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09/16/2018 12:00 AMBoys’ and Girls’ Cross Country
The Haddam-Killingworth cross country program stormed out to a fast start this fall by turning in a strong showing at the Somers Big Red Invitational.
On Sept. 8, the Cougars opened up their fall season by traveling to Somers, New York to compete against 30 schools from Connecticut and New York at the Somers Big Red Invitational. H-K saw a successful start to its season as both freshman squads came away with their respective team titles, while the boys’ varsity team won the Division 3 race, with varsity girls placing third in the Division 3 race.
The boys’ varsity team was led by Matt Jennings, who placed sixth with a time of 17:28 on the 3.1-mile course. Jennings was followed across the line by a pack of Cougars who were all within 15 seconds of each other: Christian Uzwiak (15th, 18:10), Owen Howes (16th, 18:11), Seth Freeman (20th, 18:14), Kyle Criscuolo (21st, 18:15), Fisher Harris (24th, 18:23), and Nate Carlson (25th, 18:25). The boys scored 78 points to place first overall.
H-K’s girls’ varsity team scored 91 points to finish in third. The girls were led by Meara Bodak, who placed fourth in a time of 20:58 for the 5,000-meter course. Julia Callis (11th, 21:49), Lauren D’Amico (12th, 22:21), Michaela Flaherty (29th, 24:46), and Gabby Flaherty (37th, 25:49) rounded out the Cougars’ pack.
The girls’ freshman team placed first by scoring 32 points, led by Brianna Minervino (6th, 11:07) and Ali Twatchman (7th, 11:18).
H-K’s boys’ freshman team won its race by tallying 34 points to easily outdistance its competition. Dakota Tucker came in second place (9:00), and Caleb Freeman finished fifth (9:13).
Last fall, the Haddam-Killingworth boys’ cross country team finished with 16-0 record to go undefeated for the fourth year in a row, after which the Cougars won their fourth straight Shoreline Conference title and fourth consecutive Class SS state title.
The girls’ team went 15-0 for its third straight undefeated season, then won its third consecutive Shoreline Conference title, followed by a first-place finish at the Class SS State Championship for H-K’s second state title in three years. Matt Diglio returns for another season as head coach of both teams.
Football
The Cougars improved to 2-0 for the season after claiming a victory over Coginchaug/Hale-Ray/East Hampton last week. H-K defeated the Blue Devils by the score of 30-6 in its home opener on Sept. 15.
Zach Kauffman scored on touchdown runs of 12 and 4 yards, while Dalton Brown snagged two of the Cougars’ four interceptions on defense to lead H-K to its convincing win against Coginchaug (1-1). Dalton Modehn scored on a 3-yard TD run, and Tobey Callender rushed for a 34-yard touchdown to aid the H-K offense.
“Our kids played tough against a good Coginchaug football team tonight. Jordan Callahan did an outstanding job stepping into the quarterback position for the first time due to some team injuries,” said Head Coach Mike Baklik. “Tobey Callender had a great all-around game, scoring on a long touchdown run and picking off a pass. I was especially pleased with our defense shutting down the run and coming up with four interceptions, which makes eight picks on the year.”
The Cougars will next host Morgan (0-2) on Friday, Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m.
Volleyball
Haddam-Killingworth improved to 3-1 on the season after winning all three of its matches last week.
The Cougars nabbed their first victory of the campaign with a 3-1 victory over Hale-Ray on Sept. 11. H-K then swept Morgan by a 3-0 score on Sept. 13. The Cougars followed that up with a 3-0 victory versus Hand on Sept. 15.
Boys’ Soccer
H-K split its first two games of the fall season last week.
H-K started the year with an 8-0 rout of North Branford on Sept. 13. The Cougars then lost a 1-0 contest against Portland the next day.
Last fall, Head Coach Denis Recchia’s team finished with a record of 15-3-3 for a season that saw the Cougars win a share of the Shoreline Conference Tournament title after playing Morgan to 1-1 tie in the league final, marking the Cougars’ first conference crown in a decade and their third overall. H-K went on to advance to the Class S State Tournament quarterfinals.
Girls’ Soccer
The Cougars picked up their first win of the season last week to move to 1-3 overall.
H-K blanked Westbrook by a 3-0 final on Sept. 11 for its first win of 2018. The Cougars then took a 2-1 loss to North Branford the next day. H-K later dropped a 3-0 decision versus Portland on Sept. 14.
Field Hockey
H-K opened the year with a contest against rival Morgan last week. The Cougars took a 3-2 loss to the Huskies on Sept. 14.
In 2017, Head Coach Meghan Sears’s squad qualified for the Class S State Tournament and lost a 2-0 conttest versus Stonington in the first round to finish with a record of 5-7-3-2.