Wave Varsity Boys Soccer’s 10th Season Game on 10/10 was a 10/10

Tyler Roland

 

 Seniors (from left to right) Jack Holly, Will Henry Harmon, and Charlie Sears rejoice as victory is had. (Photo courtesy of Danny Gordillo)

A 2-0 victory against Westhill on Tuesday October 10th, locked in a noteworthy win for the team. 

The Wave’s Varsity Boys Soccer game against Westill was, true to the date it was played on, a 10/10. Unsurprisingly, the match was another W for the boys in blue, a 2-0 victory to be precise.  Varsity Captain and senior Elias Vetter considered the game a success in more ways than one. “This game was for the boys,” Vetter stated first and foremost. “Our coach’s 150th win was riding on that game--I think this drove our desire to win and we got it done.” 

Senior Will Henry Harmon also felt empowered by the team’s success. “They had some solid players,” Harmon said, “but we felt that we had the advantage of play for the entire game--we were just waiting on a goal.  Once the first goal came, it was just domination from there on out.” With the 150th victory for coach Jon Bradley coming in on a 10/10 day, it seemed like a climactic movie scene being played out in real time, even by Darien’s peerless athletic standards.  

The next Varsity Boys Soccer games will be played on Darien’s home turf, on Thursday the 17th against Staples and on Saturday the 19th for their Homecoming game against Norwalk.

Wave Girl's Swim and Dive Glides to 6-0 Defeating Trumbull

Flynn Woodring

On Monday October 7th, the Blue Wave Girl's Swim and Dive Team raced to victory in their dual meet versus Trumbull. Making them undefeated at this point of the season with an impressive record of 6-0. They will face off against Fairfield Ludlowe on October 10th (diving) and October 11th (swimming) in one of their final meets before the post-season begins.

             Lana Schmidt placed first (225.45) in the 1-meter diving competition against Trumbull (credit: Louise Schmidt)

Darien dominated the competition having top finishes in 12 events, including the 200-yard medley relay, where juniors Olivia Golden, Kelsey Olvany, senior Sloane Latimer, and freshman Emily Kalvaitis placed second with a time of 2:00.76. Darien also took second in the 200-free with sophomore Gracie Spataro finishing in 2:03.8.

Overall there were seven first place finishes, including senior Lana Schmidt who won the 1-meter diving event with a 225.45 and senior Lexi Punishill in the 100 free finishing with a time of 0:56.52.

This afternoon Wave Swim will face off against Fairfield Ludlowe at home, while the diving team was unopposed yesterday with Ludlowe not in attendance. However, the wave still competed against one another.

Sophomore Superstar Strikes Again

Grace Carlo

Mairead Clas crowing second place (Courtesty of MSN)

Monday October 7th the girls cross country team raced at St. Joes high school. Sophomore Mairead Clas comes in clutch yet again earning second place in the varsity three mile. Other DHS athletes placing in the top ten were freshmen Charlotte Moody coming in eighth place and sophomore Julianne Tietler finishing in tenth place.

For the JV race, the wave had four place in the top ten. Sophomore Charly Covello coming in fifth place, freshmen Katie Pombar in sixth place, sophomore Charlotte Reid in seventh place, and freshmen Mia Langeveld coming in tenth.

Senior runner Brianna Lyons stated "overall we did really well and we are keeping our heads high going into FCIACs".

The next race is the FCIAC Championship on October 15th at Waveny Park in New Canaan.

Blue Wave Blown out Eagles: Darien Wins Favorably Against Trumbull Behind Kirby’s Three Touchdowns

Nolan Burke

Senior Captain Will Kirby breaks loose for a huge run (Courtesy of David G. Whitman)

On Friday, October 4th the Varsity Football team traveled to Trumbull. In last year’s matchup versus the Eagles, the Blue Wave struggled to pull away from an inferior Trumbull team and was tied at halftime. However, this time around that was not the case as the Wave led 27-6 after two quarters and finished the game strong with a 41-13 victory. Because of the victory, Darien is 4-0 and is ranked fourth in the state according to GameTimeCT.

The Blue Wave benefited from two touchdowns in the first half by senior captain Will Kirby. Senior quarterback Peter Graham continued his stellar campaign as the starter for the Blue Wave as he completed 20 of his 32 passes for 343 yards and three touchdowns. The defense continued their string of impressive games as well. Led by senior defensive end Will Bothwell who had two sacks and four solo tackles against Trumbull, the defense has dominated league play all season long. From three games against teams in the FCIAC the stout Blue Wave defense has let up just 13 points.

The player of the game was running back Will Kirby who had his best game of the season totaling an outstanding 172 total yards (139 rushing, 33 receiving) with three touchdowns. When asked about his success on the field Kirby was hesitant to take all the glory saying, “My success in the game came from the entire work of the offense. The O-line played their best game yet, Peter threw me some nice throws, all I had to do was my part and they allowed me to do that well”.

The Blue Wave are on a bye this week and the next matchup will be against winless Trinity Catholic High School on October 19th at 1:30pm at the Stadium Field.

3 Mile Success: Girls Cross Country Runs Straight into Another Success

Eva Criscuolo

On Tuesday, October 1st, the Girls Cross Country team traveled to Greenwich for a three-mile race, one of the final races of the season. According to senior varsity runner Brianna Lyons, “The meet was a bit of a challenge for some, but I feel that overall our team did very well!”

Thankfully, the Blue Wave Girls Cross Country team was able to rank highly, with sophomore varsity runner Mairead Clas placing second overall. Clas performed exceptionally well, running one of her fastest times this season. Additionally, each member of the team put a lot of genuine effort into all of their races and managed to continue the great season they have been enjoying thenceforth.

Considering the DHS Girls Cross Country team’s long and fruitful history of success and top-placing runners, the team’s prosperity was not too much of a surprise. Nonetheless, the girls were all ecstatic returning home, making sure to congratulate Clas. Lyons conveyed, “everyone was super excited to have performed so well against numerous talented teams. Mairead ran an exceptional race, and I have confidence that the team will continue to perform highly in the rest of our races”.

The team looks forward to future races like their upcoming, October 6th meet facing off Danbury High School, and Trumbull High School, in hopes of triumphing once again.

Mairead Clas running the 3-mile race (Courtesy of Gametime CT)

Catholic School Boys Sent to Church by Blue Wave Boys Cross Country

Jack Saucedo

Darien finishes second at St. Joe’s meet, beating out the home team 

Cormac Brown races to the finish line, as spectators cheer him on.

Credit: Coach Tyson Kaczmarek

On Monday, October 7th, the Blue Wave Boys Cross Country Team participated in the 2,000 and 5,000 meter races at St. Joseph High School in Trumbull, CT. Senior Cormac Brown glided into first place in the 5,000 meter, coming in with an impressive time of 18:03. All in all, the varsity team had two finishers in the top ten, Brown and senior Evan O’Rourke, landing Darien second place in the overall race, putting them right under Ridgefield.

In the JV division, freshman Dylan Deriso finished in ninth place, the only to finish in the top ten. Other commendable finishes were freshman Tate Haganey, who finished in 12th, and freshman Anders Mueller, who finished in 17th. 

Freshman Aidan Muller said, “I think this gives us a confidence boost for the FCIACs, placings and all.” 

The next race is the FCIAC Championship on October 15th at Waveny Park in New Canaan.

Tigers Tramp the Wave: Darien Girls Soccer defeated by Ridgefield

Eva Larino

Team huddle before the game (Courtesy of DAF)

On Friday, October 4th, the Darien Girls Soccer team was defeated by Ridgefield on its home turf. The Ridgefield Tigers emerged with a 2-1 lead, allowing them to claim their victory and break the Wave’s three-game winning streak.

Junior Nelle Kniffin gave the Wave a chance at victory after scoring a penalty kick inside the box, yet Ridgefield’s powerful offense outdid the team. Kniffin scored the first goal against Ridgefield this season.

Captain, senior Olivia Maniscalco states that the team played a “hard fought game” against a team known for being very good. “I’m proud of us for scoring on them,” Maniscalco said. She is confident that the team has the skills to have at least tied, and is confident that the girls could defeat Ridgefield if the two teams faced off in the postseason.

The team will play its next game on Friday, October 11th against Westhill High School at 4pm on the center oval turf field.

Unexpected Win for the Wave

Grace Carlo

Diving coach Kyle O’Donnell, Lana Schmidt, Kerry McDermott, Emma Hunter, Pai Easterbrook, Lilly Wurm, Megan Gianunzio, Julia Servas (Courtesy of Claire Hunter)

On Friday, September 20, the Darien Girls Swim and Dive team opened its season with a decisive victory over Wilton High School. The Blue Wave placed first in 10 out of 12 events and swept the diving competition, which was held on Tuesday, September 17. The 111 – 75 win was especially sweet for the team’s fourteen seniors as they haven’t beaten the Warriors in a dual meet competition since they were freshmen.

Darien jumped out with an early lead with first-place finishes in the 200 medley relay, 200 free, and 200 IM. The relay team including freshmen Meg Erickson, senior Emma Mansourian, junior Hope Murray and freshmen Natalia Ferranto placed first at 153.55.

The Blue Wave swept the diving competition as senior Julia Servas placed first (259.35), senior Lana Schmidt second (224.70) and freshmen Lilly Wurmthird (194.90).

Darien built its lead to 91 – 49 prior to the final three events. Junior Olivia Golden (102.24) and Mansourian (113.25) both placed second in the 100 back and 100 breast events, respectively.

Come support the team at the YMCA on Oct 11th as they face Fairfield Ludlowe.

Wave Defeats Stamford/Westhill in a Near Clean Sweep

Eva Larino

Girls Swimming boasts an impressive victory over Westhill/Stamford co-op 

The team poses for a post-meet photo as they celebrates their victory. 

Credit: Lauren Sparato

The Darien High School Girls Swim/Dive Team (5-0) is enjoying a perfect season after defeating the Westhill/Stamford Co-op 102-76 on October 3rd 

Against the Westhill/Stamford Co-op, the Wave captured first place in 11 out of 12 events and swept the 100 free race. In that race, juniors Kendall Leuke and Olivia Golden claimed first and second place finished with impressive times of :56.80 and :57.72 respectively. 

 

 

The Wave will face Fairfield Ludlowe, Ridgefield and Fairfield Warde before post-season begins. The team heads into its final three dual meets of the season including match-ups against Fairfield Ludlowe on October 11th, Ridgefield on October 17th, and Fairfield Warde on October 22nd and 23rd