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."

Sean Gill Prepares for Indoor Season

-By: Mikel Marku-

Senior track captain Sean Gill has high expectations for this year’s indoor track season, which kicks off this month. This is Sean’s first season as a captain. Sean (pictured right) hopes to pass on what he learned from past captains to get the Blue Wave its 8th consecutive FCIAC East championship. But there are big challenges with the move to the more competitive L division. “Moving to Class L makes the qualifying times are a lot harder to get, so that means we are going to have to work that much harder to get people into states,” Sean said. Another goal for the team is for the Wave to beat New Canaan. “It’s very important to beat them,” Sean said. The Wave’s first meet is December 19th at Wilton.

A Sweet 3-Peat for Field Hockey

-By: Jack Bushell-

Girls' field hockey snagged its third straight state title against New Canaan 3-0 on Saturday(11/21)! This is the team's third title in three years. The game took place in Wethersfield Conn. Both teams had to travel quite far, but it was worth it for the Blue Wave. Prior to this win, the girls had also just won the FCIAC title as well: better make room in the trophy case! The team went 22-0 during the entire season only giving up five goals during that stretch. The offense also played a huge role as the team scored 104 times. Senior Aimee Rich was the core of the defense shutting out the opponent 18 times, which is more games that some of the other teams have won. The entire defense only let the opponent shoot 72 shots on goal for the season, meaning when the opponent shoots they only have a 14.4% chance of scoring. Defense definitely wins championships as proven by the field hockey team. Congrats girls!!!

(picture taken by Steve Buono)