07-08 Yearinreview.Pmd
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SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT CONFERENCE 2007-08 YEAR IN REVIEW www.SouthernConnecticutConference.org SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT CONFERENCE Amity • Branford • Career • Cheshire • Daniel Hand • Derby • East Haven • Fairfield Prep • Foran • Guilford • Hamden • Hillhouse, Jonathan Law • Lyman Hall • Mercy • North Haven • Notre Dame-WH • Sacred Heart Academy • Sheehan • Shelton • West Haven • Wilbur Cross • Xavier 2007-08 YEAR-IN-REVIEW 14th Year Established in 1994, the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) recently concluded its 14th year in 2007-08... One of the top - if not the best - high school leagues in the state of Connecticut, the athletic success of SCC member schools has been well-documented and bolstered by the 263 state championships won since the league’s formation... More importantly, the league has continued its tradition of offering first-rate non-athletic programs and events which seek to enrich our students’ overall high school experience and make them responsible citizens. 2007-08 Executive Board President: Judith Gallagher, Principal - Cheshire HS Vice-President: Dr. Russell Dallai, Principal - North Haven HS Secretary: Jeanne Cooper, Athletic Director - Hamden HS Treasurer: Steve Trifone, Athletic Director - Cheshire HS Athletic Director Chairperson: Elaine Piazza, Athletic Director, Lyman Hall HS Commissioner: Al Carbone Commissioner Emeritus: Bill O’Brien Special Thanks to our Corporate Sponsors To continue to offer top-notch programs and events, the SCC relies on financial support from the local business community… The SCC had several corporate sponsors and partners for the 2007-08 academic year, including the NewAlliance Foundation, The United Illuminating Company, Boathouse Sports, the International Union of Operating Engineers – Local 478, and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Their support is much appreciated! - 2 SCC Year in Review - cont. Sixth Annual Arts Exhibition 2008 SCC Arts Exhibition Winners The sixth annual SCC Student Arts Exhibition was held the week of April 21-26 at the Creative Arts Workshop on First Prize: Tyler E. Reep, Daniel Hand (charcoal drawing), Audubon Street in New Haven... A grand opening of the show $100 with refreshments took place on Tuesday, April 22... The Second Prize: Philip Beamon, Career (conceptual, exhibition featured 60 selections of outstanding student- basketball), $75 originated visual arts in a variety of media... Prizes were Third Prize: Helen Xu, Cheshire (pastel), $50 Fourth Prize: David Van Epps, Guilford (clay), $40 awarded by a jury of professional artists and arts Fifth Prize: Shawn Kavanaugh, Branford (glass), $35 administrators coordinated through CAW Executive Director Susan Smith. Honorable Mention: Jessica Reeve, Guilford (pencil drawing), Ronek Patel, Lyman Hall (pastel), Benjamin Lankton, Xavier (charcoal drawing), Stephen Kupchick, Fairfield Prep Diversity “Dream Teams” (pen and ink), Felicia Astorino, Sheehan (jewelry) Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges Under the direction of Dave Maloney and in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, the SCC Diversity Dream Teams - Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges – had another successful year… The program held its final session of the 2007-08 academic year on May 16 at the Jewish Community Center in Woodbridge... Over 125 students representing the 23 member schools participated in the year-long program. 14th Annual Scholar Leader Banquet The 14th annual SCC Scholar Leader Banquet was held on March 24 at Anthony’s Ocean View in New Haven... Forty- four students representing 22 SCC member schools were recognized for their outstanding scholarship and leadership in their respective school communities... In addition, Catherine Cheng (Cheshire) and Erin Casey (North Haven) were recognized as the recipients of the “Bill O’Brien Community Service Scholarship”... Catherine and Erin, who each received $500, were chosen by a committee composed of the the league’s corporate sponsors... Criteria, which included a submitted 500-word essay, included having a healthy balance of school and community activities that are value-added and embody the “spirit and passion” of Bill O’Brien, the league’s Commissioner Emeritus. 2007-08 SCC Scholar Leader Recipients Amity - Sarah Mattessich, Adam Holzman Jonathan Law - Kevin Fox, Annaliese Perrett Branford - Kelsey Barringham, Ben Robbins Lyman Hall - Julia Czaplinski, Timothy Fekete Career - Jasmine Ortiz, Otis Brown Mercy - Kate Sanderson, Rebecca Ptak Cheshire - Catherine Cheng, Edward Testa North Haven - Erin Casey, Michael Rose Derby - Sarah Timpko, Amy Donofrio Notre Dame- Jonathan Canestri, Thomas Schrader East Haven - Molly DeLeone, Paul Hwang Sacred Heart Academy - Jenna Allegretto, Meghan Crosby Fairfield Prep - Andrew Grinalds, Richard Johnson Sheehan - Betsy Kadapuram, Shandesh Sekhara Foran - Manon Loomis, Jeffrey Mangels Shelton - Lea Hanko, John Karpinski Guilford - Brynn Huguenel, Taylor Gregoire-Wright West Haven - Stacey Williams, Lawrence “Ken” Clark Hand - Martina Burn, Marcus Shak Wilbur Cross - Shira Winter, Toresse Ouellette Hillhouse - Ann-Marie Clarke, Paul Corona Xavier - Peter K. Halibozek, Jr., Patrick M. Kokszka SCC State Championships Did You Know? It was another successful year on the playing fields for the SCC as member schools In the 14 years of the SCC, fared well in the various league and state-wide competitions… All told, SCC teams Cheshire has won the most state captured 11 state championships (3 fall, 5 winter, 3 spring) during the 2007-08 titles of any member school (48) academic year… Seventeen additional teams (5 fall, 9 winter, 3 spring) earned followed by Hillhouse (38), Amity runner-up status in CIAC state competition… Since the league’s inception in 1994, (26) and Fairfield Prep (21). SCC schools have won 263 state championships... See page seven for complete Hand is next with 18 while list of 2007-08 state championships. Branford and Guilford each have won 17 state titles. - 3 SCC Year in Review - cont. Qualifying for the CIAC Postseason FALL: Forty-six out of a possible 68 teams qualified for CIAC fall sport playoff competition in girls soccer (13-of- 18), boys soccer (15-of-20), girls volleyball (12-of-19), and field hockey (6-of-11). WINTER: During the winter sports season, 42 SCC teams (out of 57 eligible teams) qualified for CIAC playoff competi- tion in girls basketball (14-of-20), boys basketball (15-of-21), and ice hockey (13-of-16). SPRING: Fifty-seven SCC teams (out of a possible 87) qualified for CIAC spring sport team playoff competition in 2007: baseball (15-of-21), softball (14-of-20), boys lacrosse (9-of-13), girls lacrosse (5-of-10), boys volleyball (4-of-5) and golf (10-of-19). The Best of the Best! You can make a very good argument for the overall strength of the SCC when you look at the final state rankings of pretty much every sport… However, to have the “best team” is even more impressive and the SCC has the top team in the state in girls basketball and ice hockey… Career Tops in Girls Basketball Career, under the direction of head coach Kevin Walton, finished as the top girls basketball team in the final state polls (New Haven Register and Hartford Courant)... The Panthers (26-2), who won the 2008 Oronoque Division and SCC Tournament titles, captured the Class LL state championship with a hard-fought 71-66 victory over New Britain at CCSU’s Detrick Gymnasium... Mercy (21-4) also finished in the top ten, while Hillhouse (16-8) and Wilbur Cross (18-9) also received votes. Fairfield Prep Ice Hockey Back on Top For the second straight season, Fairfield Prep finished as the top ice hockey team in the state... The Jesuits (13-10-1), who tied for second in the SCC Division I regular-season, captured the Division I state title with a 5-3 win over Notre Dame-Fairfield at Ingalls Rink... Other SCC teams finishing in the state’s top ten polls included Hamden (17-4-1), SCC Division I regular-season champion East Haven (19-3), SCC and state Division II champion Amity (19-6-1), and Notre Dame-West Haven (11-9-1)... No other ice hockey league in the state had as many ranked teams as the SCC! SCC Hosts Unified Sports® Events The SCC hosted two Unified Sports® events during the 2007-08 year... The league’s first-ever event, a soccer tournament, was held on October 12 at Amity Regional High School... Participating schools included Amity, Cheshire, West Haven, East Haven and Wilbur Cross... The New Haven Athletic Center was the site of the SCC Unified Sports Basketball Tournament on Monday, February 4... Ten SCC schools participated including Amity, West Haven, Wilbur Cross/Hillhouse, Hamden, Shelton, Jonathan Law, Lyman Hall, Cheshire and East Haven... Special thanks to Jon Capone (athletic director at West Haven High School) for coordination of the two events... Said SCC Commissioner Al Carbone, “Unified Sports® is a program that fits nicely with our league’s mission to offer positive opportunities for our students and we look forward to hosting more events in the future.” West Haven and Branford Recognized for Unified Sports® Participation Two SCC member schools - West Haven and Branford - were recognized by the CIAC for their outstanding participation in the CIAC/ Special Olympics Unified Sports® program...West Haven earned a fourth-place award for the “Loving Cup” while Branford was recognized for its outstanding participation. Amity Duo Earn Gatorade State Honors Two SCC senior student-athletes from Amity Regional High School - Janice Ehorn (volleyball) and Jason Esposito (baseball) - were named the 2007-08 Gatorade High School Connecticut Players of the Year in their respective sports... Winners are selected not only for their outstanding athletic performance, but also for meeting high academic achievement standards while demonstrating exemplary personal character on and off the field. - 4 SCC Year in Review - cont. Cheshire Girls Swimming Sets National Record 2008 SCC Cheerleading With a 112-66 victory over Branford on October 15, the Cheshire girls 2008 SCC Cheerleading Competition Results swimming team set the national record with its 235th consecutive dual-meet Competition Results victory... Elkhart Central High in Indiana had won 234 in a row (1980-94)..