Canton’s Matt Rose, left, Chelsea Mitchell, center, and Abby Charron earned All-State honors for their play this winter.
CANTON – For two Canton High athletes, earning All-State honors is nothing new. Seniors Abby Charron and Chelsea Mitchell earned All-State honors for their play on the field this winter. It’s the fifth time that Mitchell has been named All-State and seventh time for Charron.
Senior Matt Rose earned All-State honors as he helped the Canton High boys basketball team earn the top seed in a CIAC state tournament for the first time in school history. Other athletes were recognized with All-Conference honors.
Charron became the third Canton High basketball player to earn All-State honors for the third time. She averaged 13.7 points and had a team-leading 20 three-point shots as the Warriors, who captured the North Central Connecticut Conference championship for the third consecutive year. Canton also won the last two NCCC Tournament titles.
Charron had a career-high 30 points in a win over East Windsor in January. The Warriors season was cut short in the Class M quarterfinals when a brush fire caused a power outage that suspended their tournament game with Coginchaug. The tournament was cancelled the following day by the CIAC due to the COVID-19 coranavirus pandemic. She did scored 1,000 points in her scholastic career, ending with 1,223 points.
Charron has earned All-State three times in girls lacrosse and earned first team All-State honors in field hockey for the first time this past fall. Charron has signed a letter of intent to play girls lacrosse at UConn beginning in the spring of 2021.
The two players that earned also All-State honors three times in girls basketball for the Warriors were Sarah Benedetti (2009-11) and Natasha Pronga (1997-99).
Mitchell earned All-State honors in indoor track for the second time by winning the Class S championship in the long jump, 55 meters and 300 meters, helping the Warriors finish fourth. She added a State Open title in the 55 meters along with a fourth-place finish in the 300 meters and a second place in the long jump.
She earned All-New England honors by finishing second in the long jump and third in the 55 meters.
Mitchell was also named to GameTimeCT’s All-State team, an impressive achievement since it is one team of less than 20 athletes.
Mitchell, who will be attending William and Mary in Virginia, also earned All-State honors in indoor track a year ago after winning the long jump at the Class S meet and the State Open.
In outdoor track, Mitchell has earned All-State honors three times. She has won the Class S title in the 100 meters the last three seasons. She swept the 200 meters in Class S as a freshman and sophomore. Last year, she also won the long jump in Class S before winning the 100 meters at the State Open and the New England championships.
Rose, a 6-foot-4 forward, gave the Warriors a strong inside presence this year. He averaged 16.3 points a game to help Canton (21-2) win the NCCC Tournament title for the first time and gain the No. 1 seed in the CIAC’s Division IV tournament with an 18-2 regular season mark. It’s the first time that Canton earned the top seed in a CIAC boys basketball tournament.
He scored in double figures in 20 of Canton’s 23 games including a career-high 32 points against Ellington in mid-January and 31 points against Hartford Classical in early January.
He is the first Canton boys basketball player to make All-State since Luke Brown in 2018.
Boys basketball
Coach: Craig Archambault
Record: 21-2, 12-2 NCCC (tied 2nd)
NCCC Tournament: Beat Granby, 56-49 to win NCCC Tournament
CIAC Tournament: Tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Canton earned the No. 1 seed for the first time in school history. The Warriors were seeded No. 1 in the CIAC Division IV tournament with an 18-2 record.
All-NCCC: Josh Burke, Matt Rose
All-State (CHSCA): Matt Rose
Girls basketball
Coach: Brian Medeiros
Record: 23-2, 14-0 NCCC (league champion)
NCCC Tournament: Beat Suffield, 46-32 to win tournament
CIAC Tournament: Went 2-0 to advance to Class M quarterfinals before tournament was cancelled to COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic
All-NCCC: Allison Celmer, Abby Charron, Lauren Eschenbrenner, Grace Treacy
All-State (CHSCA): Abby Charron
Note: Charron was second team All-State in balloting by GameTimeCT and the New Haven Register.
Boys ice hockey
Coach: David Harackiewicz
Record: 17-5, 8-2 CCC South (2nd)
CCC South Tournament: Lost in semifinals to Hall/Southington, 3-1
CIAC Tournament: Lost in Division III first round to Housatonic co-op, 4-0
Hobey Baker Award: Chris Brandon (Canton)
All-CCC South: Sam Hedlund, Andrew Fogarty, Chris Brandon (Canton), Justin Stergos
All-State (CHSCA): Justin Stergos
Note: Co-op team comprised of players from Newington (host), Canton, Cromwell, Berlin and Manchester. This was the first season for Canton playing co-op ice hockey. Canton’s Chris Brandon made second team All-State as a defenseman.
Girls ice hockey
Coach: Joe Gozzi
Record: 13-5-2, 7-2-1 CCC (2nd)
CCC Tournament: Lost in semifinals to Avon/Southington co-op, 5-1
State Tournament: Lost in CT High School Girls Hockey Association quarterfinals to New Canaan, 5-1
All-State: none
Note: Co-op team comprised of players from Suffield (host), Canton, Ellington, Enfield, Granby, Windsor and Northwestern Regional. This was Canton’s second year with the co-op program.
Boys indoor track
Coach: Tim O’Donnell
Record: No dual meet record
NCCC championships: 3rd place
CIAC championships: 18th Class S
All-NCCC: Peter Fuller
Girls indoor track
Coach: Tim O’Donnell
Record: No dual meet record
NCCC championships: Won meet, league champions
CIAC championships: 4th Class S, tied 3rdState Open
All-NCCC: Megan Ausere, Sadie Barker, Julia Caputo, Novalee Dean, Chelsea Mitchell, Hannah Sevigny, Maya Sutton-Hall
All-State (CHSCA): Chelsea Mitchell
All-State (GameTimeCT): Chelsea Mitchell
All-New England: Chelsea Mitchell
Wrestling
Coach: Josh Bristol
Record: 15-11, 6-1 NCCC (2nd)
NCCC championships: 2nd
CIAC championships: 9th in Class S, t58th at State Open
All-NCCC: Chris Dinneen, Jack Freedenberg, Austin Kilduff
