Girls XC Finishes Their Season at States, Saying Goodbye to Senior Superstar Emilia Callery

By Carson Halabi

Top runners for Wave XC begin the varsity race as an unbeatable pack. 

At 11:30 am on Saturday, October 28th, the Blue Wave girls cross country team ran their top seven girls in the Class L State Championship race at Wickham Park in East Hartford. Junior Sophie Hill was the team’s top finisher, with a time of 22:10 for the difficult 5k course. Last week, Hill finished 28th in the FCIAC race, earning the All-FCIAC title. She is a strong and resilient runner, who will lead BWXC to great success in the 2018 season. Junior Penn Boucher and senior Emilia Callery also had stand-out races, finishing 3rd and 4th for Darien. Senior captain Callery has been a top finisher for Darien since her freshman year, and really rounded out her cross country career in her final race. She is impressively consistent for a one-season runner, and her leadership on the team for the past 4 years is unparalleled. BWXC will miss her. Many cross country runners, including senior captains KC Grady, Kimmy Olvany and Carson Halabi will run indoor and outdoor track for the Wave. Catch us on the new track next month!

Senior captains Kimmy Olvany, KC Grady, Carson Halabi, and Emilia Callery finished their cross country careers this past week.

Darien Girls Varsity Volleyball Loses to St. Joseph

By Emma Love

The team makes a big play earlier this season. (Courtesy DAF) 

On Wednesday, October 25th, the Girls Varsity Volleyball team faced a tough 0-3 loss to St. Joseph as the season comes to a close. Darien was able to stay with St. Joseph’s, one of the leading teams in the FCIAC, throughout the night. Notable plays came from seniors Kellie Arevalo and Addie Schoen, as well as junior Hassana Abubakar. Although Darien will not be in the FCIAC playoffs this year, the future looks bright as younger players have been getting experience in the last couple matches.

Come and support the team in their last regular season game against Norwalk on Friday, October 27th at 4 pm!

Field Hockey Comes Out Victorious Against Norwalk

By Alix Platt

On Monday, October 23rd, the Darien Field Hockey team had a big win against Norwalk’s Brien-McMahon High School. Darien took the field by storm with a win of 6-0.  The stars  were seniors Kendall Wisinski, Kathleen Tropsa, Sydney Schrenker, and junior Daphne Cutler,  who all scored and gave Darien a huge lead. Darien Field Hockey this year is now 13-2-1, hoping for the FCIAC and State Championship. Junior Riley Joysce said, “We played really well, we all connected on the field and sideline.”

The FCIAC quaterfinals are on Friday, October 28th. This year is going to be a competitive one, all teams have lost to one another which will add to the element of surprise.
Go cheer on Darien Field Hockey!

Senior Kathleen Tropsa scores one of the many goals for the Blue Wave. 

Boys Cross Country Runs Hard in FCIAC Championships

By Bradley Knebel

Senior Griffin Ott competing in a meet earlier this season. (Courtesy DAF) 

On Wednesday, October 18th the 2017 FCIAC Boys Cross Country Championships took place. Taking place at Waveny Park, New Canaan the 5,000 meter race was assured to be important for all of the teams attending. Though Darien did not place in gold, they still improved much since last year. The first place winner was Staples High School, with a team score of 33. Darien placed sixth with a score of 185, just ahead of New Canaan with a score of 119. This had been a rough season for the boys track team, but over the course they have improved greatly. The team had lost a lot of great runners, and despite being lower than last years score, they have persevered. According to the team, it was a surprise they placed this high despite their rough beginnings.

Scott Peters, senior and Captain of the Track Team, had this to say about the championship, “... proud of my boys for their performance at FCIAC's….” The team has high hopes with the new recruits of freshman, and still placed two individuals in the top 30 this year; Griffin Ott at 16:59.73 in 22nd place, and Jack O’Keefe at 17:13.44 in 29th place. Their improvement is evident and will continue on into the next season.

Girls Swimming Loses to Wilton

By Scotty Tuck

Junior Cassie Maroney in the 200 Individual Medley.

On Wednesday, October 18th the Darien High School Girls Swim and Dive team suffered a disappointing loss against Wilton. The previously 5-1 team lead by captains Isabel Blaze, Carly Rutledge, and Katie Martin went into the meet confidently, having only lost to the powerhouse Greenwich High School team. The meet started off strongly, as Darien scored major points in the 200 Medley Relay and 200 Freestyle, winning the relay and scoring first and fourth in the 200 Freestyle. Following the 200 Freestyle however, Wilton began to gain momentum, scoring first, second, and fifth in the 200 Individual Medley, and sweeping the 50 Freestyle. Following the diving, Wilton had a significant lead over Darien, and although they scored some first place finishes in the second half of the meet, Wilton ultimately came out on top. Regarding the meet, junior Kelsey Vrooman said, “It was a tough loss and everyone gave it their all. I think it gives us a good idea of what we need to work on for the rest of the season.”

Some standout performances during the meet were senior Carly Rutledge, who took both the 200 and 500 Freestyles, as well as senior Isabel Blaze and junior Lauren Picard, who won the 100 Butterfly and 100 Backstroke. The team has one more regular season meet at New Canaan YMCA on Wednesday, October 25th at 3 p.m, so be sure to go out and show some support.

Varsity Field Hockey Falls to Staples

By Hugh Hearns

Senior goalie Erica Blaze makes a save earlier this season (Courtesy DAF).

On Thursday, October 19 the Darien varsity field hockey team took on Staples High School. In a tightly contested game the Blue Wave lost by a score of 2-1 behind two Staples goals by Meghan Johnson. The lone Blue Wave tally was scored by senior Sydney Schrenker. As it stands however, Darien are 11-2 and are second in the East Division as well as being qualified for the FCIAC playoffs. Come cheer the Blue Wave on at Brien McMahon in their final regular season game this monday.

Girls Soccer Defeats Westhill 1-0

By Taylor Davis

On Tuesday, October 18th, the Girls Varsity Soccer team beat Westhill 1-0. The team played exceptionally well, especially senior captain Katie Ramsay and freshman Nelle Kniffin. Ramsay led the team to victory scoring off of a corner that was flicked in front of the net. “Nelle Kniffin played out of her mind, went into every tackle and won,” senior captain Christine Fiore said. The 1-0 win made for a great senior day, and the juniors stepped up and made it a day that the seniors will never forget. “The juniors did such a good job with the day. It meant so much to us because this team is my family,” Fiore said.

The seniors pose for a photo before the game on Senior Day (Courtesy DAF). 

Come out and support the Girls Varsity Soccer Team in their next game against St. Joseph on Saturday, October 21st!

Blue Wave Field Hockey Defeats Ridgefield in a Near Shutout

By Ellie Nelson

On October 15th, the Darien Field Hockey team beat rival Ridgefield at home, 4-1. Senior captain Kathleen Tropsa led the team with two goals; the other two were scored by senior captain Sydney Schrenker and junior Daphne Cutler. Notable performances came from juniors Katie Elders and Bridget Mahoney, both of whom had assists. Senior goalie Erica Blaze was also a strong contributor to the victory, only allowing one goal the entire game. Following the game, the team’s record improved to 2-2-4 in the FCIAC league.

Reigning FCIAC champions since 2012, the team is preparing both mentally and physically in hopes for another successful tournament this year. “We are really excited and hoping to finish the season of strong, but we know we have to just keep working hard in practice because you never know what could happen,” said sophomore Izzy Smith.

Come support the team this Thursday against Staples at 4pm!

Senior Kendall Wisinski steals the ball during a game against Garden City earlier in the season. 

Boys Soccer Takes Down New Canaan

By Cole Armstrong

Senior Justin Van De Graaf  goes after the ball. (Courtesy DAF) 

On October 12th, The Darien Boys Soccer team had a triumphant victory against New Canaan with a final score of 3-0. Blake Sommi was a powerhouse scoring the first two goals along with Will Dickson who scored the final goal of the game. This is the second win for the team following their first on October 10th, ending a losing streak that was in place from the beginning of the season. The defense was tremendous from all players and was paired well with the very apparent ferocity to win. Player Cam Raia is optimistic and excited for upcoming games stating that “the team has “gained a lot of momentum and I'm really confident that we’ll be winning our upcoming games."

Girls Cross Country Comes Out Strong in Their Last Regular Season Meet at Tod’s Point

By Carson Halabi

On Tuesday, October 10, the girls cross country team completed in their last regular season meet at Tod’s Point in Greenwich. Running against two of the strongest teams in the FCIAC, Wilton and Greenwich, Darien held their own. Junior superstar Sophie Hill came in first for Darien with a time of 20:52 for the 2.9 mile course. The beautiful course by the water helped to motivate the girls varsity team, whose top seven runners finished within 1:00 of each other. BWXC is in a strong place for their FCIAC championship next Wednesday, October 18 at Waveny Park in New Canaan.

The ocean view of the 2.9 mile cross country course at Tod’s Point on Tuesday.

Girls Varsity Soccer Ties New Canaan

By Sarah-Jane Clarke

On Wednesday, October 11th Darien girls varsity soccer tied New Canaan 0-0 at Conner Field. Going into the game, Darien was determined to not let New Canaan, their biggest rival, leave with a win, and the team succeed.

Senior Emily Denunzio goes for a header. (Photo Courtesy DAF)

Although it ended in a tie, Darien brought a strong fight onto the field and were able to keep the ball out of their goal the entire game. The defensive players had a particularly great match. Captain and star defender Emily DeNunzio was a brick wall in the defensive zone. She used her head like it was her third foot, constantly heading the ball back to her teammates up field. Defenders Anna Fox and Emily Bergwall also helped keep the ball out of New Canaan’s possession with aggressive efforts. As always, goalie Christine Fiore was a key player in the game. New Canaan had two breakaways, yet were unable to get the goal due to Fiore’s focus and strength. This kept the game exciting and all fans on the edge of their seats.

For the offensive side, the ball was difficult to control; it continuously bounced back and forth between New Canaan and Darien at midfield. However, Darien was playing on grass, something the team isn’t used to. Nevertheless, the offensive players had some incredibly close shots on goal, in particular senior Katie Ramsay and junior Natalie Bravo.

Although there were no goals for Darien, senior Emily Bergwall reflected positively on the game, “Although we aren’t happy with the tie, especially against our rivals, I’m glad we were able to have yet another shutout, especially heading towards the end of the season.” With 8 wins and only 3 losses this season, the team will definitely have a great game next Tuesday, October 17 at 5:30 pm on the DHS Stadium Field. Be sure to head over and support the team, especially the seniors, during their Senior Day game!

Boys Varsity Soccer Gets First Win of the Season; Beats Staples 1-0

By Will Pegler

On Tuesday, October 10th at Staples High School the Boys Varsity Soccer team took down Westport 1-0, getting their first win of the season. It was a hard fought battle throughout, with strong defense and goalkeeping on both sides. In the last few minutes of regulation, though, junior Cole Branca scored a clutch goal and sent the Wave off with a win. Senior goalie David Volz played exceptionally well, making big time saves throughout the afternoon. Volz talked about how big of a win it was for the team and how it will affect them going forward, he said; "Getting that win was huge. It felt like we had just won a championship with how excited everyone was. It will definitely be a huge momentum boost for us for the rest of the season".

Credit also goes to Head Coach Jon Bradley who, according to Volz, gave the boys some extra motivation before the game, Volz said; "Coach said he would get us all McDonald's if we won. I guess you could say that motivated us even more to fight as hard as we could, and yes we did have McDonald's after the game".

Hopefully the Wave can keep this energy going into a huge game against rival New Canaan on Thursday, October 12th at 4 pm at the DHS Oval Turf.

Senior goalie David Volz boots the ball down field (Courtesy DAF). 

Girls Varsity Volleyball Beats Stamford 3-2

By Amelia Fordyce

Senior Addie Schoen goes for the spike (Courtesy DAF). 

The Blue Wave Girls Volleyball team won against the Stamford Girls Volleyball team on Monday, October 2nd. The Stamford Girls Volleyball team had won FCIACs last year but the Blue Wave team were ready: “I believe we just had a lot more energy on the court and a more focused mindset.” said junior Gabrielle Highton. They had a loss for the first set but they won the fifth set, getting their victory. “We pushed extremely hard in the 5th set and we finally got our victory.” said Highton. This was the 11th game of the fall season. The team has had a few losses this season, but they are determined to win.

Come watch Darien play against Newton @ the DHS main gym on Monday, October 9th at 4 P.M.

Blue Wave Football Keeps Winning Streak Alive Against Stamford

By Henry Rech

The Blue Wave Football team dealt out another crushing defeat  on Saturday, October 30th to the
Stamford Black Knights. Darien was able to get up quick, scoring two first quarter touchdowns and never looked back, scoring 47 straight points. Stamford was able to score their first touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Senior quarterback  Jack Joyce played another impressive game leading the Blue Wave with three passing touchdowns. In a game full of standout players, one name pops out when you look at the box score, and that is junior Running Back Andrew Lucas. He did a phenomenal job filling in for injured running back Mitchell Pryor who left the game with a knee injury. In his time filling in, he scored three touchdowns on runs of 23, 13, and 20 yards. This could be considered the junior’s coming out party as he hopes to replicate his play from Saturday night.

The team had a bye this past weekend but looks to stay hot this Friday night, October 13th at Staples High School. Come out and support the Wave!

Junior Linebacker Connor Fay fights through blockers in hot pursuit of the ball carrier (Courtesy DAF). 

Freshman Girls Volleyball Gets the Win

By Nina Rodriguez

On Monday, October 9th, the Darien freshman girl’s volleyball team had a victorious
performance against the Newtown Nighthawks, at Newtown High School with a final score of
3-1. The game started at 4 P.M. and lasted about an hour and a half. Out of four sets, Darien
triumphed the last three, 20-25, 25-17, 25-15, and 25-6. According to freshman, Cavan Duffy,
her team had many aces, which are serves that BWVB served that the opposing team missed
immediately. Also, the team had many kills, which are hits that they miss right away. The
freshman team continues to play on fire, and is predicted to win future games.

Long time Blue Wave Head Coach Laurie Larusso watches her freshman get the win.