Senior Stud WR Out for Football Season

by Jay Alter - Rob Trifone and the Darien Blue Wave Football team hoisted an FCIAC championship last fall with the help of a great senior class and junior #1 Wide Receiver, Clay Barker. Barker had seven catches that night and had the most catches out of anybody on the team last season. Unfortunately during the lacrosse season, where Barker is the Blue Wave's starting face off man, he tore his ACL and had immediate surgery. The surgery will result in Barker missing the fall season, which means Trifone will be without a #1 wide receiver and lacking offense in general. Junior, Peter Gesualdi is a viable replacement for that lack of offense as he assumes the role of the #1 running back on the team and seniors Ryan Barthold and Harlan Smith may also get their chance at WR. Without Barker it will be hard for Trifone and the Blue Wave to get back to the success they had last year.

DARIEN HIGH SCHOOL RUGBY CLUB PLAYERS REPRESENT CONNECTICUT IN VICTORY OVER MASSACHUSETTS AND VERMONT

Members of the Darien High School Rugby Club were chosen to represent Connecticut in the Under-19 New England Challenge Cup at UMASS in Amherst last Saturday, June 11. They were Chris Brook, JJ Holmgren, Sam McCarthy, Jared Murphy and Christian Watson.

The Under 19 Connecticut team emerged victorious in the tournament by defeating Massachusetts and Vermont. This was a memorable victory for the Connecticut team and, more particularly, great recognition of Blue Wave rugby, the representative honors accorded by Connecticut reflecting the extraordinary success which Darien High School rugby has enjoyed throughout the recent season. The undefeated Blue Wave won their division in the NY Metropolitan League and, subsequently, emerged triumphant at the Connecticut High Schools tournament at Simsbury on May 29.

The selection of Blue Wave players to represent the State at the highest level of competition is a fitting end to a glittering season for Darien High School Rugby Club, and is a sign of future success over the years to come.

Img_2208: Blue Wave members of the victorious Connecticut team show off the winner’s trophy. They are (L to R) JJ Holmgren, Chris Brook, Christian Watson, Sam McCarthy and Jared Murphy.

Darien Sports Wrap-Up with Titles

Boys Volleyball and Girls Lacrosse earn State Titles for Darien this Spring.

DHS Track Run For Japan

By Sam Nelson - On Friday June 10th the members of the Boys and Girls DHS Track Teams are organizing a fundraiser for the victims of the Japan earthquake. The fundraiser will be held at 7 pm on that Friday night. There will be a $20 donation which will be paid by all participants and by paying all participants will either walk or run two miles around the track. Each participant will receive a “Run for Japan” t shirt designed by the Art for Action Club here at Darien High School. All of the money that will be raised will be donated directly to Japan through the Darien Rotary Club. For the event, you can either register at the event at 6:30 p.m. or you can pre register. If you would like to pre register you can email DHSrunforJapan@gmail.com with your name and T-shirt size. The sizes come in Youth Large, and then Adult Small, Medium, Large or Extra Large. The event will happen no matter what happens, it will happen rain or shine. All ages are welcome to participate.
For questions or more information, please contact Minina Johnston at minina@optonline.net

Boys Lax up 7-3 at

Boys Lax up 7-3 at end of 3rd quarter even without Case Matheis in the game for their quarterfinal state game

Darien Boy’s Rugby Sweeps State Championships 111-0

By Catie Wright - On Sunday, May 29th, the Darien boy’s rugby team cleaned out at the Divison II State Championships in Simsbury, Connecticut at Simsbury High School. Throughout the day the A team was able to go undefeated, without a single touchdown being scored against them. In total, Darien scored 111 points. They played against Stamford Academy, Southington, and Madison.

Rugby Senior Captain Sam McCarthy said, “it was a really good way to finish the year.” Unfortunately, onlookers will not be able to attend Darien rugby games until next season since the State Championships were their last hoorah.

Even though it is hard to believe that the rugby team is only a club at DHS, they are certainly making a huge impact and giving Darien a place on the Rugby map with their undefeated season. “Hopefully next year it will be a Varsity sport,” said Sam McCarthy. We hope so too.