GOOD Morning Wilton is fortunate to feature Wilton High School sports photos taken by Gretchen McMahon Photography, who shot all images unless otherwise noted. GMW is now teaming up with the WHS Athletic Department for results and updates, including write-ups from coaches, teams and boosters (special thanks to Chris MacDougal and Lynne Prescott). Additional materials of interest can be submitted to GMW for consideration submitted via our “Submit a Story” link. Scores and results are also compiled from CIAC and FCIAC when available.
Editor’s note: We were unable to run this earlier in the week due to a GMW scheduling issue. This update was filed Friday morning, Oct. 15; we hope to have another more recent update early next week.
News from the Athletic Director
Hello Warrior Nation! Veterans Memorial Stadium and Fujitani Field are open! A huge thank you goes out to Shaw Sports Turf and Cape & Islands Tennis & Track contractors for all their hard work during the restoration process of our two turf fields. Thank you to Wilton Parks and Recreation and First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice for their constant communication and leadership during this project. And a huge thank you to the coaches, players and parents of the Wilton community for their patience while we navigate through this project. We are now fully open and all of our turf fields are in excellent condition.
Congratulations to the Boys Golf team, who was named the FCIAC runner-up this week at our first Fall FCIAC Golf Tournament. Also a big congratulations to Alex Elia, for being named FCIAC Player of the Year.
We have nearly completed five weeks of competition, and the Warriors are still going strong as we move closer and closer to the FCIAC and CIAC tournaments. Currently, our varsity sports teams have 67 wins, 23 losses, and 11 ties. Please continue to come out to the games and support our student-athletes and remember to cheer for Wilton, not against the opponent.
Boys and Girls Cross Country
The Wilton boys cross country team, assured of a winning season, traveled to Tod’s Point in Old Greenwich in search of a few more victories to fatten their record. On a balmy October afternoon, they were able to notch one more win, shutting out St. Joe’s 15-50 but falling to Danbury, 23-32, and the host Cardinals, 26-30. Mikey Byrnes led the Warriors, placing second in 16:19 for the 3-mile seaside layout. Senior captain Malcolm McCormick was next in sixth, 37 seconds back, and the Wilton pack led by sophomore Alex Cohen, in his highest team placing of the season, took places 12-15 to round out the scoring.
The team looked toward the FCIAC championship races at New Canaan’s Waveny Park on Wednesday, Oct. 20.
Wilton Girls Cross Country ventured down to Tod’s Point in Greenwich for a quad meet with the host Cardinals, Danbury and St. Joseph. Wilton was bested by a strong Greenwich team 20-40, but beat Danbury 20-41 and St Joe’s 15-50. Emily Mrakovcic continued to rebound from injury, coming in second overall behind Danbury’s Stephanie Quirioz. Other varsity scorers for the Warriors were Sasha Langholm, Jane Hughes, Lia Lombardi, and Lucie Prior. Other contributors were Joy Ren and Mya Salvino. The course wound near the shore of Long Island Sound and through the trails surrounding the old Gatsbyesque property.
Field Hockey
On Thursday, Oct. 14, Wilton hosted Fairfield Warde in the team’s first home game of the season. The Warriors came out ready to play and ready for a win. Maintaining possession for most of the game allowed for goals from Riley Fitzgerald, Sammy Slough (2), Catherine Costanzo, Halley Costello and Abby Dolan. It feels good to have a home field again and it showed during the game. The Warriors were able to shut out the Mustangs 6-0 and add to their record making it 5-2-3.
The team celebrates its seniors at Fujitani Field on Monday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m., just before taking on Branford.
The Wilton JV Field Hockey Team extended its winning streak with a win Thursday evening, Oct. 14, on the newly reopened Fujitani Turf versus Fairfield Warde. The Warriors in pink socks gained another shutout with a commanding 9-0 win under the lights and a supportive hometown crowd. The team has scored an impressive 53 goals.
The team dominated early with heavy pressure from the forward line. First-quarter goals came from Molly Kaeyer, Paige Leung and Ella Christ, who scored her second goal of the season on a penalty stroke whipped past the Warde goalkeeper. The remainder of the game was beautiful to watch and the team tallied another six goals coming from Ella McCormack, Molly Hancock (2), Leung and Maddie Dineen.
The team has become a well-oiled machine with strength from all lines and they play a gorgeous passing game with the ability to defend, transition, possess and finish. While the offense and midfield have been dangerous on the attacking side, the stalwart defense with Christ, Catharine Walsh, Samira Ayoub and Maddie O’Neill has been almost impenetrable. The midfield quietly controls the game with Mary Sylvester, Leung, Kaeyer, Mia Slough and Lauren Moe all making significant contributions.
The Wilton Freshman Field Hockey Team traveled to Greenwich High School Saturday morning, Oct. 9, and came away with a 1-0 win, improving its overall record to 4-2-1 after a tie against Staples on Wednesday, Oct. 6.
Kellogg Pettibone drove one in from a pass across the circle from Ellie Drew in the first quarter. Grace Guglielmo kept constant pressure on the Cardinal’s defense with numerous shots, while defenders Kenzie Mitchell, Natalia Szydlowski, and Caileigh Smith kept Greenwich scoreless with the help of goalie Scarlett DiCamillo, who came away with the shutout.
VARSITY
- Thursday, Oct. 14 (home) v. Fairfield Warde: W 6-0
- Saturday, Oct. 16 (home) v. Glastonbury: T 2-2
- Monday, Oct. 18 (away) v. Westhill: W 6-0
- Wednesday, Oct. 20 (away) v. St. Joseph: W 7-1
JUNIOR VARSITY
- Thursday, Oct. 14 (home) v. Firfield Warde: W 9-0
- Saturday, Oct. 16 (home) v. Glastonbury: W 5-0
- Wednesday, Oct. 20 (away) v. St. Joseph: W 4-0
FRESHMAN
- Saturday, Oct. 9 (away) v. Greenwich: W 1-0
Football
The Wilton Warriors (Varsity) are away at New Canaan on Saturday, Oct. 23. Game time is 2 p.m. Junior varsity will travel to New Canaan on Monday, Oct. 25, at 5 p.m. The freshman team will play Ridgefield at home on Thursday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m.
[VARSITY] Saturday, Oct. 16 (away) v. Darien: L 36-56
Golf
The FCIAC Fall season of play is approaching its end and the Wilton High School Boys Golf Team has been heavily scheduled in both conference and tournament play. Two weeks ago, the team won two matches and sent Alex Elia and Thomas Rogozinski to Longshore Golf Course in Westport to contest the Chappa Tournament, a better ball affair featuring competitors of each conference team plus several abutting outliers. Elia and Rogozinski teamed well, earning a solid, second-place finish via returning a four under par 65.
Monday, Oct. 11 was the Holahan Tournament, an FCIAC Individual Invitational for the league’s 28 season-long low-stroke average players. Again, Elia and Rogozinski qualified as did freshman Hudson Hagmann. It was an afternoon of wind and slick greens. And it was Hudson who covered the Country Club of New Canaan’s 18 in 76 swings that put Wilton’s name on the results board, just three shots shy of the tournament winner.
The schedule on Tuesday, Oct. 12 required a bus ride to Trumbull and the team’s final conference match versus the St. Joseph Cadets at Tashua Knolls Golf Course. With each team boasting an 11 win, 2 loss record, all Fairfield eyes were on the contest. The match was closer than the score reveals, not decided until the final pairing. The Cadets prevailed by two strokes 152-154. The Warriors were simply outplayed as evidenced by their posting of a season’s best, 12 strokes above course rating. Co-Captain Elia had something to do with that by penciling in a 2 under par 34 on his card. Eli Ackerman, Co-Captain and Elia’s playing/supporting partner, signed for a fine 38. Junior Stephen Padilla returned 40 and Rogozinski completed the team total with 42.
Having compiled an 11-3 win-loss conference match schedule, the Warriors handily qualified for the FCIAC Championship. The competitive field consisted of eight teams displaying the best match play records; the Warriors were awarded the fourth seed. This countywide season-ending event was contested at Ridgefield’s Silver Spring Country Club. A sun-filled mid-October (Thursday, Oct. 14) afternoon, turbulent wind from the northwest, an immaculate golf course, and green speeds assembled to test U.S. Open contestants was the playing environment.
The Wilton High School team — bonded, confident, and determined — ignored rival reputations and short-game challenges to represent the school and themselves well. The finish was in question until the final foursome pairing of 10 had walked off the 18th green and cards were totaled. The favored, season-leader New Canaan Rams won the Championship and Wilton held the runner-up trophy. A mere three strokes of more than 300 taken was the scoring difference, 316-319.
Senior Elia played steady near par golf throughout his round; a one under 34 work on the front nine, two over on the back to finish at 72 — and snag the tournament medal. In an all-class effort, Elia’s leadership was closely followed. Strong support was provided by sophomore Rogozinski; his 77 was constructed 39 and 38, front and back. An 84 returned by juniorPadilla and freshman Hagmann’s 86 contributed to the team total. At the after-play awards ceremony, as his teammates held their trophy, Elia was awarded FCIAC Player of the Year recognition in possession of the single lowest cumulative stroke average in 14 conference encounters.
Based on FCIAC Conference play, seeded fifth, the Wilton High School Boys Golf Team traveled Monday morning, Oct. 18, to Bristol Connecticut’s Chipannee Golf Club to contest the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) State Golf Tournament title. Assigned initial tee times, Warrior Varsity players, in an early hour on a windy, cool, and cloudy day, attacked dewey fairways and uniformly small, fast, recently aerated greens in search of the title. It was not to be. The 15 qualifying teams from statewide sites returned relatively high team totals and the Warriors’ finish at 319 strokes earned fourth place, just seven shots short of target. Co-Captain Elia accounted for 73 swings of the 319, tied for 2nd in individual scoring. Freshman Hagmann signed for 77 and 10th place in the 75 player field. The team’s other captain and classmate, Ackermann fired 39 on the challenging back nine to total 81 on his card. Rogozinski completed the Wilton five’s effort with an 88. Following play, at the awards presentation, Elia was named to the All State roster and further recognized for possessing the single lowest statewide stroke average.
This is essentially the final of report of the Warriors Fall Boys Golf season: 11-3 in conference matches, second at the FCIAC Championship, and now fourth in the State. Twelve young men, each contributing, in commitment, “Team First” decisions, wholesale camaraderie, and common dedication to goals. It was a season warranting “Well Done, Team.”
Team parent Charlotte Ackerman had high praise for the team, and especially coach Jack Majesky, who she called “the most solid human being I have ever met.”
“He has instilled so much in these boys, talk about with age comes wisdom. He walks the course with the boys, in the cold and rain and wind while the other coaches are in a cart.”
Well done, Coach.
Girls Soccer
Wilton Girls Varsity Soccer headed into Friday’s (Oct. 15) match at Fairfield Ludlowe with the momentum from a 2-1 hard-battled win on Tuesday, Oct. 12 against a strong Ridgefield opponent, which brought the team’s record to 7-0-4 heading into the toughest stretch of the season. The girls looked to clinch a playoff spot in the games ahead.
The unbeaten streak continues for the Junior Varsity Girls with a pair of 3-1 victories over Trumbull and Ridgefield. Six consecutive wins brought them to a record of 7-2 as they looked forward to playing Fairfield Ludlowe, away, on Thursday, Oct. 14 — which they wound up with a tie, 1-1.
The Freshman girls team lost on Saturday, Oct. 9 to New Canaan, 1-0, in a hard-fought game, the result of which did not entirely reflect the run of play. The coaches are proud of the team’s improvement and desire to compete.
VARSITY
- Friday, Oct. 8 (home) v. Trumbull: W 2-0
- Tuesday, Oct. 12 (home) v. Ridgefield: W 2-1
- Friday, Oct. 15 (away) v. Fairfield Ludlowe: T 1-1
- Monday, Oct. 18 (home) v. Greenwich: T 0-0
JUNIOR VARSITY
- Friday, Oct. 8 (home) v. Trumbull: W 3-1
- Tuesday, Oct. 12 (home) v. Ridgefield: W 3-1
- Thursday, Oct. 14 (away) v. Fairfield Ludlowe: T 1-1
- Monday, Oct. 18 (home) v. Greenwich: T 0-0
- Thursday, Oct. 21 (away) v. Darien: W 1-0
Boys Soccer
Wilton Boys Varsity soccer finished the first week of October with crucial wins, followed by a tough stretch of games.
The Junior Varsity team played two tough opponents the first week of Oct. The first game of the week was a road trip to Trumbull on Friday afternoon, Oct. 8. Wilton trailed 2-0 at the half after the Eagles scored on two well-placed shots. The JV eventually fell 3-0 in the contest after a hard-fought battle. In the second match of the week, the JV traveled to Ridgefield and played a much more consistent game. Controlling the ball for much of the contest, the Warriors outshot the Tigers but were unable to slip one past the goalie. The game ended in a 0-0 tie. Wilton was carried by a stellar performance in net by junior Matt Whitman, who finished the match with 5 saves, two of which were quite spectacular.
Wilton Freshman boys soccer finished two games with a loss to Darien 3-2 and a 1-1 tie against New Canaan. The team looked to bounce back against Staples High School.
VARSITY
- Saturday, Oct. 9 (away) v. Trumbull: T 2-2
- Wednesday, Oct. 13 (away) v. Ridgefield: L 0-4
- Friday, Oct. 15 (home) v. Fairfield Ludlowe: L 1-2
- Tuesday, Oct. 19 (away) v. Greenwich: L 0-7
JUNIOR VARSITY
- Friday, Oct. 8 (away) v. Trumbull: L 0-3
- Wednesday, Oct. 13 (away) v. Ridgefield: T 0-0
- Friday, Oct. 15 (home) v. Fairfield Ludlowe: L 0-1
- Tuesday, Oct. 19 (away) v. Greenwich: T 1-1
FRESHMAN
- Saturday, Oct. 9 (away) v. Darien: L 2-3
- Wednesday, Oct. 13 (away) v. New Canaan: T 1-1
Girls Swim and Dive
The Wilton High School Warrior Girls swimming and diving team got back to winning by defeating Trumbull at home on Wednesday, Oct. 13 with a score of 102-75. Capturing first place honors in the meet against Trumbull were Virginia Hastings (200 freestyle); Aanya Kongettira (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle); Ella Arghirescu (diving); Abby Gardner (100 butterfly, 500 freestyle); Sophia Gimby (100 backstroke); Carolyn Hendrickson, Kongettira, Avery Newcomer and Hastings (200 freestyle relay); and Kongettira, Gardner Nora Choukri and Hastings (400 freestyle relay).
On Wednesday, Oct. 20, the team headed up to Ridgefield for a challenging game for the team on the road. Wilton lost 78-102.
Volleyball
As of Wednesday, Oct. 13, the WHS Varsity Volleyball team moved to 11-2 on the season with 3-0 victories over Staples, Danbury, and Central. The team had strong serving performances by Kendall Scholz, Gillian Lipsky and Avery Samai. In addition, the Warriors had strong attacking and blocking against both teams from Ruth Briglin, Caitlin Allen, Brooke Bohacs and Bella Anjelkovic. On that Wednesday, varsity honored its seniors — Bohacs, Briglin, Vivien Latt, Lipsky, Bella Andjelkovic, Morgan Lebek, and Cecilia Aversano — in a ceremony prior to the match against Bridgeport Central. It was a very special night for the seniors and their families.
The Junior Varsity Volleyball team moved to 9-4 (as of Oct. 13) after wins against the Danbury Hatters and Bridgeport Central. JV had strong performances by Poppy Herve, Marin Burke and Lauren Buchanan. They continued their winning performances against Bridgeport Central and Westhill as well.
The Freshman Volleyball team had a triumphant win over Westhill to move its record to 7-2. Strong serving behind the line from Mia DiMeglio in addition to key contributions from Kelly O’Malley, Winnie Quigg and Olivia Feldman challenged the Westhill defense.
VARSITY
- Saturday, Oct. 9 (away) v. Staples: W 3-0
- Monday, Oct. 11 (home) v. Danbury: W 3-0
- Wednesday, Oct. 13 (home) v. Bridgeport Central: W 3-0
- Friday, Oct. 15 (away) v. Westhill: W 3-0
- Monday, Oct. 18 (away) v. Trumbull: L 1-3
- Wednesday, Oct. 20 (away) v. Ridgefield: L 2-3
JUNIOR VARSITY
- Saturday, Oct. 9 (away) v. Staples: L 0-2
- Monday, Oct. 11 (home) v. Danbury: W 2-0
- Wednesday, Oct. 13 (home) v. Bridgeport Central: W 2-0
- Friday, Oct. 15 (away) v. Westhill: W 2-1
- Wednesday, Oct. 20 (away) v. Ridgefield: W 2-0
FRESHMAN
- Saturday, Oct. 9 (home) v. Westhill: W 3-0
- Saturday, Oct. 16 (away) v. Greenwich: L 2-3