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12/22/2016 11:00 PMSenior Shane O’Connor put together a dominant postseason performance that featured four victories in the shot put on his way to being named the New Haven Register’s All-Area Most Valuable Player this winter. In other news, the Amity-North Haven-Cheshie girls’ ice hockey squad took the SCC Division II title, while cheerleading placed second at states, and boys’ basketball got back to the postseason brackets.
Boys’ Indoor Track
North Haven came in third place at the SCC West Sectional championship, after which Head Coach Marc Celmer’s squad finished fifth at both the SCC Championship and the Class L State Championship.
Senior Shane O’Connor was victorious in the shot put at all four Connecticut postseason meets, winning the event at sectionals (48-11.25), states (48-0.5), SCCs (47-4.5), and the State Open (49-10.5). He later competed in the event at the New England Championship and went on to earn a spot on the New Haven Register All-Area Team, in addition to being named the Register’s All-Area Most Valuable Player. Junior Omar Gebril also collected All-Area accolades after winning the 600 at sectionals (1:27.03) and in the Class L meet (1:25.74). He was also fourth at SCCs and took fifth at the Open. Senior Ryan Brennan raced to victory in the 1,600 with a time of 4:36.66 at the sectional meet. He’d previously set school records in 1,600 (4:33.14) and 3,200 (9:39.17) and contributed to another record with the 4x800 relay (8:28.14) during the season. Brennan later made All-SCC in the 1,600 and 3,200 with second-place performances at the conference championship.
Brennan and O’Connor captained the Indians with fellow seniors Nick McCreven and Dominic Scarano. Also, junior Carson Tebbetts won the shot put at the SCC Novice Meet with a distance of 39-5.25.
Girls’ Indoor Track
The Indians recorded their all-time top finish at the SCC West Sectional Championship by taking second place and followed that by finishing eighth at the SCC Championship and 12th for the Class L State Championship.
At the sectional meet, senior Sonia Atluru defended her high jump title by clearing 5-2, while junior Sarah Vanacore claimed victory in the shot put with a distance of 35-10. Atluru finished fifth for the event at states and took second at SCCs for All-Conference honors. Vanacore was third in the shot put in Class L and placed fourth at the SCC meet. The 4x800 relay of senior Erica Salvo and juniors Elya Paolillo, Maily Tran, and Elise Symon ran 10:24.25 to finish second at the conference championship and garner All-SCC distinction. At the SCC Novice Meet, the freshman quartet of Katie Rogers, Julie Mappa, Madeleine Libero, and Erica Marriott took first in the 4x400 relay (4:41.49). Marriott broke the school record in the 55-meter dash (7.59) and the freshman record in the long jump (16-3) during the season.
The captains for Head Coach Marc Celmer’s squad were Atluru, Reaghan Bathrick, Salvo, Katrishia Bell, and Juliana Bencivengo.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Amity-North Haven-Cheshire girls’ ice hockey squad tore through its SCC Division II competition throughout the regular season on its way to a record of 14-5-1. The Blades went on to defeat Notre Dame-Fairfield/Foran 6-2 in the semifinals of the SCC Division II Tournament, after which they beat West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy 2-1 to claim the title. The Blades later lost to East Catholic-South Windsor-Glastonbury in the State Tournament to finish with an overall record of 16-6-1. The 10 North Haven athletes on the roster for Head Coach Scott Whyte’s squad were senior captain Catherine Babbidge; junior Kiley Degrand; sophomores Julianna Daddio (goalie), Jamie Fredericks, Maryssa Racino, and Kyla DelVecchio; plus freshmen Jackie Howlett, Erin Owens, Shannon Reilly, and Katelyn St. Peter. Owens was the team’s MVP, Daddio was the Most Improved Player, and Babbidge took home the Sportsmanship Award.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
After going 9-9-2 during the regular season, North Haven took a 4-3 overtime loss to Cheshire in the semifinals of the SCC/SWC Division II Tournament. Head Coach Mike Silengo’s club came back to earn a 3-2 victory versus Hand in the Division II State Tournament before taking a 2-1 loss to Guilford in the quarterfinals for a final record of 10-11-2.
Senior captain forward Jason St. Peter scored 31 goals with 14 assists and was named the Indians’ MVP. He also made the All-SCC/SWC Division II Second Team, earned All-State Second Team and New Haven Register All-Area honors, and gained a spot on the Connecticut High School Coaches Association’s Senior All-Star Team. Senior goalie Justin Daddio was also an All-SCC/SWC Division II Second Team selection. For North Haven’s other team honors, senior captain forward JJ Jensen won the Hobey Baker Award, sophomore forward Sam Pethick was the Most Improved Player, and sophomore defenseman CJ Kenny came away with the Sportsmanship Award. Junior Michael Gambardella was presented with the Rudy Award from the North Haven Hockey Association’s Parents Organization. North Haven’s other senior captain was defenseman Josh Back.
Cheerleading
North Haven hosted the SCC Championship and came away with third place in the All-Girl Division. Head Coach Kathleen Crisafi’s squad saw all three of her senior captains—Jordyn Sheeley, Stephanie Corniello, and Taryn Cocco—earn All-SCC honors.
The Indians followed that up by taking second place at the Class L State Championship. Sheeley and Corniello collected All-State accolades, while junior Jordyn Aurora also made All-State. As a result of its showing at states, North Haven qualified to compete at the State Open Championship and the New England Championship.
Corniello was named North Haven’s MVP, Michael Ricci received the Most Improved Player Award, and Morgan Sullivan won the Sportsmanship Award.
Boys’ Basketball
The Indians featured a new Head Coach in Justin Falcon, whose team overcame a 2-7 start to finish 10-10 for the regular season en route to reaching both the SCC and Class L state tournaments. N
North Haven’s turning point of the year came with a 52-50 win versus Lyman Hall, after which the Indians beat two teams they’d previously lost to in Career and West Haven. North Haven then lost to Amity and Pomperaug in the SCC and state tourneys, respectively.
Power forward David Mikos and shooting guard Matt Sordi were the captains for Coach Falcon’s club. Fellow senior Emadi Okwuosa, a power forward, received the team’s Sportsmanship Award. Junior shooting guard Jack Steinman was the Indians’ MVP and also made the All-Oronoque Team, while Anthony Beretta was their Most Improved Player.
Girls’ Basketball
North Haven finished with a mark of 5-15, completing the season with a 56-52 win at Oronoque Division opponent Cross that avenged a prior loss to the Governors.
One of the Indians’ biggest highlights was when senior captain guard Julia Puzone recorded a triple-double behind 20 points and 10 rebounds on her 18th birthday to help North Haven beat Coginchaug 43-32 on Dec. 18. Puzone went on to record a slew of double-doubles throughout the campaign. Puzone was ultimately chosen as North Haven’s MVP, while Ariana DelVecchio won the Most Improved Player Award, and Christina DeFalco received the Sportsmanship Award for Head Coach Ray Degnan’s club.
Boys’ and Girls’ Fencing
North Haven welcomed a new head coach in Brian Mezzi, whose athletes claimed victory in 412 of the 650 varsity bouts fenced throughout the campaign.
The Indians’ girls’ sabre team finished fifth at the Team State Championship, while girls’ foil placed seventh. North Haven also saw fourth athletes garner All-State recognition at the Individual State Championships. Making it were Beracah Xiao (fourth place in boys’ sabre), Anna Nguyen (fifth place in girls’ sabre), Lia Crowley (sixth place in girls’ epee), and Francesco Spirlli (eighth place in boys’ foil).
Crowley was named MVP for the girls’ team with Spirilli earning that distinction for the boys. Aliza Knight was the girls’ Most Improved Player and the boys’ Most Improved Player Award went to Xiao. For the Sportsmanship Award, Kayla Ciccarelli and Ben Papsun were presented with the distinction on behalf of the girls’ and boys’ teams, respectively.
Rifle
The Indians finished at 5-1 in a season that featured two victories against perennial powerhouse Bunnell.
The captains for Head Coach Brent Heidenis’s squad were Kevin Landino and Giovanni Petruzziello.
Boys’ Swimming and Diving
North Haven went 4-6-1 during the regular season, earning victories against Haddam-Killingworth, Law, West Haven, and Bunnell-Stratford.
After senior Holden Perrelli was honored on the Indians’ Senior Night, Head Coach Martha Phelan’s squad saw some athletes compete at both the SCC and Class M state championships. Junior Kyle Duby finished seventh in the diving competition at SCCs and then placed 11th in states for North Haven.