winning hit with an RBI double in the fifth inning. Griffin Turner got the win for Wilton, raising the team’s record to 11-8.

Wilton 1-St. Joseph’s 7: Chris Calderone, David Cox, Fischetti and Tim Carbanaro had hits for Wilton. Wilton’s record dropped to 11-9. The next game is the CIAC Tournament at a time and place to be determined.

Softball

Wilton 1-Darien 16: Grace DiBuono-Krafick drove in Kat Costanzo with an RBI double in the fourth inning.

Wilton 0-St. Joseph’s 6: Sophomore pitcher Sadie Klyver had seven strikeouts for the Warriors, and junior Avery Samai had six putouts and one assist on defense at shortstop.

The Warriors now await the brackets for the state tournament to be released Friday, May 27, with tournament play scheduled to begin on Tuesday, May 31.

Boys Lacrosse

The boys varsity lacrosse team ended the regular season with two more victories and a final regular-season record of 13-3. On Saturday, May 14, the Warriors had a convincing win over Greenwich, 9-3, due in large part to the spectacular play of senior goalie Colin Lenskold. Offensively, Charlie Johnson led the scoring with three goals and an assist, with Charlie Rath (2 G’s, 1 A) and Ben Calabrese (1 G, 2 A’s) each tallying three points.

The last regular-season game against St. Joseph’s ended 13-11 after Wilton’s usually stingy defense uncharacteristically gave up five straight goals at the end of the game after building a 13-6 lead. Wilton’s attack of Mike Wall (2 G’s, 3 A’s), Johnson (2 G’s, 3 A’s) and Calabrese (3 G’s, 1 A) and midfielder Caleb Rath (2G’s, 2 A’s) provided most of the offense. In the fourth quarter, close defender Jake Sommer cleared the ball down the field twice and scored two goals. Spencer Liston put in a strong performance at the FO “X” with 20 wins.

On Saturday, May 21, Wilton opened the FCIAC tourney with a dominant win over rival New Canaan, 9-5. Wilton’s two-way middies Caleb and Charlie Rath each scored twice and, short-stick defensive midfielder George Hand added two goals. Once again, Lenskold was a brick wall making 11 saves.

Wilton defeated Staples 7-6 in the FCIAC semifinals on Tuesday, May 24. The no. 3-seeded Warriors will take on top-seed Darien on Saturday, May 28 at 11 a.m. at Brien McMahon.

The JV boys lacrosse team won both games last week. The Warriors found themselves tied at the half 4-4 against a very good Greenwich Cardinals team. Defensively the Warriors played great and kept the team in the game as the offense fought to overcome its first instance of a frustrating zone. In what turned out to be the best performance of the year, the team came out red hot in the second half, dominating on all aspects of the game and winning 10-4.

The last game of the year against St. Joe’s was delayed and switched back to a home game. The Warriors picked up where they left off, never allowing the Cadets to get into the game, and won 11-1.

The Wilton freshman boys lacrosse team has a record of five wins and six losses as it wound up the season with an away game against Ridgefield on Friday, May 20. In prior games Wilton lost to Fairfield Ludlowe, 7-10, and New Canaan, 3-9. and defeated Greenwich, 9-3. Leading the offense in recent games were Joey Hagerty, Liam McKiernan, Emmett Kane, Connor Buchichio and Luke Ginsburg. The defense has been led by Jack Schwartz, Tanner Schmauch, Henry Soojian, Henry Magnum and goalie Liam Porter.

Girls Lacrosse

It’s a great time to be a Wilton Warrior. All three girls lacrosse teams are wrapping up their regular seasons with great records.

The JV and freshman teams concluded their seasons last week. To close out the season the freshmen beat New Canaan 9-6 and Ridgefield 13-5. The freshman team has made tremendous improvement throughout this season. The JV team had a dominant performance against St. Joe’s, holding them to a shutout, 18-0. In the team’s last game Wilton fell short to New Canaan, 8-16, but played strong and hard.

The varsity team finished out its regular season with a dominant win against St. Joe’s, 19-8. They entered their post-season with intensity, focus, and fire chasing both the FCIAC and State Championships. The Warriors faced off against Ludlowe for their FCIAC Quarterfinal game and won 15-0. They played a dominant 50 minutes of Wilton Lacrosse and had eight different goal contributors: Addison Patillo, Molly Snow, Ashleigh Masterson, Jemma Peterkin, Lucy Corry, Ellie Coffey, Bel DiNanno, and Morgan Lebek. The defensive unit was strong and Amelia Hughes went 6-6 (saves and shots). The Warriors were fired up for their next game on Monday, May 23 as they played in the FCIAC Semifinals against the New Canaan Rams at Norwalk High School, but came up short, 6-15.

They’re now getting ready for the State Tournament.

Boys Tennis

Warriors sweep Ludlowe, 7-0. Team improved to 12-4.

  • Captain Dylan Koziol continued his winning ways 6-0, 6-
  • Akhil Vallabhajosula rolled 6-1, 6-2 to quiet his hecklers
  • Jackson Carbonier looked in top form winning 6-0, 6-1
  • Owen Dyer was too much for his opponent, winning 8-3
  • Captain Sam Gioffre and Alex Reyes controlled the net and won 6-3, 6-2 to improve to 13-2 overall this season. Fun to watch!
  • Nikolai Naydenov and Jonathan Yerrall displayed great teamwork, cruising 6-1, 6-1
  • Harry Becraft and Peter Reyes came back from 2-5 down to win 8-5. They are starting to create good chemistry together.

Wilton 7-Trumbull 0: Warriors wrap up the regular season with another sweep to end 13-4 (11-4 FCIAC)

  • Koziol played some great tennis, taking out his opponent 6-4, 6-1
  • Vallabhajosula won the battle from the baseline, mixing up great drop shots to win 6-0, 6-2
  • Carbonier rolled on, not missing much 6-0, 6-0
  • Dyer took care of business 6-2, 6-0
  • Naydenov and Yerrall won 6-1, 6-1 ending the season with an impressive 13-1 record.
  • Becraft and Peter Reyes rolled 6-0, 6-1, playing better and better each match.
  • Seniors Pamir Canan and Reuben Jha gave the crowd something to cheer about with some amazing tennis. 6-4, 6-0

Warriors fall to Westhill 2-5 in FCIAC quarterfinals: On a beautiful spring day, the Warriors traveled to Westhill for an FCIAC battle.

  • Koziol won in a battle from the baseline. He wore down his opponent winning 6-4, 6-3
  • Vallabhajosula fell 2-6, 1-6. He battled, but in the end, his opponent was too consistent for him.
  • Carbonier got off to a slow start, losing 1-6, before playing some great tennis in the second set. Was down 1-4, and came back to 4-4, before losing 4-6.
  • Dyer lost in a tight match 5-7, 3-6. He was playing some of the best tennis of the season. Gotta tip your hat to his opponent, who hit big shots on big points.
  • Gioffre and Alex Reyes won the first set 7-6 (4), before losing 5-7, 4-6. Tremendous net play from both teams; amazing defense and great energy. Westhill hit some winners on lots of big points in the third set to pull off the upset.
  • Naydenov and Yerrall continued their winning ways 7-5, 6-2 against a tough team.
  • Becraft and Peter Reyes were leading in the third set when the match was decided.

Next up, the state tournament starts Friday, May 27.

Girls Tennis

The Warriors started FCIAC week facing Westhill in the first round. After a rain delay, the Warriors battled Westhill on their home courts on Tuesday. After a tough fight, the team sadly lost 2-5, with wins secured by Annie Caldwell and Olivia Newfield on Doubles 1 and Abbey Byrnes and Phoebe Snow on Doubles 3. The Warriors are now preparing for the first round of states on Friday, May 27.

Girls Golf

The busiest week of the Wilton girls golf season is in the books! Senior captain Samhita Kakarlapudi, freshman Saanvi Kakarlapudi, junior Olivia Mannino, sophomore Maddie Levi, junior Keerthi Vijay and junior Ella Christ continued to lower the team’s scoring average in spite of New Canaan breaking their four-match FCIAC win streak. It should be noted that Mannino and Levi had career weeks for the Warriors and will look to continue to chase the stellar play of the Kakarlapudi sisters into the final week of the regular season.

Monday, May 16 vs. New Canaan: L 174-156, -18 strokes, FCIAC

If Coach Waack was not a superb golf professional and girls golf coach, he would have had a great career as a weatherman. The Warriors not only held their match when most, if not all, other Wilton games, matches and events were canceled due to forecasted severe weather, they completed it in sunshine without a single drop of rain falling. As for the match itself, the Warriors played much better during their second match against New Canaan than their first, improving the team score by 14 strokes and improving the stroke differential by 10. Even though this match will be officially recorded as a loss, it actually helped Wilton improve in the state rankings.

Tuesday, May 17 at Fairfield Ludlowe: W 202-233, +31 strokes, FCIAC

Coach Waack and the Warriors retained the Waack Star in the second and final iteration of the cutest match in the FCIAC this season! This win gets Coach Waack back to .500 (5-5) all-time against daughter Lindsay and Fairfield Ludlowe. This match was not nearly the nail-biter that the first match of the season was. This could be attributed to senior captain Samhita Kakarlapudi’s return to the lineup — she did not play in the first match against Ludlowe on April 13 due to an illness. This time, she was co-medalist with her younger sister Saanvi; both players shot 45s beating the Ludlowe no. 1 and 2 players by 7 and 14 strokes, respectively. Levi and Mannino, interestingly enough, also tied, shooting 51s and beating their Ludlowe opponents by 12 strokes each.

Junior Varsity Tuesday, May 17 at Darien (JV)

Sophomore Karolina Bukowski, and freshmen Annalise Lamanna, Jess McLaughlin and Winnie Quigg made their debuts for the Warriors at Wee Burn Country Club in Darien.

Thursday, May 19 vs. Staples (FCIAC): L 157-170, -13

The Warriors were not intimidated by the top-ranked Division I girls program in the state. Although Wilton dropped the match, they submitted the best team score of the season, 170, two strokes better than their previous season-best of 172. This match also had the lowest stroke differential in a loss, 13, for the season. The Kakarlapudi sisters tied yet again, shooting 38s, good enough for tri-medalist honors with Kathleen Coffey of Staples. Senior Samhita Kakarlapudi was inches from winning the medalist honors outright and shooting a 35, narrowly missing an ace on the par 3 first hole (playing as the eighth hole of the day due to a shotgun start that saw the 1s and 2s starting the round on the third hole).

CORRECTION: The April 14 match against Trumbull, originally reported as Non-FCIAC, has been counted as an FCIAC match. Wilton only played Trumbull once this season, therefore the match must count towards Wilton’s overall FCIAC record. The FCIAC record at the top of the section has been corrected and is accurate.

The Fairway Ahead: The Warriors have their last regular season match on Thursday, May 26 and will look to cap off their season with a win against Danbury. Most importantly, the program will celebrate its only senior, captain Samhita Kakarlapudi, after the match during #Samhitanight.

Last but not least, please give a golf clap to the following Warriors:

Junior Virginia Hastings committed to Bucknell University at the end of last week and will be a member of the Bison Swim and Dive team. Congratulations Virginia!
Levi shot a career-low 47 on Monday, May 16 against New Canaan. Congratulations Maddie! Mannino shot back-to-back career lows — 52 against New Canaan and 51 against Ludlowe at Smith Richardson, a more difficult course (rated 35.6) than Silvermine (rated 30.3). Congratulations Olivia!

Track & Field

Wilton girls track and field defeated Ridgefield 78-66 and the boys won as well, 96-49. The girls finished with a record of 6-1, the boys 4-3.

Winners:

  • Girls: Ava Partenza 100m; Larsen Burke 200m; Emily Mrakovcic 800m; Lia Lombardi 1600m; Grace Guglielmo 3200m; Sophia Viggiano High Jump and Javelin; and Vivien Latt Pole Vault.
  • Boys: Garrett Bouvier 100m 200m; Garrett Moe 400m; Anderson Campbell 110m HH; Levi Francia 300m IH; Ryan Johnson Long Jump, High Jump, and Triple Jump; and Jack Santosky Pole Vault; additionally the boys won the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.

Friday night, May 20 turned out to be a dream for a trio of Wilton athletes who competed at the Dream Invitational at Danbury High School.

  • The top performance of the evening came from senior Emily Mrakovcic, who won the girls mile in 5:02.20, a personal best by almost four seconds and tantalizingly close to the five-minute barrier that many consider the demarcation line of elite high school girls. She’ll have a chance to get under that mark Monday on her home track at the FCIAC Girls Track & Field Championships.
  • The other Wilton winner in the evening was fellow senior Ryan Johnson, who won the long jump in 20′ 7.5″, more than two feet better than his nearest competitor. He’ll hope to repeat that dominance Tuesday on the same runway when he competes in the FCIAC Championships.
  • Malcolm McCormick was the third Wilton runner to compete in the Dream, placing second in the boys mile in a personal best 5:24.41. He’ll join Johnson and a dozen other Warriors at Danbury Tuesday for the league meet.