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.
News/Updates Summary of the Week
It is CIAC Tournament time for Wilton Athletics!
Message from the Athletic Director
As we come closer to finishing the FCIAC tournaments, I want to congratulate all our student-athletes on having such a successful regular season. This goes beyond the wins and loses, it’s the success of the fans as well. Your positive energy has lifted our teams over our opponents, and picked them up if they fell.
The CIAC tournament starts on Monday, Nov. 8 with two home matches. Girls Soccer will take on Enfield at 5 p.m. on Kristine Lilly Field and the Volleyball team will be in the “Z” with a 6 p.m. start taking on Hamden High School. The Boys Soccer team will be traveling to Bristol Central on Tuesday, that time is set for 2 p.m., however that time may change. Field Hockey will once again take on Staples in the first round of the CIAC tournament. That game will be at Staples High School with the start time set for 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 10. Please refer to the athletic website for up to date information or feel free to call the Athletic Office.
Football is still involved in its regular season games with three games to go; the team is currently ranked eighth in the CIAC Class L standings. Friday evening (Nov. 5) Wilton defeated the Fairfield Warde Mustangs 37-21.
Boys and Girls Cross Country
After a two-day delay due to rain, the Wilton High School Cross Country Teams journeyed to Wickham Park in East Hartford to compete in the CIAC Class Championships. Running on a course that was still muddy from the weekend’s rain, both the boys and girls squads emerged with identical seventh place finishes, with two individual runners qualifying to advance to Friday’s Open meet at the same site.
Racing first, the boys were paced once again by junior Mikey Byrnes, who placed 18th with a time of 17:38 for the 5,000 meter course. He was followed by sophomore Alex Cohen (38th, 18:21), senior Garrett Moe (40th, 18:23), senior Malcolm McCormick, who was tripped in the first 50 meters of the race (49th, 18:34) and junior Tristan Burke (56th, 18:48) to amass a total of 203 points, good for seventh place. This is the boys’ highest placing in the Class meet in more than a decade. Seniors Dhruv Rokkam (84th, 19:38) and Matt Ferrante (115th, 20:33) were the sixth and seventh runners for the Warriors.
The girls followed 30 minutes later and were led by senior Emily Mrakovcic, who had the highest individual placing by either team, finishing seventh in 20:11. The rest of the scoring Wilton runners were sophomore Lucy Prior (22:24) and freshman Lia Lombardi (22:30), placing 36th and 37th. Senior Catherine Dineen, making her final race a strong one after being sidelined during the regular season by a foot injury, was next (52nd, 22:58). Freshman Mya Salvino (55th, 23:03) rounded out the scoring to total 185 points. For the Warriors. Junior Joy Ren (62nd, 23:21) and sophomore Jane Hughes (63rd, 23:38) were the sixth and seventh finishers.
Byrnes and Mrakovcic raced on the same course under drier conditions Friday, Nov. 5, with the top 25 finishers qualifying for the New England Championship in Vermont eight days later. Mrakovcic will move on to that run, finishing in the Open at 20thin in the pack (at 19:34, besting her previous time, at almost a minute). Byrnes placed 47th (at 17:06, a half-minute faster than earlier in the week).
Field Hockey
On Saturday Oct. 30, the Warriors traveled to Staples High School for the first round of FCIAC playoffs. The contest was tough from the start, with play staying in the Warriors’ defensive end for the first quarter. With its relentless pressure, Staples found the back of the goal. In the second quarter, Wilton was able to generate some offensive momentum but could not find a seam to goal. Staples capitalized on its defensive plays and added to the score. In the third quarter, Wilton seemed stuck in its defensive end again. Staples took advantage of the Warriors’ mistakes and were able to add two goals to its total. Starting the fourth quarter at 4-0, Staples managed to weave through the Wilton defense and score again. At this point, with 10 minutes left, the Warriors were hoping to avoid a shutout. Finally things clicked in the midfield and Wilton was able to get its offense moving. With the energy shift and offensive pressure, Wilton scored its first goal of the game. The Warriors were not done. Within seven minutes, the Warriors worked as a team to score another three goals. Unfortunately, despite an incredible last quarter, the Warriors were unable to tie the game. Final score: 4-5.
The Warriors will play in the first round of the State Tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at Staples at 2 p.m.
Football
Homecoming 2021 was history-making as Wilton beat Ridgefield for the first time in 27 years. The Warriors won a tight contest 14-7 with a game-sealing interception on the last play of the game by Sean Wiseman. The Warriors’ defense stepped up this week allowing only eight first downs (three in total until the last drive of the game) and two interceptions. Grant Masterson and Jake Sommer scored rushing touchdowns with Sommer’s touchdown ending up being game-sealing one.
The Junior Varsity Warriors also took on Ridgefield, on Monday night, when they took down Ridgefield 12-6 in another tough defensive battle. The Freshman played Ridgefield on Thursday night winning handily by the score of 22-0, making a clean sweep of Ridgefield.
(Details on this past Friday’s (Nov. 5) win over Fairfield Warde will come in the next update.)
Golf
Predicated on Wilton’s Alex Elia possessing the CIAC’s lowest stroke average in all state high school golf conference matches and his second-place scoring finish at the state tournament, he was invited to join 11 of Connecticut’s best to contend for the Council of New England Secondary Schools Association (CNESSPA) New England Championship. The field for this tournament consisted of 12 players each from Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. On Monday, Nov. 1, the contest was conducted at Mohegan Sun Golf Course, Baltic, Connecticut. In a chilly and blustery final event environment, Alex navigated “The Sun’s” 6,500-yd. 18 in three over par 75, even par on the back, to finish low among Nutmeggers and fourth in overall medal recognition. He has announced verbal commitment to play Division 1 at the College of Holy Cross, Worcester, MA.
Girls Soccer
The Wilton Girls Varsity Soccer team ended an incredible FCIAC tournament with a tough 0-1 loss to a strong Staples team on Thursday, Nov. 4. As no. 6 seed, the Warriors upset Fairfield Warde 1-0 on the road and defeated Ludlowe in a game that came down to Penalty Kicks Monday night, Nov. 1, at Lilly Field. The Wilton athletes’ performance in the finals demonstrated the caliber of this team, undeniably deserving to play in the FCIAC final. The girls now set their sights on the first round of the CIAC tournament, kicking off Monday at home against Enfield at 5 p.m.
Fans send off the girls soccer team on the way to the FCIAC Championship game with the help of a police escort.
Girls Swim and Dive
On Wednesday, Nov. 3, 16 members of the Warriors Swim Team traveled to Greenwich High School to compete in the FCIAC trials swim meet. On Thursday, Nov. 4, Ella Arghirescu competed in the FCIAC Diving at Westhill High School.
On Saturday, Nov. 6, the qualifiers from the trials returned to Greenwich High School to compete in the FCIAC Finals: 200 medley relay — Sophia Gimby, Avery Newcomer, Sydney Lillis, and Carolyn Hendricks); 200 freestyle — Nora Choukri; 200 IM — Virginia Hastings and Lillis; 50m freestyle — Aanya Kongettira and Samantha Mims; 100 butterfly — Lillis and Kongettira; 500m — Hastings and Choukri; 200m freestyle relay — Hendricks, Kongettira, Jordyn Yee and Hastings; and 400m freestyle relay — Kongettira, Newcomer, Yee and Hastings.
On Saturday, Nov. 13, the State Tournament qualifiers will travel to Cornerstone Aquatic Center in West Hartford to complete the Class L Trial Meet.
Volleyball
The Varsity Volleyball Team closed the regular season on Friday, Oct. 29 with a 3-0 victory over St. Joseph of Trumbull. The Warriors finished the regular season with a 15-5 record and went on to play Trumbull in the FCIAC quarterfinals. The Warriors fell to Trumbull on Tuesday evening, Nov. 2, but competed in FCIAC postseason play for the first time since 2007. The Varsity Volleyball Team will host a first round CIAC state tournament match on Monday, Nov. 8 against Hamden at 6 p.m. Please come out and support the team as they begin tournament play.
Junior Varsity Volleyball ended the season with a loss against St Joe’s, finishing with a winning record of 13-7. JV did very well all season long with great performances from Poppy Herve, Lauren Buchanan, Marin Burke, and Sophia Viggiano.
The Freshman Volleyball Team ended its season with an impressive 9-4 record despite a tough loss to Brien McMahon. Offense in the front row from Mia DiMeglio, Nicole Talak and Drew Amero was key for the Warriors in addition to strong defensive play from Isabella Desiderio and Olivia Feldman.