Indoor Track Prepares for the Season Ahead

-By: Justin Pryor-

Indoor track and field may not officially start until after Thanksgiving, but the captains are already in full preparation mode. Senior captains Brandon Tripodi (pictured) , Sean Gill, Jake McCauley, Brent Eppley and junior Stockton McMullin are getting ready for the official start on Nov. 30.
The biggest change for the team this year is that indoor track will now compete in the class L division because of the bigger freshman class, instead of the smaller class MM division. This new L division is for schools with larger a student population. Tripodi said his role as captain will be to help the boys train harder in the upcoming days before the season begins to meet the new challenges of the tougher L division.
Brandon said the team has good potential with “good distance, middle, and short distance runners.” Brandon also said that “what would make us a better team is if we could get more kids in the school to do the other events [shot put, high jump, long jump, and pole vault].”

Darien Shuts Down Norwalk

-By: Brian Curry-

In front of a small crowd on a wet Saturday night (11/14) at Norwalk High School, Darien football held on to defeat Norwalk 22-3. The big win improves Darien’s record to 7-2 overall and 6-2 in the FCIAC division. The win also marks the Wave’s sixth straight win after getting off to a disappointing 1-2 start. Senior quarterback George Benitez had a solid day, rushing for a single eight-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and also icing the game for Darien on a 22-yard touchdown pass to senior wide-out Alex Wildish in the fourth quarter. Darien’s defense held Norwalk to a lone three points for the entire game, and was the key to its the victory. The defense also forced Norwalk turnovers, and also forced two safeties on errant Norwalk snaps, one in the first quarter and another in the fourth. The win not only keeps the Wave’s playoff hopes alive, but also gives Darien added momentum heading into its next contest, the big showdown against the New Canaan Rams. That game will take place at 10am on Thanksgiving Day, November 26th, at New Canaan High School.

Girls' Swim and Dives Heads to States

-By Katherine Minion-

The Darien Girls' Swim and Dive moves onto the Class M State Championships on Tuesday. (11/15) They will go up against archrival New Canaan at an event held on the campus of Southern Connecticut State University. A big factor in helping the Darien girls beat New Canaan is to perform well in the State trials on Saturday (11/14) and to get in the best heats possible for the championship meet. Junior swimmer Lindsay Tyler says, “We really want to keep it up since we won FCIAC’s, and New Canaan is our biggest competition.”

Pictured: Seniors Katie Orem, Cali Ceglarski, and junior Amy Sanborn. Photo courtesy Darien Times.

Girls' Varsity Soccer defeated in the first round of FCIACs

-By: Andi Cara-

Girls' varsity soccer went down to Fairfield Warde in the first round of the FCIAC tournament in double overtime this week. The game ended 3-1 with junior Georgie Highton scoring the lone goal off a pass from senior Rachel Kannigan on Monday (11/9). Junior goalie Charlotte Phillips dominated with a total of six saves in the net. However, the girls' efforts were not enough to ward off Warde on our home turf. Senior captain Liz Calby said "it was a really hard game and everyone worked their hardest but two overtimes were a lot." The girls returned home exhausted and disappointed but content with the hard work they put in this season.

Diving Puts 4 in top 10 at Class M Championship

-By: Jack Bushell-

After a strong win at the FCIAC meet, the girls' swim team divers competed in the Class M diving championship in Plainville on Thursday (11/12). Senior Alex Leinroth came away with the State Champion title when it was all said and done. Other strong finishers include junior Alexandra Ashcraft who finished 4th; freshman Caroline Ashcraft finished 5th and junior Adriana Baker finished 8th. The winning should continue next season with only Leinroth graduating in June. The entire swimming team will compete on Saturday (11/14) at Branford in the class M qualifying meet at 2pm. Congrats to the entire team in its successes so far this season.
(for more information on Alexandra Ashcraft please see http://darienps.org/neirad/0911lexi.php)

Field Hockey Wins in OT!

-By: Jack Bushell-

The Blue Wave made it to the next round of the state tournament on Thursday (11/12) with a win against the Wilton Warriors. The Wave won in double overtime with a score of 1-0 at home. The winning goal came from junior Ellie Riegel with junior Leslie Gill on the assist. The team had already beaten Wilton twice this season. Both games ended in a 3-0 score.

The Blue Wave saw a different Wilton team this week. "This was the most exciting field hockey game I have ever watched," DHS Athletic Director John Keleher said. In recent wins, the girls beat their opposition handily, with the goals against average amounting to .2 per game. The girls now face Daniel Hand High School from the shoreline town of Madison. The location has not been determined.

Girls' Swim Team Wins FCIAC Title

-By: Jack Bushell-

The girls' swim team won the FCIAC title beating favorite Greenwich at Greenwich High School this weekend. This was a big win on Saturday (11/7) since Greenwich has landed this title for the past 11 years. The Wave beat them by eight points. “It was a CRAZY win,” senior Tamaki Silver said just to keep it simple. Twelve seniors are on the team - a presence that will be missed next year. The swim team has always been close to the title but never won. Since Darien High School doesn’t have a pool it is hard for the girls to practice, unlike Greenwich where they have a pool on campus. This was no matter to the swim team who pulled off a great victory and a “crazy win”. Make sure to congratulate the girls and their coaches on a job well done.