Four Canton athletes recognized as All-State; Titus earns All-American honors

Four Canton High athletes earned All-State honors for their play this past winter. From left, Jenna Cuniowski, Braeden Humphrey, Tommie Barker and Ethan Titus.

Four Canton athletes earned All-State honors this winter while one athlete, Ethan Titus, became the first wrestler in school history to earn All-American honors.

Girls basketball player Jenna Cuniowski earned All-State honors along with Tommie Barker, who won the Class S championship in the shot put. Braeden Humphrey earned All-State honors in ice hockey, playing with the Newington co-op squad that won the CIAC Division III state championship.

Titus became the ninth athlete in school history to earn All-American honors when he finished fifth at the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) national championship tournament in Virginia Beach at the end of March.

Titus (39-6) became the first Canton wrestler to win a Class S state championship since 2014 with a dominating performance at 113 pounds, pinning all four wrestlers he faced on the mat.

Titus finished second at the State Open and third at the New England championships.

At the national championship meet, he went 5-2 to finish fifth. He won his first two matches by shutout, 2-0 and 9-0 before dropping a 2-0 match in the quarterfinals to New England champion Isiac Paulino of Massachusetts, who got a two-point near fall with 30 seconds left in the second period.

Titus went 3-1 in the consolation round to earn All-American honors.

Cuniowski averaged 17.7 points a game this season for the Warriors (12-12) and drained a team-leading 23 three-point goals. She had nine games with more than 20 points including a career-high 33 points in a NCCC Tournament win over Coventry.

Against the Patriots, Cuniowski hit a career-high six three-point shots. The 33-point effort is the fourth most points in a single game in program history. Sarah Benedetti holds the school record with 44 points in 2010 followed by Alena Jasinski (40 points in 2006) and Patty Sarmuk (34 points in 1989).

Barker won their first indoor state championship when they won the shot with a throw of 33 feet and a half inch to help lead the Warriors to a top 10 finish at the Class S championship meet. Canton finished ninth.

Barker became the first Canton athlete to win an indoor state championship in a throwing event. It was a bit shorter than their throw of 33-11½ to win the NCCC championship in late January but it was enough to win. Barker set a new school record in the shot in January with a throw of 34 feet and one inch at the Shoreline Coaches Invitational.

Humphrey, a senior co-captain, with the Newington co-op hockey team scored six goals and had 11 assists on the season. He anchored a Nor’easter defense that had six shutouts this season, won a CCC South championship and went 21-4 on the season.

He was one of five Canton players on the five-team co-op with Newington, Manchester, Cromwell, Berlin and Canton. Humphrey is the first Canton player to earn All-State honors while participating in the co-op. Canton has been skating with the Newington squad for three seasons.

BOYS BASKETBALL
Coach:  Craig Archambault
Record: 14-6, 9-4 NCCC (tied third)
All-NCCC:  Isaiah Reece, Brandon Powell
All-State: none
NCCC Tournament:  Lost to Stafford in quarterfinals, 43-40
CIAC state tournament: Lost to Wamogo in second round of Div. 4 tournament, 52-50, OT

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Coach:  Brian Medeiros
Record: 12-12, 10-3 NCCC (tied second)
All-NCCC:  Jenna Cuniowski, Sophia Mates
All-State (CHSCA): Jenna Cuniowski
NCCC Tournament:  Lost to Granby in championship game, 52-44
CIAC state tournament: Lost to Immaculate in first round of Class S tournament, 66-33

WRESTLING
Coach:  Joshua Bristol
Record: 13-10, 5-2 NCCC (third)
All-NCCC:  Ryker Bahre, Ethan Titus, Reese Titus
All-State (CHSCA): Ethan Titus
All-American: Ethan Titus (National High School Coaches Association)
NCCC Tournament:  Third at NCCC championships
CIAC state tournament: Sixth at Class S championships
Of note: Ethan Titus was second team All-State in GameTimeCT’s wrestling team. … Warriors finished 29th at the State Open and tied for 58th at New England championships

BOYS ICE HOCKEY
Coach:  David Harackiewicz
Record: 21-4, 7-0 CCC South (1st)
All-CCC South:  Braeden Humphrey, Evan Howard, Josh Grimm
All-State (CHSCA): Braeden Humphrey
CCC South Tournament:  Lost to Enfield co-op, 4-2 in semifinals
CIAC state tournament: Won Div. III championship with 3-1 win over Conard
Of note: Canton was part of the five-team co-op program hosted by Newington along with Cromwell, Manchester, and Berlin.

GIRLS ICE HOCKEY
Coach:  Joe Gozzi
Record: 7-10-1, 2-7-1 CCC
All-CCC: 
All-State: none
State tournament: Lost to Avon co-op in first round, 3-2
Of note: Canton was part of a seven-team co-op program hosted by Suffield and including Ellington, E.O. Smith, Granby, Windsor and Northwestern Regional

BOYS INDOOR TRACK
Coach:  Tim O’Donnell
Record: no dual meets
All-NCCC:  Tommy Purcell, JR Rottkamp
All-State (CHSCA): none
NCCC championships:  6th at NCCC championships
CIAC state tournament: 15th at Class S championships

GIRLS INDOOR TRACK
Coach:  Devin Glasson
Record: no dual meets
All-NCCC:  Tommie Barker, Ava Dakin, Joy Shand
All-State (CHSCA): Tommie Barker
NCCC championships:  4th at NCCC championships
CIAC state tournament: 9th at Class S championships

Canton High All-American players