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 toGMW 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
The countdown is on to the wrap-up of WHS’s regular fall athletic season. Homecoming is Saturday, Oct. 30, and playoffs are in the near future. Wilton teams are doing well and have had some very exciting games to finish off the season.
Football
On Saturday, Oct. 23, the Warriors defeated New Canaan for the first time since 1995, with the final score of 20-17. (more on this next Monday)
The prior weekend, the varsity team left the field last weekend with a 36-56 loss to Darien. The game was a shootout with both offenses connecting for long plays throughout. Wilton played Darien closer than anybody and had the lead 36-35 with 10 minutes remaining. Soon after, Darien’s numbers advantage was on full display as time ran down. Wilton had over half of their starters playing both ways and by the fourth quarter, they were gassed and fueled solely by heart. Wilton put up 116 rushing yards and 234 passing yards. They scored the most points against Darien since 2012. Wilton has now dropped to 3-2 on the season.
Wilton’s JV team had a tough game on Monday, Oct. 18, with a 3-28 loss to Darien. The team was not connecting on many cylinders and its breakdown to stop the pass or get a passing game going put a hole in Wilton’s chances of going 4-0. Warrior JV Football has dropped to 3-1 on the season.
The Freshmen had a great 22-14 win over Darien bringing their record back to .500 (2-2).
Volleyball
On Friday, Oct. 15, the WHS Varsity Volleyball team defeated the Vikings of Westhill with strong performances by Kendall Scholz, Vivien Latt and Aly Rappaport. On Monday, Oct. 18, the Warriors fell to the Eagles of Trumbull after a back-and-forth four-set battle. The Warriors dropped a second straight match against Ridgefield on Wednesday night, Oct. 20. It was a hard-fought five-set battle with strong performances by Caitlin Allen, Ruth Briglin and Scholz. With that loss, the Warriors moved to 12-4 on the season, 7-4 in FCIAC play.
The Junior Varsity Volleyball team moved to 11-5 after a win against the Ridgefield Tigers. The JV had strong performances by Poppy Herve, Grace DiBuono-Krafick and Lauren Buchanan.
The Freshman volleyball team had a tough loss against Greenwich in a five-set loss. Crina Pariza and Olivia Feldman had impressive showings despite the result.
Girls Swim and Dive
The Warriors came off of a challenging meet against Ridgefield with a loss of 102-78. Capturing first place honors against Ridgefield were Virginia Hastings in the 500 freestyle and the 200 freestyle relay team of Aanya Kongettira, Jordan Yee, Caroline Hendricks and Hastings. Diver Ella Arghirescu qualified for the Class L State Diving Championships with a score of 169.35.
Thursday, WHS welcomed St. Joseph High School to the Wilton Family YMCA for the final dual meet of the season and senior recognition day. This week the swimming and diving teams will commence their championship season on Friday, Oct. 29 with the Junior Varsity FCIAC Championship swim meet at Greenwich High School.
Girls Soccer
The Varsity Girls Soccer team won Thursday, Oct. 21 at Darien, 1-0, to clinch an FCIAC Playoff spot for its undefeated season. Heading into tough competition at St. Joseph, two wins would secure a Top-4 ranking heading into the playoff season.
The momentum continues on for JV Girls Soccer with tie games against Ludlowe (1-1) and Greenwich (0-0) earlier, and the team remained undefeated over the last five weeks, with an overall record of 8-2-2 until losing to Darien Thursday, 2-0.
After missing out on their first high school game under the lights (with the turf on Lilly Field under repair), the Freshman girls used that disappointment to fuel them. A hard-fought 3-2 loss at Fairfield-Warde was followed by the girls’ best performance of the season, beating Staples 1-0. The last home game was Saturday against Weston, and then the team travels to Ridgefield on Wednesday.
Boys Soccer
The Wilton Boys Varsity soccer team finished two games last week with two losses, moving into the last two home games with an overall record of 5-5-4.
The JV Boys soccer team lost a heartbreaker to Fairfield-Ludlowe on Friday, Oct. 15, 1-0. Both teams played outstanding defense. Ludlowe entered the contest with a stellar 8-2-3 record and the Warriors were able to hold them to one goal with smothering defense and outstanding goalie play by Matthew Whitman.
The boys JV team traveled to Greenwich Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 19, and were able to secure a 1-1 tie against a deep and talented Cardinal squad. Greenwich took the early lead 35 minutes into the contest and held that lead until the 75th minute when Jamie Whittaker set up James Morello for a one-time volley knotting the score at 1-1. The JV defense has only allowed four goals in the past five games, a huge improvement from the beginning of the season. Whitman, the Warriors’ goalkeeper, put forth a strong effort, making three saves and setting up the offense with his long punts to the other half of the pitch.
The Wilton Freshman Boys soccer team finished two games last week with ties against New Canaan and Staples high schools. The team stayed determined during both games against two quality opponents. The Freshman Boys will enter the final three games of the season taking on Fairfield Ludlowe, Danbury and Ridgefield this week.
Field Hockey
It was another home game for the Warriors on Saturday, Oct. 16. Wilton hosted Glastonbury and both teams were ready for a competitive game. With split possessions, it took a while before Glastonbury put in the first goal of the game. The score was 1-0 and the Warriors kept battling. Glastonbury added to the score off of a stroke called against the Warriors to bring the score to 2-0. Down by 2 with only a quarter left, the Warriors flipped a switch. With nine minutes left in the game, Lizzie Kendra, off of a deflection from Nola Ryder, put the Warriors on the board, 2-1. Before the final minute of the game, in a corner situation, Charlotte Casiraghi sent the ball into the back of the goal to tie up the game and head to overtime, something the Warriors are no strangers to. Despite maintaining most of the overtime possession, the Warriors couldn’t get the calls they needed and ended the game tied, bringing their record to 5-2-4.
On Monday, Oct. 18, the Warriors traveled to Westhill High School. With a slow first quarter, the Warriors needed to do something different to start the second quarter. Intensifying their play, they added three goals before heading to the second half. The Warriors continued to control the game for the third and final quarters, adding three more goals for a final score of 6-0. Goals were scored by Nola Ryder, Sammy Slough, Lily Abud, Riley Fitzgerald (2) and Ella Noonan. Record 6-2-4.
Wilton traveled to St. Joseph High School for its final regular season away game on Wednesday, Oct. 20. Despite not playing with their usual energy, the Warriors controlled the first quarter and earned seven corners and a goal. The shot by Fitzgerald went right under a diving goalie to put the Warriors up 1-0. In the second quarter, five more corners and three more goals, by Abud (2) and Slough, put the Warriors up 4-0. In the second half the Warriors worked the field with heads-up passing through St. Joseph’s defense, allowing for second goals for Fitzgerald and Slough and a goal for Katie Umphred. In the last minute of the game, St. Joseph’s offense reached the Wilton circle. Off of a no-call boundary ball, the Cadets found the back of the goal, avoiding a shutout. Final Score 7-1. Record 7-2-4.
The Warriors end their regular season this week with home games on Monday, Oct. 25, against Branford for Senior Night and Wednesday, Oct. 27, against Greenwich.
The Wilton JV Field Hockey Team enjoyed another two victories last week, continued its dominance with a 5-0 win Saturday at home against Glastonbury and a 4-0 win on the road at St. Joseph’s in Trumbull. This brings their tally to an incredible 62 goals on the season so far with two scheduled games remaining.
The Glastonbury game was against a team with unknown strength. From the beginning of the game, the Warriors kept possession and put heavy pressure at every position on their opponents. The game followed a similar progression as previous games and the team looked like a well-oiled machine and very difficult to get past. Goals came from five different players. Maddie Dineen opened the gates with an assist from Paige Leung. Additional goals came from Bridget Grosso (1 goal/1 Assist), Ella Christ, Mary Sylvester (assist from Ella McCormack) and Molly Kaeyer (assisted by Dineen). Glastonbury’s coach commented that it was a good learning experience for them as the Warriors played a beautiful game.
In the matchup against St. Joseph’s High School in Trumbull, battling diminishing light, the Warriors showed their consistency in managing the game. After goals from Kayer and Dineen (assist from Leung), the Warriors looked to develop new strategies and corners. With 14 corners, the team tested several creative options including a fake shot. The remaining two goals came from Kayer and Sierra Schattenfield. Leung continued to increase her assists with three in the game. Molly Hancock and Mary Sylvester also had great games and kept the ball moving.
The last two games are this week versus Branford and Greenwich.
The Wilton Freshman Field Hockey Team traveled to Danbury High and came away with a 1-0 win, improving its overall record to 5-2-3 after a 0-0 tie against Fairfield Warde and a 1-1 tie against Ridgefield on Wednesday. Forward Lauren Ring drove one in from a pass across the circle from Ellie Drew in the first quarter. Grace Guglielmo kept constant pressure on Danbury’s defense and goalie with numerous shots, while defenders Caileigh Smith, Abby Jones, Natalia Szydlowski, Eliana Soccio, and Kenzie Mitchell, along with goalie Scarlett DiCamillo, kept Danbury scoreless. The Warriors beat Norwalk High School to bring their winning streak to nine.
Boys and Girls Cross Country
The Wilton Cross Country teams began their championship season Wednesday, Oct. 20, under near-perfect conditions at New Canaan’s Waveny Park. Several harriers came away with top-30 All-FCIAC finishes, led by Emily Mrakovcic‘s fourth place in the girls’ race and Mikey Byrnes‘ seventh in the boys’. Mrakovcic covered the 4,000-meter course in a personal best 14:50, while Brynes also PR’d in 16:27 for 5,000 meters.
Joining the two top Wilton finishers on the All-FCIAC team were Sasha Langholm (24th girls) and Malcolm McCormick (30th).
Teamwise, both teams scored an identical 159 points. That was good enough for the girls to place seventh, while the boys finished one spot higher in their race in sixth. “Our goal was to improve on our regular-season record by beating some of the teams in the championship race who beat us during the dual meet season,” said boys coach Jim Gerweck. “We accomplished that, getting some revenge on Darien, Danbury and Ludlowe.”
Some of the freshmen runners will compete in the Hatter Invitational at Tarrywile Park in Danbury this Thursday, Oct. 28, and the top seven varsity runners will compete in the CIAC Class L championships at Wickham Park in East Hartford on Saturday, Oct. 30.
Wilton freshman girls will compete next on Thursday, Oct. 28 in the Danbury Freshman meet and on Saturday, Oct. 30 in the CIAC Class L Championship in Manchester.