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06/05/2022 12:00 AM

H-K Boys’ Lacrosse Reaches Class S Semifinals; Three Teams Take Defeats in States


Sophomore goalie Braden Civiello and the H-K boys’ lacrosse squad advanced to the Class S semifinals after notching victories over Tolland and Waterford in the first two rounds of the draw last week. File photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Source

Boys’ Lacrosse

One week after claiming its second-straight conference title, the Haddam-Killingworth boys' lacrosse team opened play in the Class S State Tournament by winning its first two games in the bracket last week. The Cougars posted a victory over Tolland in the first round of the Class S draw before defeating Waterford in the quarterfinals to advance to the semis with an overall record of 16-4.

No. 8 seed H-K hosted No. 9 Tolland for a first-round states game on June 1 and won the matchup by the score of 7-1. The Cougars grabbed a 5-1 halftime advantage and then scored the only 2 goals of the second half to finish off the win.

Senior Corey Phipps netted 5 goals for H-K in the victory. Junior Nolan Braren scored 2 goals for the Cougars.

Sophomore goalie Braden Civiello played an excellent game in net for Haddam-Killingworth. The Cougars were also bolstered by an exceptional performance from junior long-stick midfielder Jack Insalaco, along with stellar showings from their defensive corps of senior Matteo Piacenti, senior Sam Young, and junior Aiden Griswold.

Then on June 4, the Cougars were on the road to face top-seeded Waterford in the Class S quarterfinals and notched a 9-6 victory in the contest. The game was tied 5-5 before H-K scored the last 2 goals of the first half to take a 7-5 lead into the break. The two teams traded goals in the second half as the Cougars came away with the win to move on to the semis.

Braren scored 4 goals, while Corey Phipps netted 3 goals for H-K in the victory. Junior Alex Phipps and freshman Gunnar Howes added 1 goal apiece.

H-K will play No. 5 Weston in the Class S semifinals on Wednesday, June 8 at 4 p.m. at Fairfield Warde High School. With a victory, the Cougars would play the winner of No. 3 Canton and No. 7 Northwest Catholic for the state title on Sunday, June 12 at Sacred Heart University.

Girls’ Lacrosse

The Haddam-Killingworth girls’ lacrosse team saw its season come to a close when the Cougars took a defeat against Old Saybrook in the Class S State Tournament last week. No. 18 seed H-K played at 2nd-seeded Old Saybrook in the first round of states and lost to the Rams by the score of 17-7.

Senior Yumi Imai scored her 100th career goal for Haddam-Killingworth when the Cougars faced Old Saybrook in states. H-K finished its campaign with an overall record of 8-11, qualifying for both the Shoreline and state tourneys and then winning a game in the Class S bracket.

Softball

The Haddam-Killingworth softball team claimed victory in its first game of the Class M State Tournament before taking a loss in the quarterfinals last week. H-K finished the spring season with an overall record of 20-4.

As the No. 3 seed, the Cougars had a bye through the first round of the Class M bracket. On June 1, H-K hosted No. 14 Wilcox Tech for a second-round game and won the matchup by a 20-4 score in 5 innings. The Cougars scored 15 runs in the first inning on their way to the victory.

Junior Kaleigh Bodak pitched 3 innings and struck out 8 hitters to get her 15th win of the season for H-K. Sophomore Ivy McNeil tossed the fourth inning, and fellow sophomore Bella Richwine pitched the fifth inning to finish off the game.

Sophomore Bella LaTorre had 6 RBI for the Cougars in the win, hitting a double and a triple during their big first inning. Sophomore Cheyenne LaTouche recorded 4 hits and totaled 5 RBI on the day.

Then on June 3, H-K played a quarterfinal home game versus No. 6 seed Oxford and took a 7-0 defeat in the contest.

Baseball

The Haddam-Killingworth baseball team defeated Bullard-Havens in its Class M State Tournament opener and then took a defeat versus Barlow in a second-round game last week. The Cougars posted an overall record of 14-9 for the 2022 campaign.

No. 13 seed H-K started off the Class M State Tournament by claiming a 15-0 home victory over No. 20 Bullard Havens on May 31. The next day, the Cougars faced No. 4 Barlow on the road in the second round and lost the game by a 4-1 score.

Boys’ Golf

The Haddam-Killingworth boys’ golf team took a road loss against North Branford in its regular-season finale last week. The Cougars lost to North Branford by a 179-189 final at Indian Springs Golf Course in their last match of the regular season, finishing with an overall mark of 6-8-1.

Senior Andrew Fleig posted H-K’s best score with a 45 versus North Branford. Sophomore Declan Kessler was next in line with a 46 for the afternoon. Senior Gabe Barile and freshman Andrew Crayton both posted a score of 49, while junior Jacob Maier finished with a 57 for the Cougars.

Boys’ Outdoor Track

On the heels of three-peating as Shoreline Conference champions, the Haddam-Killingworth boys’ outdoor track team finished in seventh place at last week’s Class M State Championship. The Cougars tallied 41 points as a club on their way to placing seventh for the state competition at Willow Brook Park on June 2.

Junior Orion Inkel turned in H-K’s best performance at states by taking second place in the triple jump at 41 feet-11.75 inches. Inkel also finished eighth in the long jump with a distance of 19 feet-10 inches.

Senior Cooper Howes claimed third place in the pole vault (11-6) for H-K at the state meet. The Cougars’ 4x800 relay of senior Caleb Freeman, senior Andrew Hedges, freshman Matthew Lara, and junior Alexander Lara also came in third place (8:15.30).

Senior Aiden Law finished fourth in the long jump (20-7), and sophomore Andre Montes placed fifth in the triple jump (40-1.75) for the Cougars. Freeman took fourth place (9:41.41) in the 3,200 and was followed by Hedges in sixth place (9:58.35).

Senior Jared Firth finished seventh in the pole vault (10-6) for H-K at the state meet. Junior Alexander Lara took eighth place in the 800 (2:06.00), while junior John Panzera finished eighth for the 300 hurdles (44.09).

Girls’ Outdoor Track

One week after claiming its second-consecutive conference crown, the Haddam-Killingworth girls’ outdoor track team competed at the Class M State Championship last week. The Cougars finished in eighth place by scoring 28 points in the state meet at Willow Brook Park on June 2.

Senior Jess Timothy claimed second place in the long jump with a distance of 16 feet-3 inches for H-K at the Class M State Championship. Timothy also finished fifth in the high jump by clearing 4 feet-8 inches.

Junior Isabel Berardino took fourth place in the 3,200 (12:01.99) for the Cougars. Leah Sosnowski finished seventh in the finals of the 110 hurdles (17.42), while senior Ly-Linh Criscuolo placed seventh in the long jump (15-10).

The Cougars’ 4x400 relay of senior Brianna Minervino, senior Brianna Nugent, junior Leah Sosnowski, and sophomore Mariella Fulcher finished in fifth place (4:17.05). H-K’s 4x800 relay featuring Minervino, senior Charlotte Selmer, freshman Olivia Macaluso, and Berardino came in sixth place (10:08.82).