North Havens’s Uyeki Takes Record-Breaking, All-American Lacrosse Skills to Wesleyan
Colin Uyeki has had a lacrosse stick in his hand or a soccer ball at his foot since he was a toddler. Colin’s older brothers and neighbors were his earliest teammates and together they played a wide variety of sports from wiffle ball to football to soccer to lacrosse.
As soon as he was old enough for organized sports, Colin joined North Haven’s youth programs for soccer and lacrosse. Colin played throughout childhood, was a four-year varsity standout athlete in both sports at North Haven, and is now moving on to play lacrosse at Division III Wesleyan University following a senior season that saw him net numerous accomplishments—including All-American honors as an attacker. He is the first All-American athlete in Indians’ lacrosse history.
“It’s a dream come true. Ever since I was little, I wanted to play lacrosse in college,” says Colin, who will pursue pre-med and a career focused on helping others. “I always wanted to be one of the guys I was watching play on TV. I’m excited to continue my passion at the next level.”
While Colin is definitely ready for the next level, he feels bittersweet about leaving North Haven. For many years, Colin played lacrosse with his best friend and neighbor, Chris Broadbent. Colin also competed alongside his fellow senior captains, Cole Pecora and Jordan Fredericks.
“We’ve seen a lot of time since freshman year and were the first class that started lacrosse when we were young, so we had a lot of success,” says Colin, who’s North Haven’s all-time leading scorer with 285 points (180 goals, 105 assists). “Without Cole to assist me, I never would’ve had so many points and moving on without Chris will be a huge change. Our chemistry on the field was incredible.”
Coach Eric Bailey saw Colin and his classmates’ contributions firsthand. When Colin came in as a freshman, North Haven played in Tier 3, but played its way up to Tier 2 for Colin’s final two seasons. After winning a combined 28 games the last two years, the Indians are eligible to move to Tier 1.
“Now, this class has the opportunity to play out-of-conference games, which is just awesome to grow the sport,” says Bailey, who credits Colin for his role in the program’s advancement. “It’s going to be a tough loss. He’s a natural leader. When your best player is the hardest worker, then everyone else falls in line. We were very fortunate to have him.”
Colin certainly has an extensive résumé of achievements on the lacrosse field. This spring, he set the program’s single-season scoring record with 103 points (58 goals, 45 assists) to complement his 38 ground balls. For the second-straight campaign, Colin was named First Team All-State, First Team All-SCC, New Haven Register All-Area, and Indians’ co-MVP with Pecora. He was also chosen as the Register’s All-Area MVP and the OrthoNOW/Southern Connecticut Conference Player of the Year. The highlight for Colin, though, was earning All-American accolades.
“I’m ecstatic with the way my high school career ended,” says Colin, who graduated ninth in his class as a member of the National Honor Society and was named Connecticut All-Academic. “You can’t ask for more than being All-American.”
Colin’s success wasn’t limited to the lacrosse field and the classroom as he also excelled for North Haven boys’ soccer after earning a spot in the varsity lineup his freshman year. Unfortunately, he only played a few games in his senior season when a concussion sidelined him. But even though he didn’t compete as much as he wanted to, Colin still attended each practice and every game. Colin, a senior captain midfielder, was rewarded with the Indians’ Sportsmanship Award. He also made All-Oronoque Honorable Mention as a junior.
“We had a decent year, but we were not the same without Colin. He gives so much on the field and people are energized by him,” says Coach Federico Fiondella. “He still came to every practice and game and went above and beyond. He became kind of an assistant coach and that’s more than what we could’ve asked.”
Fiondella predicts that Colin will be a “fantastic coach” one day. In the past two years, Colin has given private lacrosse lessons and would love to coach at the high school or college level down the road.
Colin credits his coaches for their support through the years—especially Paul Campanelli, who was his youth coach, as well as Bailey, Fiondella, and the rest of his Indians’ coaches. He also thanks is father, John; mother, Alison; his brothers, Ian and Alex; plus his sister, Annie.
“I’ve also had so much family support,” says Colin, who also tutors and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. “My dad is at every event he can be and my brothers, Ian and Alex, help me in the backyard. It’s like having two coaches at my house.”
When Colin entered North Haven High School, he knew one of his neighbors, Tyler Benson, held several lacrosse records and that motivated him to excel and ultimately break them. Colin hopes to return to North Haven one day and see his records broken by the incoming youth players.
“There are a lot of talented kids coming up and I hope my success is a motivator for other people,” he says. “I always wanted to be a part of Indian sports and beat my neighbor’s records. I looked up to him as a role model. Achieving that was a really awesome feeling and I hope others can get that feeling, as well.”