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12/29/2019 11:00 PMSome of the area’s best athletes led the way to a wave of success on the Killingworth sports landscape in 2019. Business was booming at Haddam-Killingworth High School, where the track and cross country programs continued their sensational run of success. The past year also saw the Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug boys’ ice hockey squad win its first state title, while the Cougars’ girls’ soccer team brought home the Shoreline crown. Let’s take a look at the highlights from the past year.
Winter
The Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug (LH/H-K/C) boys’ ice hockey team claimed its first state championship in program history during the winter season. LH/H-K/C achieved that historic feat by earning a 6-2 win over Sheehan in the final of the Division III State Tournament. The team finished with an overall record of 18-7 in Rich Minnix’s final year as head coach.
On the heels of a 13-7 regular season, the Trojans took a 6-2 loss against Barlow-Weston-Abbott Tech in the SCC/SWC Division III Tournament semifinals. In states, LH/H-K/C posted victories versus Masuk (6-1), New Milford (6-0), and Newington (4-3) to advance to the title game.
The H-K students who competed for the team were senior Travis Watrous, junior Zach Hines, junior Michael O’Toole, and sophomore George DiNapoli.
The Haddam-Killingworth boys’ indoor track squad earned a first-place finish at the Shoreline Conference Championship.
Sophomore Matt Jennings notched first-place finishes in the 1,000 (2:48.93), the 1,600 (4:40.70), and the 3,200 (10:20.36) to help H-K prevail at Shorelines. Junior Luke Sodergren claimed first place in the 55 hurdles (8.38) for Head Coach Dick Dupuis’s team.
Autumn Coady took second place the 55-meter hurdles to help the H-K girls’ indoor track team turn in a third-place performance at the Shoreline Conference Championship. Coady crossed the finish line in 9.44 seconds to earn runner-up honors in the 55.
Senior Aiden Maher claimed the state title in the 220-pound weight class when the H-K wrestling team finished in third place at the Class S State Championship. Maher took the title when he pinned Ben Foligno of St. Paul just 23 seconds into the championship clash.
The H-K boys’ swimming and diving team finished in second place at the Nutmeg Conference Championship (NCC) and then came in third place at the Class S State Championship.
At the Nutmeg Championship, the Cougars’ 200 medley relay of Kyle Mazziotti, Malone Revis, Eli Houlton, and Christo Garrelts finished in first place (1:41.94), as did the 400 freestyle relay of Garrelts, Zach Houlton, Eli Houlton, and Mazziotti (3:23.36). Zach Houlton won the 200 freestyle (1:50.09), Garrelts took first in the 50 freestyle (23.40), Mazziotti won the 100 freestyle (49.55), Zach Houlton earned top honors in the 500 freestyle (4:58.21), and Revis won the 100 breaststroke (1:03.57). All of these performances also set NCC records.
In the state meet, H-K’s 200 freestyle relay of Mazziotti, Revis, Houlton, and Garrelts placed first with a time of 1:38.26 to set a Class S record. Zach Houlton also finished first in the 500 freestyle (4:42.50).
The Cougars’ boys’ basketball squad qualified for the Division V State Tournament. H-K dropped a 56-54 decision versus Morgan to finish at 8-13. Senior Matt Wills scored his 1,000th career point during the campaign.
Spring
After three-straight runner-up finishes, the Haddam-Killingworth boys’ outdoor track squad came in first place at the Shoreline Conference Championship this spring.
Senior captain Colton Lavoie won the shot put (45-0.5) for the Cougars at the Shoreline meet. H-K’s 4x400 relay of senior captain Kyle Criscuolo, junior Owen Howes, junior Dmytri Mallon, and junior Luke Sodergren also finished first (3:32.45) for Head Coach Matt Diglio’s club.
H-K went on to place fifth at the Class M State Championship, led by a victory from Matt Jennings in the 1,600 (4:22.59). Jennings then finished fifth in the 1,600 at the State Open (4:20.06) and took second place at the New England Championship (4:19.13).
Lavoie, Criscuolo, and fellow seniors Dalton Brown, Seth Freeman, and Tyler Knapp served as the Cougars’ senior captains.
The H-K girls’ outdoor track team came in third place at the Shoreline Conference Championship.
H-K’s 4x800 relay of Emma Anziano, Julia Callis, Hailey Cassidy, and Amanda Minervino finished in first place (9:50.35) at Shorelines. Minervino also placed first in the javelin (109-10). The 4x800 relay went on to take second place at the Class M State Championship (9:44.47).
H-K’s senior captains were Anziano, Autumn Coady, Elena Boyington, and Sadie Strom.
The Haddam-Killingworth baseball squad had a great season that saw the team go 18-6 while reaching the final of the Shoreline Conference Tournament and the quarterfinals in the Class M State Tournament. Mark Brookes finished his 43rd campaign as H-K’s head coach.
H-K advanced to the Shoreline final by posting an 11-4 victory over Old Lyme and a 4-2 win versus North Branford. In the championship game, the Cougars lost to Portland by a 2-1 score in eight innings.
Senior captain Jon Civiello threw a no-hitter when H-K defeated Stonington 3-1 in the first round of states. After earning a 3-2 win against East Catholic in a second-round contest, H-K took an 8-0 loss to Wolcott in the quarterfinals.
Civiello and Mike O’Toole were the Cougars’ senior captains. Senior Griffin Izzo and sophomore Alec Erskine also helped H-K have a successful season.
The H-K softball squad made Shorelines and states while netting a record of 14-9. Head Coach Jeff Talbott earned his 300th career victory with the Cougars during the season.
H-K took a 7-6, eight-inning defeat against North Branford in the quarterfinals of the Shoreline Conference Tournament. H-K then started off play in the Class M State Tournament with a 16-0 win versus Wilcox Tech. The Cougars dropped an 8-0 decision to Waterford in the second round.
H-K’s senior captains were Faith Mauri and Brooke LaTouche.
The Cougars’ boys’ lacrosse squad qualified for the Shoreline Conference and Class M State tournaments on its way to a record of 12-7.
In Shorelines, H-K dropped a 10-9 decision to Morgan in the semifinal round. For states, the Cougars flipped the script on Morgan by defeating the Huskies 10-5 in a first-round matchup. H-K took a 13-5 loss to East Catholic in the quarterfinals.
Summer
The Shoreline Cougars 19-U AAU baseball team qualified for the East Shore Travel League Playoffs this summer. The Cougars took a 7-0 defeat against Connecticut Hank’s Yanks in the quarterfinals to finish with an overall record of 15-10.
Fall
The Haddam-Killingworth girls’ cross country team had a double-banner campaign in the fall season. The Cougars took first place at the Shoreline Conference Championship and then finished first in the Class SS State Championship/
Sophomore Ava DiMatteo, senior Lauren D’Amico, senior Julia Callis, junior Meara Bodak, and freshman Isabel Berardino led H-K to its fourth conference title in the last five years with its win at the Shoreline meet.
Head Coach Matt Diglio’s club went on to take its third state title in the past five years by finishing first at the Class SS meet. Bodak and Callis both ran times of 20:49 to finish in seventh and eighth place, respectively, at states. D’Amico, DiMatteo, and Berardino followed them to the finish line, while senior Ali Twatchman and sophomore Brianna Minervino also competed for the Cougars.
The H-K boys’ cross country squad took first place at the Shoreline Conference Championship for the sixth year in a row. The Cougars went on to finish in second place at the Class M State Championship and eighth at the State Open.
Junior Matt Jennings came in first place for H-K with a time of 15:49 at Shorelines. Senior Christian Uzwiak finished third (16:07), while sophomore Caleb Freeman, junior Fisher Harris, and junior Sean Rutledge also scored points for Head Coach Matt Diglio’s team. At the state meet, Jennings finished in fourth place by timing in at 16:37.
After winning just four games in the previous season, the H-K girls’ soccer team had a historic season that saw the Cougars capture the Shoreline Conference title. H-K posted a 3-2 victory over Valley Regional in the championship game of the Shoreline Conference Tournament. First-year Head Coach Mike Shea’s squad went on to win a game in states and finish with an overall mark of 15-5-1.
H-K advanced to the Shoreline final by earning wins versus Cromwell (6-5) and Old Lyme (2-1) in the first two rounds of the conference tourney. In the title game, sophomore Yumi Imai netted a goal in the second half to give the Cougars a 3-2 lead. Imai also scored both goals in the Old Lyme game, while fellow sophomore Kedarjah Lewis had four goals against Cromwell.
In the Class M State Tournament, the Cougars earned a 2-1 win versus Waterford before taking a 6-1 loss to Lewis Mills in the second round.
H-K was led by senior captain Ashley Duncanson, fellow senior Rebecca Fisher, and junior captain Kaitlyn Parri. Junior Kelsey Lonergan and sophomore Sophia Torello both played goalie during the season.
The H-K girls’ volleyball squad went 15-11 while making the semifinals of the Shoreline Conference Tournament and the Class M State Tournament.
The Cougars defeated East Hampton 4-2 in the Shoreline quarters before taking a 3-2 loss to Hale-Ray in the semis. In the state bracket, H-K defeated Career (3-0), Prince Tech (3-1), and Bacon Academy (3-0) to reach the semifinals, where the Cougars lost to Waterford by a 3-0 score.
Senior Dalton Modehn broke the H-K football team’s record for touchdowns, rushing yards, and points in a game when the Cougars earned a 55-43 win over Coventry-Windham Tech-Bolton-Lyman Memorial. Modehn ran for 404 yards, scored seven TDs, and totaled 44 points for the Cougars in the victory. H-K finished with a record of 2-8 in Mike Baklik’s last campaign as head coach.