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Three Canton High athletes earn All-State honors, others earn All-NCCC honors

Senior Max Sparks earned All-State honors for the second straight year in boys cross country. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

CANTON – Three Canton High athletes earned All-State honors for their play on the field this fall while 14 other athletes earned All-Conference honors.

Senior goalie D.J. Clement earned All-State honors in boys soccer, senior Emily Gabrielian was named to the first team All-State team in field hockey while senior Max Sparks earned All-State honors in boys cross country for the second straight season.

Sparks also became just the second Canton runner to earn All-New England honors in cross country.

Clement was the starting goalie for the boys soccer team this fall and had five shutouts in net, including two consecutive games in the Class S tournament. Clement made six saves in a 2-0 win over Portland and a 1-0 victory over Parish Hill.

The Warriors went 9-8-2 this fall, earning a state tournament berth for the 15th time in 17 years. Canton was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Coventry, 4-1.

Emily Gabriellian carries the ball last week against Somers. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)

Gabrielian scored three goals this season for the Canton field hockey team including a pair in a 2-0 victory over Valley Regional in the second round of the Class S tournament. She helped Canton finish 8-6-3-1 on the season. NCCC champion Granby, who finished second in Class S, ousted Canton in the Class S quarterfinals with a goal in the final minute, 1-0.

Sparks had an outstanding season running for the Canton High boys cross country team (11-2). He won his second straight NCCC championship in Windsor Locks, became just the second Canton runner to win a Class SS title and finished seventh at the State Open – the highest finish ever for a Canton runner at the event.

Sparks earned All-New England honors by finishing ninth at the 83rd New England cross country championships in Belfast, Maine. It was the best finish ever for a Canton runner at the New England championships, beating an 11th place finish by Mike LeDuc in 2009. Sparks time of 16:00.81 was the fastest time by a Canton runner at the New Englands.

Each of the fall athletic teams participated in a fall outreach initiative, which was Play4theCure. Together, the teams raised $1,418 for the breast cancer research foundation.

BOYS SOCCER
All-NCCC: D.J. Clement, Axel Tanner
All-State: D.J. Clement
MVP: Axel Tanner
Sportsmanship Award: Jacob Benedetti
Coach’s Award: DJ Clement

GIRLS SOCCER
All-NCCC: Julia Langou
All-State: none
MVP: Brooke Shepard
Sportsmanship Award: Maddie Archangelo
Coach’s Award: Julia Langou
Most Improved Award: Lauren Almeida

FIELD HOCKEY
All-NCCC: Maddie Bahre, Emily Gabrielian
All-State: Emily Gabrielian (1st team); Maddie Bahre (2nd team)
MVP: Emily Gabrielian
Sportsmanship Award: Katrina Giotsas

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
All-NCCC: Sarah Bowman
All-State none
Resiliency Award: Ashley Potter
MVP: Sarah Bowman
Sportsmanship Award: Erin Coleman
Coach’s Award: Lauren Puglielli

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
All-NCCC: Aidan O’Donnell, Max Sparks, Matt Webb
All-State: Max Sparks (1st team); Aidan O’Donnell (2nd team)
All-New England: Max Sparks
MVP: Max Sparks
Sportsmanship Award: Aidan O’Donnell
Coach’s Award: Gabriel Mower

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
All-NCCC: Julia Caputo, Jane Frawley, Belle Magna, Helena Winkler
All-State: Julia Caputo (2nd team), Helena Winkler (2nd team)
MVP: Juila Caputo and Jane Frawley
Sportsmanship Award: Helena Winkler

FOOTBALL
All-Pequot Uncas Division: Travis Abate
All-State: none
MVP: Carter Gavin
Warrior Award: Braydon Fluckiger
Coach’s Award: Travis Abate

All-Courant
Boys cross-country: Max Sparks

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 30 years.

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