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12/22/2016 11:00 PMThe winds of fall swept up excitement for the Cougars, whose field hockey squad won its first state title in four years, while boys’ cross country repeated as conference and state champs, with girls’ cross country defending its Shoreline title.
Field Hockey
The Haddam-Killingworth field hockey team was the No. 3 seed in the Class S State Tournament and defeated Wamogo, Immaculate, and Stonington to make its second-straight state final. In the championship game, the Cougars played to a 1-1 tie with Westbrook to share the state crown with the Knights. It was HK’s first state title since 2012 as Head Coach Patsy Kamercia’s team finished with an overall record of 16-3-2 for the season.
Brinley Anderson, Julia Kostek, and Rachel Senechal were All-Shoreline Conference First Team selections for Haddam-Killingworth, while Bella Cosenza and Celia Payfa made the Second Team. Hannah Theriault, Molly Anderson, Alise Greco, and Abbie Bagnoli were Honorable Mention.
Boys’ Cross Country
The Cougars completed a 15-0 dual-meet season and were the heavy favorite heading into the Shoreline Conference Championship. Once again, the Cougars secured first place in the competition to earn their third straight conference crown, their sixth title in the last seven years, and HK’s 10th overall.
Haddam-Killingworth then claimed its second straight Class SS state championship nine days later. Dan Schumann took first place in both the conference and state meets, plus he and Andrew Meredith also qualified for the New England Championship while helping HK take 10th at the State Open.
Head Coach Matt Diglio was named the New Haven Register’s All-Area Coach of the Year. Juniors Meredith and Schumann also made the All-Area squad.
Girls’ Cross Country
Head Coach Matt Diglio’s team earned a 15-0 dual-meet record and, as expected, was confident heading into the Shoreline Conference Championship meet at Totoket Park in North Branford. For the second year in a row, the girls notched first place in the meet to once again stand atop the league. The victory marked the fourth time that the HK girls prevailed at the conference championship.
The Cougars then scored 78 points and finished second to Immaculate (53) at the Class SS State Championship at Wickham Park. After that, HK placed 10th at the State Open as Kelsey D’Amico qualified for the New England Championship with her performance. D’Amico, a junior, made the New Haven Register’s All-Area Team.
Volleyball
After earning a first round bye, the Cougars defeated East Catholic 3-1 in the second round of the Class M State Tournament. Hosting Granby Memorial in the quarterfinal round, the Cougars took a 3-1 loss (25-23, 25-15, 20-25, 25-19) to finish the year at 21-3 overall. Head Coach Robin Callender’s squad also made its second conference final in three seasons.
Girls’ Swimming and Diving
Co-coaches Ross Hanson and John MacDonald saw their team finish in fourth place out of 28 teams at the Class S State Championship at Wesleyan University.
HK senior Caitlyn VonFeldt won the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 58.58 seconds at the state meet. VonFeldt also took third for the 100 freestyle at 53.93.
Boys’ Soccer
Head Coach Denis Recchia and HK shut out Aerospace 6-0 in the first round of the Class S State Tournament. Playing in the second round at top-seeded Old Saybrook, the Cougars’ season came to an end with a 3-0 loss.
HK finished at 9-8-1 on the year and also reached the Shoreline Conference Tournament semifinals.
Girls’ Soccer
The Cougars finished the season at 2-10-2, defeating Coginchaug and Westbrook, while tying Valley Regional and North Branford. The team’s head coach was Karen Clark.
Football
Head Coach Mike Baklik’s squad went 4-6 for the season this fall.
The Cougars’ victories came agains Coginchaug (33-22), Windsor Locks-Suffield-East Granby (41-16), Coventry-Windham Tech-Bolton (24-8), and Nonnewaug (36-20).