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By Grant Anderson and Kenny Harrison  The girls and the boys soccer team took on the New Britain Hurricanes on Friday, September 8th. The girls played a home game on Cottone Field, while the boys went on the road to New Britain. The girls won 7-0 and the boys took home the win with the final score of 4-0 with winning goals from Brendan (Senior), Dino (Junior), Ben (Senior) and Christian (Senior).
From the very start of the girl’s home game, it was clear that they were in control. New Britain could not move the ball past the 50-yard line and the Eagles were making constant runs and shots at the goal in the very beginning. An out of box goal was scored by Chloe Troy. The game plan for the second half was to stop the simple mistakes and make the goals in the box. The defense stood strong and anytime the ball even came close to half field, it was quickly intercepted and passed forward starting a sequence for another goal. The game ended in total domination by the Wethersfield girls and the final score was 7-0 giving the Eagles a win in their season opener. Madelyn Barone was asked about what changed between the first and second half and she said, “We played a lot better in the second half because we finished crosses and took more and better quality shots. Because of this, we scored four times in the second half and only three in the first.” The boys and girls take on their next game against Rocky Hill on Tuesday, September 12th. The boys are looking for revenge from last year’s game against Rocky Hill which resulted in a loss. The boys are ready for a win to eliminate last year's loss from their minds. The girls will play at seven o'clock in Rocky Hill and are also looking to get another win this year after a solid victory last year. Looking further down the schedule to Friday, September 15th, the girls will take on RHAM on the Cottone Field at 6:30 p.m. The game is set to be huge with rumors of many RHAM students coming to WHS to support their team. The boys go on the road to take on South Windsor and are hopeful for another win.
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By: Jacklyn Snide (17) The sun is starting to shine again after a long winter which means the spring sports season is in full swing here at WHS. Our varsity teams have gotten off to a strong start and it’s still early in their seasons. Many are keeping morals high in hopes of a state championship win this year. Here’s your guide to all the upcoming action: Boy's Varsity Tennis Friday, 4/21 @3:45pm vs Plainville Monday, 4/24 @3:45pm vs Middletown Wednesday, 4/26 @3:45pm vs Platt Friday, 4/28 @3:45pm vs Bristol Central Monday, 5/1 @3:45pm vs Berlin Wednesday, 5/3 @3:45pm Away at Southington Thursday, 5/4 @3:45pm vs Conard Friday, 5/5 @3:45 Away at New Britain Girl's Varsity TennisFriday, 4/21 @3:45pm Away at Plainville Tuesday, 4/25 @3:45pm vs Middletown Wednesday, 4/26 @3:45pm vs Platt Friday, 4/28 @3:45pm Away at Bristol Central Monday, 5/1 @3:45pm Away at Berlin Wednesday, 5/3 @3:45pm vs RHAM Friday, 5/5 @3:45pm vs New Britain Varsity Track & Field Thursday, 4/20 @3:45pm vs New Britain Wednesday, 4/26 @3:45pm Away at Southington Saturday, 4/29 @9:00am Away at Danbury Tuesday, 5/2 @3:45pm vs Bristol Eastern Friday, 5/5 @3:45pm Away at Middletown Boy's Varsity GolfMonday, 4/24 @3:00pm vs Maloney at Wethersfield Country Club Wednesday, 4/26 @3:00pm vs Rocky Hill at Wethersfield Country Club Friday, 4/28 @TBA Avon Invitational at Blue Fox Run Monday, 5/1 @3:00pm vs New Britain at Stanley Golf Course Tuesday, 5/2 @3:00pm vs Newington, New Britain, Bristol Central at Wethersfield Country Club Thursday, 5/4 @3:00pm vs Berlin, East Catholic, Northwest Catholic at Timberlin GC  Girl's Varsity GolfThursday, 4/20 @3:00pm vs Avon at Blue Fox Run Monday, 4/24 @3:00pm vs Manchester at MANCHESTER COUNTRY CLUB Tuesday, 4/25 @3:00pm vs Middletown at Goodwin Park Thursday, 4/27 @3:00 vs East Catholic at Goodwin Park Tuesday, 5/2 @3:00 vs East Hartford at East Hartford Golf Course Boy's Varsity Volleyball Friday, 4/21 @5:00pm Away at Rockville Monday, 4/24 @5:00pm vs Simsbury Wednesday, 4/26 @5:00pm Away ay Conard Friday, 4/28 @5:00pm vs Maloney Monday, 5/1 @5:30pm Away vs Farmington Wednesday, 5/3 @5:00 Away at Newington Friday, 5/5 @5:00pm vs South Windsor Varsity SoftballFriday, 4/21 @4:15pm Away at Enfield Monday, 4/24 @4:15pm vs Bulkeley at Mill Woods Park Wednesday, 4/26 @4:15pm Away at Hall Friday, 4/28 @4:15pm Away at Bristol Central Monday, 5/1 @4:15pm vs Newington at Mill Woods Park Wednesday, 5/3 @4:15pm vs Platt at Mill Woods Park  Varsity BaseballFriday, 4/21 @3:45pm Away at East Hartford
Monday, 4/24 @3:45pm vs South Windsor at Esposito Field Friday, 4/28 @3:45pm vs Bristol Central at Esposito Field Monday, 5/1 @3:45pm Away at Newington Wednesday, 5/3 @3:45pm Away at Platt Friday, 5/5 @7:00pm Away at Stadium in New Britain  By: Jacklyn Snide (17)
The Eagles’ season got off to a strong start last Saturday at the Glastonbury Gymboree. Winning three of their four matches at the Gymboree, the boy’s season looks promising. After losing multiple strong Seniors, including All-Conference setter Colin Stewart, the team was unsure of how their season would play out. The team is composed of nine returning players and two who have never played before. When asked about their new perspective on the season following Saturday’s performance, returning varsity hitter, Kieran Senk (Class of 2018), said, “I’m now very excited for this season and have high hopes for this team! We all have one goal in mind and that's to make states!” The Eagles home opener is on Wednesday, April 5th against the Enfield Eagles. Come out and see your favorite boys dominate all season and remember to be loud! Editor's Note: Mrs. Ryba's Wethersfield Studies course recently collaborated with Mr. Martin to create news articles based on student visits to Wethersfield Board of Education meetings. This is one of those articles. By: Kit Kerekes (17) 175 high schools in Connecticut already have a lacrosse program developed in their high schools, including Wethersfield’s surrounding towns: Glastonbury, Rocky Hill, and Newington, so why not Wethersfield? Several parents and players spoke at the Wethersfield Board of Education Meeting on February 28th about creating a lacrosse team at Wethersfield High School. A recreational lacrosse program has already been established with over 200 players (204 from grades K-8 and 31 from high school). The recreational program has been successful in bringing kids from different sports such as football, soccer, and hockey, together that would not normally play on the same team due to their interest in other sports. Dan O’Connor, President and Co-Founder of the Wethersfield Youth Lacrosse Program told the Wethersfield Board of Education, “We are a committed group and wish to work with you to find a way to get their program into the high school.”  Mr. Moller, a parent of two WHS students, said that incorporating a lacrosse team into WHS would make Wethersfield a place people want to move to and reside. He said, “Wethersfield needs to create something that will make it a town that everyone would want to come to. We need to sell ourselves to people coming into Connecticut who’re wondering where to live and where they want to send their children. I think the lacrosse program is a good thing for our town to have in the long run.”
More developments are to come in this story.  Wethersfield High School offers a recreational lifting program for all grades in the high school. Many athletes participate in the program after school. I was lucky enough to sit down and interview the man in charge of the program, teacher and football coach, Coach Campanello. Throughout the interview, I was given basic facts about the program and some insight on what Coach Campanello’s goals are for his lifting program. I started my interview by asking Coach Campanello to tell us who he offers the lifting program to. “It’s open to anybody who wants to be part of it, a lot of the guys who come down there are apart of my football program because that's apart of our program”. I then ask Campanello who coaches the lifting program and he went on to say “mostly it’s me because I am in the building”. Campanello has been teaching at Wethersfield for 18 years but he has been with Wethersfield longer than that. His first year coaching for Wethersfield was 28 years ago, he has been head football coach for 12 years. The lifting program takes place after school in the weight room year round, right after school. A lot of athletes will get a lifting session in before practice. For example lifting is perfect for sprinters to help gain explosiveness and speed for when they compete. Campanello said his goal are “To grow stronger and more powerful. The program we run is called Bigger Faster Stronger program. We chart our lifts after each time an athlete lifts and I set goals for the next month for them so when they come in they know exactly what they have to do”. I went on to interview two football players that participated in Campanello’s lifting program. Sophomore Craig Elliott stated “I like the program because it helps with arm strength and mobility”. I then asked if the program has noticeably helped his performance on field. Elliot said “Yes it has, I feel like I have gotten stronger”. Interviewing Craig showed us that the program has been successful for someone two years into the program. Still being skeptical about how students feel about the program I decided to interview senior captain Jamal Bagley. When asking Jamal if he has felt a difference from junior to senior year football season he said, “I felt a little more stronger junior to senior year”. This is showing that he had growth because of the program. Wethersfield High School has a great lifting program welcome to anyone. It is clear athletes are happy with the program and coach Campanello has a strong passion for it. If I were to do high school all over I would have gotten involved with the program myself.
By: Hannah Pearce (17)  Wethersfield High School has started a new volleyball program from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesdays in the WHS gym. Any sixth, seventh, or eighth graders who wish to learn how to play the sport are welcome to attend.
Throughout the practice, a variety of drills are taught by WHS varsity players, graduated teammate Laura Kelly, and freshman coach Katie Byrnes. There are a variety of drills that are done to teach footwork, passing, setting, and serving skills. Scrimmages are also done throughout the practice along with conditioning stations. Both Coach Byrnes and Torres agreed that the goal of the program is to introduce more students to the sport, giving them quality experience so that they can grow as a team once they reach the high school level. The hope is to draw more students in and teach them what the current team has been taught, so that the team will improve as a whole in future years. Torres said, “Our freshmen started at the same level as these middle schoolers, so they can only get better.” They also hope to spread awareness of the sport and the lack of opportunities to play volleyball during the student’s younger years. Any middle school students interested in playing or managing high school volleyball are encourage to attend these sessions and expand their knowledge about the rules, skills, and techniques of the sport. By: Michael Murphy (17)  On March 7th the Wethersfield Eagles take on Northwest Catholic in the first round of the boys Class L state tournament. Both teams are 12-8 looking towards their biggest game of the season. Wethersfield and Northwest Catholic already met once in the regular season with Wethersfield winning a hard-fought 53-47 road game.
I interviewed senior captain Connor Peterson about the upcoming game. I asked him what their game plan is for this Northwest Catholic team. “We are going to try to slow the game down and play at the pace we want to play at. Hopefully we can control the game just like the last time we played them.” The Eagles, led by leading scorer Mike Mozzicato, hope to break their two game losing streak. Varsity assistant coach Mark Bagdasarian talked about his team's hard work and preparation leading up to the game. “We have been really working hard all week. Watching film, practicing sets, working on our defense. Hopefully we can come out tuesday and play our best.We know that if we can limit our mistakes and take care of the ball we can win this game so we have been working on that as well.” The Eagles start their State tournament run on Tuesday the 7th at Northwest Catholic. The game starts at 7:00 pm as everyone expects a packed house and a great game. By: Paul Wheatley (17) This years cross country team is having another successful season with a 2-2 record and an impressive win over Bristol Eastern. When asked about the season WHS student and cross country runner Phil Rudak said, “I cannot speak for the team as to what our best achievement was this year, but I would say we had a lot of personal improvements that made our team better as a whole.” As for any sports team, expectations are made at the beginning of the year based off the talent and potential of the team. When asked about the team's expectations this year Rudak responded with “The expectations of the team were to show up every day, full attendance, do the work out to the best of your ability, maintain effort up hills and kick well in the races.” Rudak also elaborated on how he and the team met their expectations by saying, “I met the expectations of the team. The team itself met the expectations set in place at the start of the season.” Hopefully this cross country team can carry these improvements and success into the state championships.
By: Devyn Clark (17) Color Guard may be looked at as just dancing or spinning a flag, rifle, or sabre; but to Color Guard team members, it’s much more than that. The season officially begins with practices that start in June and again in August, camp is two weeks long and once school begins, practices are twice a week. Color Guard performs at every home football game and competes at about seven competitions a year. The band season can be described in so many different ways by tons of different members. ”Band season is my absolute favorite time of the year because it allows me to grow as a person and leader every year, and it helps improve relationships between people. When it’s over, it makes you realize that every sweaty and horrible practice was worth it because you leave with something more than just a placement at a competition”, said Sam Zapor, co-captain. This activity definitely affects the members in many different ways and for Lindsey Gordon, another captain, it has impacted her in a positive way. ” [Color guard has given] confidence in myself and my abilities, how to fake it until you make it, how to handle failures and disappointments in a mature way”, she said. Performing in front of a group of people all the time and having to change facial expressions to fit the mood of the music definitely helps to improve confidence. As the season continues, the fear of performing can lessen. This skill can help when presenting a project in front of a class or in the future at a job or in college. Looking into the next season, there are going to be new members joining who may need some advice on the activity. “My advice would be to practice. The only way to get better is to practice and never forget the lessons you learned on the field. In life, keep your head held high and keep pushing through with confidence”, said Jocelyn Wilcox, co-captain. As the season comes to an end, all of the hard work from the whole season comes into play into the last competitions. What the members took out of this activity is more important than what place they came in at a competition. The values they’ve learned will stick with them for the rest of their lives.
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Athletics ArticlesSpring Sporting Events
Boy's Volleyball Hit the Court with a Bang Lacrosse: Upcoming WHS Sport Coach Camp's Weightlifting New Volleyball Program Boys Basketball State Tournament XC Working to Achieve Goals Color Guard Soccer Alumni Girls Volleyball Stay Strong Baseball 2016 Season Boys Basketball 2016 Recap Recap: Gymnastics Season '16 Success for Girls XC 2015 Boys XC 2015 |
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Photos from SounderBruce, Ravi_Shah
