Girls Join Wrestling Squad

-By Lisa Randall-

The DHS wrestling team is starting its season with some unexpected new members: six girls have joined the team. Juniors Cindy Gaete, Lili Balian, sophomores Stephanie Gaete and Meg Ritcher and freshmen Natasha Green and Hayley Rissalo are going to the mats. The girls will wrestle from weight classes ranging from 103 to 145. “We haven’t had a 103 since Joey Testa who graduated in 2007. Now we’ll have four, maybe five,” junior wrestler Connor Beaumont said. Beaumont also said, “Considering we have a lot of new kids as well as experienced veterans”, he expects that the team will have a successful season. “From weight classes 119 to 145 we are a power house,” he added. Beaumont’s sister and team manager junior Abby Beaumont said that the loss of Class of ’09 grads Matt Liguori, Tom Bassford, and James Geddes will impact the season but not enough to cause a dramatic setback. Captains this season are seniors Justin Marks (pictured above), Jon Lewis and juniors Dimitri Chagares and Lars Remole.

Berizzi Joins D-1 Loyola Swimming

-By Kathryn Saulitis-

The season may be over for the Darien girls swim team, but it is far from over for senior Sam Berizzi. Sam was one of the captains of the powerhouse girls swim team, and will continue swimming on the division 1 level at Loyola University in Maryland. It is clear that talent in the water runs in family, as Sam’s aunt made it to the U.S. Olympic swim team. Inspired by her aunt, Sam started swimming at the age of six for the Darien Piranhas and the Club Innis Arden in Greenwich. Sam has stuck with it for so many years because she says, “I really love the sport just because of the racing and the friends I have made throughout the years.” Sam’s years in training showed this season, as the team had a record of 8-1. The one loss was to rival, Greenwich, which Sam says, “was a tough meet” Sam only lost one event throughout the duel meet season, but she credits her success to her team by saying, “I could not have done any of it without the support of my team and the large senior class that brought us to victory in both the FCIAC and State meets.” The FCIAC win was especially impressive, because Darien girls swimming has never taken home the title.
Sam was a part of more than just those two titles, she, along with seniors Cali Ceglarski, Katie Rohn, and Katie Orem, was also a member of the freestyle relay that broke the Class M record at States. Along with crediting her team for her success, Sam also credits her coach, Marj Trifone. Sam says, “Marj was very compassionate to everyone throughout the entire season which made us achieve our goals. We couldn’t have made it this far without our coach pushing us every day.” As for her future, swimming at the collegiate level, Sam knows it will be tough and time consuming but to her it is worth it because she says, “I enjoy the sport because of what I get back and achieve from it.” With Sam’s determination to win and passion for swimming, it is clear that she will find success in Maryland.

High Hopes for Boys' Swim Team

-By Ian Sullivan-

After an impressive 7-3 record last year and placing third in the grueling FCIAC conference, the boys' swim team hopes to continue its legacy through the 2009/2010 season. After the departure of senior captains Sam Archibald, Peter Waters, Phil Treesh, and Robby Nevin, seniors Wesley Dean and William Plunkett have assumed their captaining roles. “We lost some strong point scoring seniors last year, but we are looking to increase our depth this year with our many incoming freshman. I know we look good out of the pool, but how we do this year depends on how we look in the pool,” Dean said. Although their season doesn’t begin until early December, many swimmers have participated in the swimming program offered by the YMCA that was recommended by Coach Matt Czaplicki. The recent success of the girls swim team finishing first in both FCIACS and States, has fueled the boys swim team to match its accomplishments in the coming months.

Picture Info: Senior captain William Plunket (center) in the pool along with co captain Wesley Dean standing before the block. Photo by Grant Nelson.

A Not Very Happy Thanksgiving for the Blue Wave: Turkey Bowl

-By: Jack Bushell-

In a low scoring game, Darien lost to New Canaan in the annual Turkey Bowl with a score of 14-7. The game was played at New Canaan High School on an overcast day. The Wave's defense played extremely well. The team recorded a sack, many tackles for losses and some big hits, most notably by juniors Peter McDonough and Jarrett Gatling. Darien ran the ball more often than throwing it, even on long 3rd down plays. However, this running pattern may have lost the game for the Wave. After the first half, New Canaan shut down the run, stopping Darien's offense. New Canaan had a great special team day with a blocked field goal and great punt coverage. The Rams' special teams kept Darien from scoring and was a major factor in the Wave's loss. The turning point came in the 4th quarter when senior kicker John Gardner put his knee down to field a poorly snapped punt attempt (in high school football when a player's knee goes down, that is where the ball is down as well). This gave the Rams great field position inside the Wave's 30-yard line and the Rams easily capitalized on the possesion. The Wave seemed to come back strong with senior captain George Benitez hitting junior Anthony Donato for a couple big pass plays. The Wave was inside the Ram's five-yard line when they forced a fumble and Benitez gave the ball back to the Rams sealing the game and the season for the Blue Wave.

Freshman Diver Breaks Two Hands

-By Samantha Wood-

Freshman diver Caroline Ashcraft has sustained two broken hands, 10 popped knuckles, and several cut fingers after one dive went wrong at the Connecticut State Open Meet in Hamden last weekend. The accident happened during her reverse one-and-a-half tuck dive on Nov 20. As of now it is unclear how long Ashcraft will be out of action. For the full story on Ashcraft’s injury, see Neirad Enilno live Dec. 1.

Girls Volleyball 'Sets' Up State Win

-By Charles Spivey-

Girls' varsity volleyball team dominated Farmington High School 3-0 to win yet another state title in class L in Berlin, Conn on Saturday. (11/21) This victory brings the girls a 25th straight game this season in which they have won by a score of 3-0. (Saying they dominated the competition would be an understatement!) Volleyball ends the season 25-0 under coach Laurie LaRusso. With just Corrine Somni, Sarah Gorski, and Colby Billhardt graduating the team is likely to once again be a dominant force next fall. That is not say these three senior captains presence won’t be missed in 2010.
(picture supplied DHS home page)

Jumping Trio Tries Triple

-By: Dan Campbell-

Besides moving up to the Class L division this year, the boys' indoor track team will be faced with another change this season. For the first time in school history, the boys will have the opportunity to participate in the triple jump. "The triple jump is a three step approach where the runner hops, steps, and then jumps into the sand pit" junior Kevin Keller (pictured) said. Keller will be one of the three triple jumpers along with fellow junior Stockton McMullin and senior Brent Eppley, both of whom are captains this season. The basic idea of the event is to use the "hop" and "step" phases of the jump to gain more speed and power, making the final "jump" fly further. Due to the fact that this is the inaugural year for the triple jump, whichever jumper has the longest jump will be the school record holder. McMullin said the three were "planning to do really well in the jumping events and all have pretty good jumping skills, so we're excited to compete for the record."