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All-Herald Special NewBritainHerald.com/Sports | Sunday March 31, 2013

Our All-Herald winter sports teams are inside

Celebration time

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New Britain’s Ronday McCray, center, is carried by teammate Craven Johnson through the delighted crowd after New Britain beat Staples in the state tourney. Our All-Herald teams are inside.

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The Herald Press

All-Herald Girls Basketball Berlin’s Kailene Rampone

Goodwin Tech’s Jocelyn Burgos

New Britain’s Nikira Hooks

Star-studded girls hoops squad

By CHRIS MCLAUGHLIN STAFF WRITER

Here in Connecticut, girls basketball tends to mean a little more than it does in most states. With perennial powerhouse UConn ramping up the state’s in the sport, it’s no wonder there are so many talented players at the high school level.

Our area is home to several

successful teams, including the 20-win Berlin Redcoats and the gritty Southington Blue Knights that exceeded all expectations, making the CCC Tournament finals as well as winning a game in the state tournament. It’s also home to several successfull players, and while there are dozens of talented athletes in the area, only

10 could make our All-Herald Girls Basketball Team.

First up is Southington’s Danielle Charamut. The senior forward leaves behind a monumental legacy at Southington full of awards and accolades that will be difficult for any player to top.

Charamut was named the

team’s MVP this

JOCELYN BURGOS

NIKIRA HOOKS

KAILENE RAMPONE

KAYLA GUEST

DANIELLE CHARAMUT

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year, averaging 13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks a game. She was named to the CCC West All-Conference Team, was the Most Outstanding Offensive player in 2012 for Southington, and helped lead her team to the finals in the CCC Tournament and into the second round of the state tournament.

Now that her time at Southington is done, Charamut is looking into colleges, where she intends to continue playing basketball. What Charamut has done for Southington basketball will not be forgotten anytime soon, as her and the team’s two other seniors, Stephanie O’Keefe, and Maeghan Chapman, leave behind exemplary examples of hard work and dedication.

Joining Charamut on our All-Herald First Team is Berlin’s Kailene Rampone.

The Redcoats had an incredibly successful season,

and Rampone was at the heart of it. The senior guard was lights out from beyond the arc, leading her team in 3-pointers, but could score in other ways as well, leading her team in total points for the 2012-13 season. Her play earned her several honors including All-Conference, a spot on the CHSCA Girls All-Star Team, and was one of our Athletes of the Week. While Rampone will be attending college, competitive sports

ALL-HERALD SPECIAL

The Herald Press are not in her plans. Though her days of playing ball at a high level are likely over, Rampone, like the other Redcoats seniors, leave behind a great legacy.

Goodwin Tech’s Jocelyn Burgos is our next selection for first-team honors, and like the two before her, Burgos had quite the career for her school. The multi-sport athlete was a huge part of her team’s success this year, leading the Gladiators to a 13-win season, including a 10-game win streak to start the season. Burgos was a prolific scorer as well as a terrific team leader.

Our next first-team selection, New Britain’s Nikira Hooks, also had a solid season. Though the Hurricanes came up just short of qualifying for the state tournament, Hooks was one of the players that made their late-season push possible. As a junior, Hooks made the all-conference team this year for the second straight time. She was also Student of the Month for January. Hooks, who is already being looked at by around 15 college programs, has some of her best basketball ahead of her.

Rounding out the first-team is Newington’s Kayla Guest. The junior forward has been playing varsity ball since her freshman year, and is a familiar face on the All-Herald Team. This marks her second straight season on the team, and by averaging 13.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game it’s no wonder. Guest helped Newington win 10 games this season to qualify for the state tournament.

Though only a junior, Guest has been receiving interest from several Division II and III colleges, where she plans to continue playing basketball. With her senior year still ahead, the interest in Guest will only increase.

Our All-Herald second-team begins similar to the first, with a Southington senior. Stephanie O’Keefe, like Charamut, played a large role in the Blue Knights’

successful season. O’Keefe took on the duties of point guard, and racked up 67 assists on the season.

O’Keefe earned several accolades for her on-court performances, including All-Conference honors and a coaches award, but also took home the Bell Award for representing leadership in basketball. After making the honor roll throughout high school, O’Keefe has committed to play basketball for Western Connecticut State University.

Our next two selections both come from Berlin, in Alicia Maule and Ashley Malloy. Maule, a junior point guard, made our All-Herald Team for the fall season, as she had a stellar year playing volleyball for the Redcoats. On the basketball court, Maule was named to the AllConference team, and was a member of the All-Academic team the last three years of high school. Maule finished the season with the highest field goal percentage on the team, as well as the third highest 3-point percentage, and second highest free throw percentage.

Fans of advanced statistics would be a fan of Maule, as she would have had one of the highest true shooting percentage on the team.

Though she is in her junior year, she is already planning on going to college, but wants to play volleyball.

Malloy was a bit of a jack-ofall-trades player for the Redcoats, as she was used as the defensive stopper, but could also score as

Sunday, March 31, 2013 | 3

Newington’s Kayla Guest

Southington’s Danielle Charamut

well, averaging 11.2 points per game. Two-way players are a rare commodity in basketball, especially at the high school level, so Malloy was an important piece of a Redcoats team that won 20 games. Her energy on the court was infectious, and her hustle and effort helped the Redcoats thrive during the season.

Up next, we have our first selection from Plainville, Kelsey Clemens. The straight-A student is a two-time member of the AllConference team, and three-time member of the All-Academic team. Clemens helped lead the Blue Devils to 10 wins on the season and a spot in the state tournament. Clemens plans to attend college, and play basketball there, and considering her academic

ALICIA MAULE

ASHLEY MALLOY

KELSEY CLEMENS

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Stephanie O’Keefe Steph, We are so proud of you.

Your hard work and determination has helped you reach your goals.

We love you!

Love, Mom and Dad

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STEPHANIE O’KEEFE

standing, with a class rank of 6, Clemens should have no trouble finding a spot.

The final spot on our AllHerald second-team goes to New Britain’s Faith Ford. Like Maule, Ford was on our All-Herald volleyball team, as the two-sport athlete has a huge presence in both. The senior center is also making her third appearance on the All-Herald basketball team, as she has become a fixture in New Britain sports.

Though not a prolfic scorer, Ford used her length and athleticism to be a major presence on the court.

Swatting shots left and right while hauling in difficult rebounds, Ford altered games just by standing on the court.

FAITH Though she is still undecided FORD on where to play in college, NEW BRITAIN Ford has received interest

from several schools, including Southern Connecticut State University, Western New England College, Eastern Connecticut State University and Albertus Magnus.

All 10 of the players on our All-Herald teams had tremendous seasons for their respected schools.

While some will move on to play at the next level, some will return to high school for their senior years. Should they continue to play at this high level, expect several to be on this team again next year.

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The Herald Press

All-Herald Hockey

By CARL JOSEHSON STAFF WRITER

It was another strong season for our hockey teams in 2012-13.

Although the area has just two teams, the Newington-BerlinManchester Indians and the Hall-Southington Warriors more than made up for the lack of numbers by racking up wins.

Both teams finished the year with winning records, which landed them both the Division III State Tournament.

Newington-Berlin ended the season as the Division III state champions for the second straight year, defeating BCR 1-0. As the No. 1 seed, the Indians defeated No. 8 New Fairfield-Immaculate and No. 5 Masuk before getting the chance to defend their title.

The Warriors fell in their first game of the tournament as the No. 4 seed, losing 6-3 to Masuk, but Hall-Southington finished the year with a respectable 12-7-1 record.

Of course, both of these teams could not have had such successful seasons without the stellar play of their star players. It was a tough task to pick the six best from the area, but some just stood out from the rest of the pack.

Newington-Berlin captain Brendon Richard had an incredible season en route to his team’s second

straight state title. At the right wing position, Richard led the team in both goals and assists. With 43 points (22 goals, 21 assists), he had nearly twice as many points as his next closest teammate, who will be mentioned later.

As a Newington High School senior, Richard was a first team AllState and All-Conference player.

He was an All-Star Team Select as well, not to mention he was No. 1 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays for his goal against New FairfieldImmaculate. Richard will get one more shot at playing a sport in high school when he steps on the field for the lacrosse season this spring.

Right alongside Richard was another All-State player in Drew O’Leary. The goaltender was a twotime, first-team All-State player, including this past season, his senior year. He was also a two-time CCC All-Conference player, not to mention a two-time state champion like his other teammates.

O’Leary was also a captain on the Indians squad and he lived up to the billing. With a career record of 6-0 in the postseason, O’Leary kept his team in every game. He was also the first star of the state title game against BCR, shutting the Rams out in the 1-0 victory. He is planning on joining the United States Marine Corps Reserves.

Joining Richard and O’Leary on the All-Herald team is yet another All-State selection. Defenseman Justin Pratte was a second-team All-State player and the anchor of Newington-Berlin’s defense. With three goals and 11 assists on the year, Pratte led all defensemen in points with 14.

He is also rather successful in the classroom, receiving high honors in all terms. As a senior, Pratte is yet another player the Indians will have to do without next season. He plans to attend the University of Connecticut (Storrs campus) and he may play club hockey.

Rounding out the players on Newington-Berlin is junior Matt Harackiewicz. At the center position, Harackiewicz finished second on the team in overall points and assists. With 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) on the year, Harackiewicz was second only to Richard.

He is another player who has received high honors and is also a member of the Latin National Honor Society. As a baseball player in the spring, Harackiewicz hopes to play that sport in college. As a junior, he does not need to worry about that just yet.

Two Hall-Southington players round out the ice hockey All-Herald team this year. Senior forward Justin Rose had a successful season in his

BRENDON RICHARD

DREW O’LEARY

JUSTIN PRATTE

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MATT HARACKIEWICZ

JUSTIN ROSE

WILL THOMPSON

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last year at Southington High. Rose was one of the main pieces to the puzzle for the Warriors this year.

He received second-team All-State honors and had a big performance against Conard at the XL Center earlier this season, scoring two goals in the 5-2 victory.

Defenseman Will Thompson is

our final player. Thompson had a strong senior season as well, anchoring Hall-Southington’s defense all year long. He was another player named first-team All-State.

Carl Josephson can be reached at (860) 225-4601 ext. 272 or cjosephson@newbritainherald.com

All-Herald Gymnastics Team

By MATT STRAUB STAFF WRITER

Southington gymnastics typically doesn’t have to worry about keeping its place as the dominat team in the area. This year, however, the Blue Knights were looking to reclaim their position as one of the dominant teams in the state.

Three athletes in particular helped make sure that happened in 2013. Southington won another Class L title this season and finished behind only Woodstock Academy at the State Open, earning the right to be called one of the top two teams in the state.

The Blue Knights were led by Erin Malone, a senior who put together one of the best individual seasons in state gymnastics his-

The two victories allowed her to head to the 2013 New England Championships, where Malone made herself right at home. She won the All-Around, the vault and the bars at the biggest event of the year.

Now she will head to the Air Force Academy, where she will compete in gymnastics for the Falcons, while later serving her country. A National Honor Society member, she finished with High Honors all ERIN MARILYN KAYLA four years at Southington.

MALONE SPORBERT NATI Malone was far from the only SOUTHINGTON SOUTHINGTON SOUTHINGTON reason Southington had a great year, however. Sophomore Marilyn Sporbert represents the team’s future, which appears bright since she’s tory. First, she won the Class L title. Then she went to the State coming off a season in which she all-around competition, helping Open, where she captured the was a second-team All-State pick, lead the Knights to the team All-Around title again. scored consistently throughout the

year and finished 13th in the allaround at the State Open, earning a trip to New Englands. A Level 9 gymnast, she competed in all four events in every meet but considers vault and floor her best events.

Finishing right behind Sporbert at the Open in the all-around was Kayla Nati, the last person on this list. She was 13th in the bars at the State Open and 16th in the beam helping her to a 14th place showing in the Open. Her consistently solid scores qualified her for all four events at the State Open and helped Southington in the Class L meet as well, which is a big reason the Blue Knights are among the best teams in the entire state, and New England for that matter.

Again.

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The Herald Press

Sunday, March 31, 2013 | 5

All-Herald Wrestling Team

By MATT STRAUB STAFF WRITER

Certain parts of the state are known for different sports.

While the Connecticut shoreline likes to claim top billing in a number of them, the New Britain area can go toe-to-toe with anyone else in the state on the wrestling mat. The 10 young men on this year’s All-Herald team make up an exceptional group which could stack up against the best from anywhere else around, as evidenced by how they fared in state and regional competitions this year.

We’ll start with a pair of stalwarts from New Britain itself. And you can’t talk New Britain wrestling without bringing up Geovanni Medina. The senior finished second at the State Open, which earned him a spot in the 132-pound division at the New England Championships, where he came in third. All this came after a Class LL championship, which sealed Medina’s position as one of the best in the state. What he did after showed him to be among the best in the region’s six states.

He leaves New Britain with a 155-15 record and the intent to wrestle in college.

Medina’s teammate, Dylan Krivickas, a junior, had a remarkable year at 170. The two-time CCC West champion earned All-State honors in 2013 behind a 30-2 record which helped him finish second in Class LL and top 10 in the State Open. His lead-

GEOVANNI MEDINA

DYLAN KRIVICKAS

CHRIS CHORZEPA

CHRISTIAN ZOTTI

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NATHAN SOLOMON

ZACHARY MAXWELL

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MISCHA HOFFMAN

JAKE ELIADES

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ership skills have earned him a role as a team captain twice and his intelligence helps him not only on the mat but in the classroom, where he is in the top 10 percent of his class.

Perhaps the area’s deepest team was Newington.

The Indians, as usual, were led by Chris Chorzepa, who wrapped up his high school career with a 162-19 record.

Chorzepa won the Class L title this year and was second in the State Open before hav-

ing to bow out of the New England tournament, where he was the defending champion, because of nagging knee injuries. Chorzepa leaves with two class titles, a State Open title and two top-three showings at New Englands.

Christian Zotti, a junior who competed at 138, appears on the verge of his own dominant run for Newington.

An All-State choice this season, Zotti won the Class L meet before placing third

at the State Open. An allconference pick who is also an award-winning football player, Zotti is already getting looks from colleges and has another year to leave his mark on Newington’s program.

The final Newington wrestler on this list is Brian Amato, whose resume at 120 speaks for itself. Four AllState picks, three trips to the State Open including two runner-ups, two trips to New Englands, including a top six

BRIAN AMATO

this year, and the 2013 Class L title. His career mark in four years was 162-20, more than good enough (along with his grades) to get him to WPI’s wrestling team.

Southington was also loaded this year. Senior Nathan Solomon won the Class LL title and finished fifth at the State Open at 126. He won the prestigious GHO event this season on the way to an All-State selection. Throw in his Academic All-State selec-

tion, and Solomon proved to be as well-rounded an athletes as you’ll find.

His teammate, Zachary Maxwell, earned a fifth-place showing at New Englands after picking up a State Open title at 195 and winning the Class LL championship as well. Another Southington wrestler, Travis Daly, was fifth at the State Open at heavyweight, cementing another strong season, which was good enough for a place at the New England Championships.

Mischa Hoffman of Plainville grew to be a strong competitor this season, winning third place at 160 in the Class S tournament. A champion at the Plainville Invitational, which had a strong field, and a most valuable wrestler award winner for his team, Hoffman, 34-12 on the season, got better and better as the year went along.

The final member of this star-studded group of 10 is Berlin’s Jake Eliades, who finished second at 145, dropping a close 7-5 decision to Avon’s Jimmy Murphy in the final. He then went on to finish sixth at the State Open to become the first Berlin wrestler to place at the Open in three years, according to coach Jim Day. With another year to improve further, Eliades has a chance to make even more history next year for the Redcoats. If he does, he’ll likely be a part of another group who makes waves in the wrestling world from this area in 2014.

All-Herald Indoor Track Team

By MATT STRAUB STAFF WRITER

While most people think of track as being held primarily in the heat of May and June, a number of the area’s best athletes do some of their best work in the winter months, plying their trade

in indoor meets which are much One of those exemplary athletes more than just practice for the this season was Newington’s Troy spring season.

Gagnon.

The In fact, the senior finished OUR TRACK TEAM’S indoor season is PHOTOS ARE ON PAGE 8 fifth in the Class another chance L 600 meters and to showcase the talent this area ninth in the event at the State frequently produces on the track. Open. He was second in the CCC

West in the race, and holds the Newington school record in the event.

Gagnon also captained a pair of Newington relays, the 4x200 and 4x400, each finishing in the top five in the Class L meet and 14th at the State Open.

Another star was New Britain’s Basil Niccolls, Jr. The senior cocaptain was all-conference in the 300 meters. Coming off a 2012 in which he helped the 4x100 relay team make it all the way to the New Continued ON PAGE 8

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The Herald Press

All-Herald Boys Basketball Newington’s Tim Blair

By CHRIS MCLAUGHLIN STAFF WRITER

No shortage of talent on this team

With March Madness in full swing, we’re taking this time to reflect on our area’s own top hoop stars. It was a very successful season for the majority of the areas teams, with a veteran New Britain squad racking up an 11-game win streak, to a young Berlin squad making a run of its own being led by a sophomore. With so much talent it was difficult to select just 10 players, as several deserving players had to be left off the list.

We tip off our All-Herald First-Team with New Britain big man Craven Johnson. The junior center was a huge part of New Britain’s success this season, averaging a doubledouble, at 12.4 points and 11.2 rebounds.

He was a monster on the glass and used his combination of size, speed and skill to bully his defenders in the post and get off tough shots in heavy traffic. Few teams in the area had answers for him, and as only a junior, he will have one more season to impose his will on local competition.

Up next is Southington power forward Alex Borofsky. The senior took a huge leap during his final year, and was able to turn a Blue Knights team that had won just four games the previous season around.

Borofsky helped them double their win total

TIM BLAIR

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DARREN GILBERT

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from a year ago, to clinch a tourney berth. He averaged 18.6 points a game while grabbing 8.7 rebounds to earn his second CCC-West All-Conference honor, and finished his career 10th all time in scoring at Southington High School with 841 points.

Borofsky also excelled in the classroom, making the honor roll.

While his career at Southington is over, his career in basketball isn’t, as he signed a letter of intent to play ball at Eastern Connecticut State University.

Joining Bofosky at Eastern next fall and on our All-Herald First-Team is Newington’s Tim Blair.

The athletic swingman had quite the season for the Indians, which resulted in several honors and accolades, including AllConference as well as All State. Blair was also one of the select few to get an opportunity to play in the state’s All-Star Game for seniors of Class L and LL teams.

Blair helped lead his ALEX BRENDEN Indians into BOROFSKY VESSICHIO the state SOUTHINGTON BERLIN tournament,

New Britain’s Craven Johnson

where they looked poised to make a run until they ran up against a buzzsaw in Fairfield Prep, one of the top teams in the entire state.

Our backcourt consists of two players from Berlin, in the form of a veteran floor general in Darren Gilbert and a young swingman in Brenden Vessichio. Both players had impressive seasons for the Redcoats, as they were the top two scorers on the team.

Gilbert clocked in at 15 points a game while Vessichio was just a tick below him at 14, according to maxpreps.com.

Both finished in the top 20 in Class M for scoring, but no sophomore finished higher than Vessichio in the conference, and he was among the top five sophomore scorers in the entire state. With Vessichio being only a sophomore, his best basketball is still ahead of him, making the future very bright for Berlin basketball.

Though Gilbert’s time at Berlin is done, he had a very impressive career. He possesses very impressive handles for a high school player, as he could get to any spot he wanted on the court, seemingly at will. The point guard position is one of the hardest to master, so for him to have as much skill at it speaks volumes

The Herald Press

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Sunday, March 31, 2013 | 7

Southington’s Alex Borofsky

Berlin’s Brenden Vessichio Berlin’s Darren Gilbert

about him as a player.

Our All-Herald SecondTeam begins with a pair of New Britain players, who like Johnson, helped the Hurricanes have a successful season. Annuel St. Juste led the Hurricanes in scoring, despite it being only his first year as a starter for his varsity squad. He finished the season at 12.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and a solid 2.5 assists.

His play earned him AllConference honors, and with him being only a junior, it’s only a matter of time before the colleges come calling.

Daequone Clark rounds out the New Britain trio and is next

on our AllHerald team.

Clark also had an impressive season, averaging 11.7 points with 7.8 rebounds in this third year as a varsity starter. Like the others, Clark was named to the All-Conference team and is currently being recruited by some area community colleges, including Dean JC and Monroe JC. Up next is Newington’s Zach Morris. A familiar name to area football fans, Morris also had a stellar career on the hardwood for the Indians, earning All-Conference honors as well as being named the team’s captain. The honor roll student in the classroom and shooting guard on the court, Morris averaged 13 points a game and helped stretch the floor with his lethal 3-ball accuracy.

Morris hit 46 3-pointers on the season, including six in one half against Northwest Catholic. He scored his career high, 26, against Southington in an always-interesting rivalry game. Morris is set to attend Nova Southeastern University in Florida next

fall where he will try out for the basketball team.

Rounding out our All-Herald team is a pair of players from Goodwin Tech, senior forward Damion Hewitt and junior point guard Jensey Baez.

Both players were key catalysts of a team that won 14 regular season games and made a run in the Class M State Tournament. In the opening round of the Class M tournament, Baez’s clutch play helped boost the Gladiators to a win over Suffield. He hit two free throws with nine seconds left in the second overtime to give his team the lead, and the win. Both players earned All-

Conference honors as well as spots on our AllHerald team.

It was a very successful season for the area’s boys basketball teams, with five of the six teams making it to the state tournament in their respective classes. It was a pretty even split for seniors and underclassmen, so don’t be surprised to see some of this year’s players making our team again next year.

Chris McLaughlin can be reached at (860) 225-4601 ext 255 or at cmclaughlin@newbritainherald.com

ANNUEL ST. JUSTE

DAEQUONE CLARK

ZACH MORRIS

DAMION HEWITT

JENSEY BAEZ

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The Herald Press

All-Herald Boys Swim Team

By CARL JOSEPHSON STAFF WRITER

The Berlin and Newington swimming and diving teams make up the majority of this year’s All-Herald team with Southington and Plainville contributing a swimmer as well.

Out of all the area swimmers, Berlin senior Dan Klotz is one of the most decorated and talented. Klotz has been one of the state’s best swimmers throughout his four years with the Redcoats. He was All-Conference and AllAcademic all four years. He was also All-State his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.

An All-American in 2012, Klotz set many records and won various championships during his junior year. This past season, he was just as spectacular.

Klotz set the Class M record in the 200 freestyle and the State Open record in the 100 butterfly. He has set the school record in the 100 backstroke, 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 50 freestyle and has been a part of multiple record-setting relay teams. He was a repeat Class M champ in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly as well. He also repeated as the Open champion in the same categories.

Klotz will swim next for Brown University.

Klotz’s teammate, Nathan Giaccone, also had a stellar year for the Redcoats. As the team’s best diver, Giaccone was also a recordsetter in multiple ways.

An All-Conference diver, Giaccone was successful in setting the Berlin school record in the six-dive format (203.475) and the 11-dive format (320.2). He is also an aca-

DAN KLOTZ

NATHAN GIACCONE

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STEVEN FALKNER

VLADISLAV KIVELIYK

WOJCIECH PLACHTA

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demic All-American and has been on the CCC All-Academic team three times.

At the State Open this year, Giaccone placed ninth among divers.

A pair of Newington teammates also made this year’s All-Herald team. Brett Cayer was a standout senior for the Indians. He was a solid freestyle swimmer this past season, a year in which he received both the Coach John Scholarship award and the Coach Brophy Leadership award.

As an All-Conference swimmer, Cayer was able to set personal bests this year. In the 50 freestyle, he had a best time of 23.54 including a 22.78 split time. He also set a personal best in the 100 freestyle with a 52.25.

Cayer is hoping to swim at Colby Sawyer College next year.

Steven Falkner was another senior on the Newington swimming and diving team.

Falkner specialized in diving, but was also a member of the 200 freestyle relay team.

This past season he was an All-Conference diver and an All-Conference swimmer in the 200 relay. He finished 10th in Class L diving as well.

Senior Vladislav Kiveliyk of Southington is the fifth member of the All-Herald team.

Kiveliyk competed in the 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle and 500 free during his senior campaign, a year in which he had a lot of success.

A captain for Southington, Kiveliyk was a state qualifier in the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle. He finished fourth at the New England Regionals in the butterfly.

He is a mainstay at the Southington

YMCA where he holds records for the 400 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay. He also is a YMCA New England Regionals qualifier in the 100 butterfly and the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles.

He received high honors every quarter since his freshman year and is a member of the National Honor Society and Foreign Language Honor Society.

Kiveliyk said he will be attending college, and wherever he ends up he will “100 percent be swimming.”

Last, but not least is Plainville’s Wojciech Plachta. A captain on the team, Plachta was chosen as an All-Conference swimmer in the 100 backstroke. In that category, Plachta placed fifth in Class S. He also finished 10th in the 200 freestyle.

All-Herald Indoor Track Team

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a strong winter in preparation for one more spring season before he heads off to Howard University to run track.

The final boy on this list is Berlin’s Darren Grabowski. The junior scored a point for the Redcoats in the 300 meters in the Class M meet, finishing sixth in a time or 37.73, smashing his seed time and missing out on a top five finish by 0.16 seconds. He was also part of the 4x200 team which finished 11th.

Newington’s Caroline Ryan heads up the girls team for 2013, having been the MVP of her team after setting school records in the 300 and 600-meter races, earning a place at the State Open. Ryan finished fifth in the Class M meet in the 600, missing the top three by less than two seconds.

Berlin’s Catherine Voelpel is no stranger to track all-star teams. The senior had another strong indoor season, finishing ninth in the 300 with a 43.87. She also helped the Redcoats finish sixth at the class

TROY GAGNON

BASIL NICCOLLS

DARREN GRABOWSKI

CAROLINE RYAN

CATHERINE VOELPEL

MICHELLE GRIECO

NEWINGTON

NEW BRITAIN

BERLIN

NEWINGTON

BERLIN

BERLIN

meet in the 4x800 relay. An athlete who can excel in any sport she tries, Voelpel is worth following every time she takes the track.

Another Redcoat, freshman Michelle Grieco, was a showstealer at the class meet.

She finished fourth in the 3200, scoring

four points with an effort which was just under 12 minutes. She also teamed with Voelpel on the 4x800 relay team which finished eighth. With so much more time to improve, Grieco could be on pace to become the next star of Berlin track, eventu-

ally building a legacy of her own like Voelpel already has.

This indoor season might have served as her coming out party. For most of the area’s athletes, it served as a preview of how good the spring can be.