NEW HAVEN, Jan. 19 – Only a few days away from the NCCC championship meet on Tuesday, several members of the Canton High track and field team got in some final preparation in Saturday’s Haddam-Killingworth Invitational at the Floyd Little Athletic Center.
Jimmy Spatcher finished fifth in the 600 meters with a time of 1:30.37 while the Canton 4×800 relay team of Jake Neely, Dean Yost, James Yost and Matt Demarco also finished fifth in 9:14.33. Deryk Parsons took sixth in the long jump with a leap of 18-8½ feet. Canton finished 23rd in the field of 30 teams.
Other top 10 finishers from Canton included Keith Wilson (9th, 8.71) and Sarah Allen (10th, 9.99) in the 55 meter hurdles and James Yost and Demarco finishing seventh and eighth, respectively in the 1,600 meters with times of 4:53.31 and 4:53.72. Julian Franklin was 10th in the high jump with a leap of 5-foot-2.
Two Canton relay teams did well. Canton’s girls sprint medley relay team (Hannah Bonini, Taryn Askoff, Jenna Janssen and Eliza Chekas) was 10th in 4:52.33. The boys 4×400 team (Tyler Byrne, Franklin, Ethan Chekas, Wyatt Campbell) finished eighth in 4:00.71
Avon’s Ben Crawford finished 10th in the 600 meters with a time of 1:33.42. Other Avon athletes participated in the meet but none finished in the top 10 of their respective events.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Two tough games for Canton
CANTON, Jan. 19 – It was a challenging week for the Canton High boys basketball team. For the Warriors, it was two close games and two hard-to-swallow defeats. On Tuesday, Canton (4-6, 2-5 NCCC) battled back to cut Coventry’s lead to one point after three quarters. But sparked by Tommy Myers, who is going to UConn on a football scholarship, and his game-high 33 points, Coventry beat Canton, 67-58. Jake Wood led the Warriors with 14 points.
Three days later, Canton played in its third OT game of the season and their second double OT contest. Unfortunately, despite a game-high 27 points from Patrick Sullivan, Somers beat the Warriors, 57-55. Somers’ Brendan Coverdill scored on a layup with one second remaining to clinch the win.
Canton has lost three in a row and four of its last five games. This week will be no easier. On Tuesday, Canton travels to face defending league champion Enfield on the road and on Friday, the Warriors will host NCCC contender Granby at the high school.
Farmington 65, Avon 47
FARMINGTON, Jan. 19 – Tied after three quarters, Farmington exploded in the final eight minutes to hand Avon its second loss of the season on Saturday night, 65-47. Ivan Guadalupe led a balanced Farmington attack with 14 points while Richie Freckleton added 13 points.
Avon (8-2), which had a seven-game winning streak snapped, was led by Brandon Feinberg with 18 points and Patrick McKearney with 11 points. Avon scored just 13 points in the fourth quarter while Farmington (5-5) roared with 31 points.
The loss came two days after a high-scoring 97-59 win over Ellington with 23 points from point guard Ryan Marioni, 20 from Sean Herrmann and another 18 points from Feinberg.
It was Farmington’s 11th straight win over Avon since 2005. Avon gets another chance to beat Farmington when they host the Indians on Saturday night, Jan. 26, at the high school. That is a day after hosting defending league champion Enfield (10-0) on Friday night.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Sixth straight win for Falcons
ELLINGTON, Jan. 18 – The Avon High girls basketball team won their sixth straight game on Friday by rallying for a 56-48 win over Ellington. The Purple Knights played tough and Avon (11-2, 8-1 NCCC) wasn’t able to pull away until the fourth quarter. Anna Schrecengost led the way with 18 points while Shannon Curry chipped in with 14 points.
Avon faces a tough East Windsor (8-2) team on Tuesday night on the road. The Panthers handed Bolton a loss recently and it was Bolton that beat Avon earlier this season.
Two close losses for Canton
SOMERS, Jan. 18 — Diandra DaRosa hit a three-point shot with less than a minute to go to lift Somers to a 58-56 win over Canton on Friday night. Amanda Curvino scored a season-high 20 points in the loss while freshman Maggie Treacy had a career-high 18 points. On Tuesday night, Coventry pulled out a 46-42 win over the Warriors (2-8, 2-7 NCCC). Curvino had 18 in the game.
WRESTLING
Lang falls in final, Canton takes 6th at Eagle Classic
MANCHESTER, Jan. 19 – Skylar Lang became just the seventh wrestler in Canton history to earn a spot in the finals at the Eagle Classic with a pair of victories at 220 pounds. But Windham High’s Nick Poulin spoiled Lang’s quest to become just the second Canton wrestler to win a title in the tournament with a pin.
Canton had five wrestlers finish in the top four of their respective weight classes as the Warriors finished sixth at the 19th annual Eagle Classic – its best finish since taking fifth in 2002. With five individual champions and seven finalists, No. 7 Windham High won the tournament for the second year in row over South Windsor, 229-158½. The Bobcats finished second for the fourth time in the last five years.
Ben Corbett (160) and Dylan Houle (170) each finished third while Chris VandeBogart (152) and Chris Mutch (195) each finished fourth. Corbett went 3-1 in the tournament while Houle was 4-1 with two pins. VandeBogart won three straight bouts in the consolation bracket to earn a spot in the consolation final.
BOYS SWIMMING
Avon wins second meet of year
FARMINGTON, Jan. 18 – Charlie Anderson and Riley Strassner each won a pair of events as the Falcons won for the second time in three meets with a 103-79 win over Watertown at Miss Porter’s School. Anderson won the 50 freestyle in 23.84 and the 100 free in 52.85 seconds.
Strassner won the 200 free in 1:52.39 and the 500 freestyle in 5:05.23. The Falcons (2-4) also won the 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay. Diver Tyler Yokubinas was the top diver at the meet while Bill Holloman captured the 100 breast stroke in 1:11.34.
ICE HOCKEY
Notre Dame-Fairfield 7, Farmington/Avon/Windsor 0
FAIRFIELD, Jan. 19 – The co-op team of Farmington/Avon/Windsor lost their third straight game giving up 43 shots in a 7-0 loss to Notre Dame-Fairfield. Tyler Bailey made 36 saves in net for Farmington/Avon/Windsor (3-6). The game was scoreless after one period.
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.
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