Andie Carroll, Reporter
@acarrollcourant
Sam Axon, Sports Editor
@saxoncourant
Lacrosse
This season, the New Canaan boys lacrosse team was faced with an extremely tough schedule against other top teams in the nation. The team this year was led by captains Jackson Appelt, James Crovatto, Drew Morris, and Ryan O’Connell. With a fairly strong record and incredible talent, the 15-7 lacrosse team had an exhilarating season and the opportunity to play in extremely exciting games such as the match against McDonogh at the University of Pennsylvania.
However, at the end of the season, most of the boys were disappointed with their quick and devastating loss in the FCIAC tournament. As the team was defeated by Ridgefield in the last regular season game, they were seeded fourth in the FCIAC and were set to face Wilton in the first round. Their spirits continued to decline as they were completely dominated in this game of the conference tournament and were unable to have the opportunity to play Darien again.
However, as the state tournament approached, the boys looked to end the season on a good note. As they moved past Notre Dame-West Haven with a 16-3 win, they continued to play hard and made it all the way to the final where they faced Daniel Hand. Although Daniel Hand put up a fight, in the end, the Rams were able to secure the victory for the Class M CIAC Championship.
Chase Strupp, a Junior defenseman on the team, believes that this great end to the season could not have been accomplished without teamwork the boys displayed. “One of the main focus points for growth this year has been trying to be a tight-knit group both on and off the field,” he said. “A huge component of having a successful team on the field is not just pure talent, but most importantly playing together as a team.”
Golf
The New Canaan boys golf team has had a great season with a 12-2-1 record. They had a tough FCIAC schedule but were able to compete with all of these teams and often secured the win. One huge victory for the team was beating Ridgefield midway through the season. This win reinforced that fact that they were truly a serious threat to the rest of the conference teams.
At FCIACs, New Canaan did extremely well shooting a 312 to finish second in the conference. The team was led by Sophomore Grant Mellinger who shot a 75, along with senior Trevor Jones, who shot a 77, and senior co-captain George Garrett, who shot a 78.
The Rams were also extremely successful in the State tournament as they once again finished in second place, this time led by another Sophomore, Gunnar Granito, who ended with a 73. Granito feels the team has accomplished a lot more this season than they thought they would. “We weren’t sure what to expect coming into this season since we had lost 3/5 varsity players from last year,” he said. “It took some time, but with some experience, everyone began to mature and grow as players and as a team.”
Tennis
The boys tennis team wrapped up the season 14-2. The team was helped by top singles player Johnny Warner and number one doubles players Matt Brand and Luke Crowley. The team had an important game against the Wilton Warriors this season, where they came out on top 6-1.
The boys then headed to FCIACs where they were seeded third. With a 4-2 win over Greenwich in the semifinals, the boys team made it all the way to the finals for the first time in 7 years. However, the boys fell short as they lost to the top-ranked Staples 4-2, ending their FCIAC hopes.
Despite not coming away with the conference championship, the boys made their way to states, which was based on the overall performance of the team. All three doubles teams made the semifinals, securing the boys’ win the Class L state championship for the third year in a row.
Sophomore Luke Crowley is proud of how the team worked together this season and was able to win states. “From the beginning of the year, we had a strong returning returning lineup,” Luke said. “But throughout the season, we continued to exceed expectations and surprise ourselves by our ability. I could not be more proud to be a member of the team.”
Track
The boys track team this year was led by captains Michael St George, Wyatt Spangler, Will Conley, and Jake Grigsby. Though the team fell to Greenwich in the first meet of the season, despite strong performances by Abhinav Pal, Max Koschnitzke, Sean Knight, Will Conley, and Jack Conley, the team was able to have strong performances in FCIACs and states.
The boys track team went to Ridgefield to compete in FCIACs. The relay teams had a strong showing, with the 4×100 relay team of Wyatt Spangler, Henry Spangler, Rajon Mitchell, and Nico Savini finishing fourth, the 4×400 team of Nico Savini, Abhinav Pal finishing sixth. In the shot put, senior Will Conley came in second, with his brother, Jack, finishing first. The brothers would have another strong performance, this time in the discus, where Jack finished sixth and Will came in first.
The boys then headed to states in Manchester. The relay teams once again came out strong with the 4×100 relay team of Wyatt Spangler, Henry Spangler, Rajon Mitchell, and Nico Savini finishing ninth, and the 4×800 relay team of Abhinav Pal, Henry Asker, Alexander Urbahn, and Michael St George taking eighth. Once again, the Conley brothers had a strong showing in the shot put, with Will coming in sixth and Jack in first. Will also came in fifth in the discus.
Junior Alex Urbahn reflects on how the team has grown over the year. “I am extremely proud of how far our team has come,” Urbahn said. “My freshman year we barely cracked top 10 in the FCIAC or Class L, but now we are one of the most rounded teams and topped off our season at 6th.”
Baseball
With an 8-0 start to the season, the New Canaan Baseball team was seen a serious threat to opponents in their conference. The team this year was led by senior co-captains Robbie Jones and Matt Burger. Overall, the Rams were able to secure 14 wins and had an extremely successful season. With an exciting one-run win against Westhill, the team was motivated to continue to work hard and gain victories.
Although they had a successful start to the season, the boys could not keep their hot streak going into the tournament. In the FCIAC quarterfinals, they had a disappointing loss to Ridgefield. In states, they looked to better, yet they again had an early loss. In the second round of the Class L CIAC tournament, they fell to the Fitch Falcons in a close game of 5-4.
