WHS standout athletes of the fall season

By Katherine Freitas '26

Wethersfield High School athletics has seen lots of wins this fall season. From soccer to field hockey, there are standout athletes who helped lead these teams to their wins. Wethersfield High School’s fall athletes and seniorsMaya Fanelli, Justin Crossen, and Joey McKenna are a great representation of our school's pride and integrity. Here are some of your fall standout athletes. 

Maya Fanelli: Maya Fanelli has been a 4-year varsity player for the WHS Girls Field Hockey team. The midfielder has put an immense amount of time and effort all four of those years to get to where she is now. 

October 20 was senior night and also the night Fanelli scored her 100th goal of her high school career. At the end of her senior season, she had 18 goals and 12 assists. 
As a team captain, she led her team through different challenges and faced many different teams this season. “I learn what my teammates do and don't like, and what works for them, not everyone can handle ‘tough love.’ I try my best to create bonds with everyone on the team and help foster the idea that we all don't have to be best friends with one another, but at the end of the day we are a team that will enjoy being together for the 3-4 hours a day that we are,” Fanelli said.
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Fanelli was a crucial part of the team on the field and off the field. She made sure that her teammates knew the captain and didn't just mean she was an upperclassman, but to let her team know that she was there when they needed her, and that team chemistry was something that meant a lot to her. 

Even though most of the field hockey season was filled with positivity and wins, it also had its struggles. She said, “The hardest setback was losing 8 out of the 11 varsity starters from last season. We only had 3 returning varsity starters, so this season I had to learn to play with a lot of new people. It was never super difficult and our team chemistry helped us click with each other quickly.” Even though she was surrounded by a new roster, she was still able to bring the chemistry from the varsity team last year, to the new players this year. 
Fanelli made sure that they would be able to play successfully on the field, while also having a strong connection off the field. ​​

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Justin Crossen: Crossen has been a standout player for not only this fall, but for all 4 years he's been a part of the WHS Boys Golf team. This year specifically, he won the Central Connecticut Conference, followed by winning the Division 3 State Tournament.

 He was a senior captain, along with senior Jack Berube. Crossen was proud of being a captain, and noted that a captain held responsibilities, like “Being someone that people can come to for help, if they are struggling with someone coming to me for help. I feel like I'm a good support system.” 

While balancing the responsibilities of being a captainthroughout the season, it doesn't take away from his excellent performance on the course. To get to these successful matches always starts with how Crossen and the team practices throughout the week. 

Crossen said, “Practice was really good this year, we worked on the right things, it was fun, but we were really productive and our practice translated to matches. We work on our weaknesses and grow to improve them.” Not only does Crossen mention himself, but he mentioned how his team worked together to create a dynamic that worked for everyone. He explains to get to where they were at the end of the season took lots of work mentally and physically, but was all worth it in the end. 

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Joey McKenna: Joey McKenna is the WHS Boys Soccer team's goalie and also the captain of the team along with Joao Fraga and Ramo Ahmatovic, in his senior year. Being a goalie differs from being a field player, and McKenna has shown how being in the goal is still a crucial part of the game. 

He said of being a keeper, “It's more of a mental game than a physical. I feel like everything starts with the keeper, from restarting play to communication about the field.” He goes on to explain how one minute you are standing there watching the whole field, and the next minute the intensity rises as he follows the ball to stay out of the goal. 

As a captain, the goalkeeper, and an important part of the team, he understands that the beginning of the season isn't a true representation of who the team is now. McKenna states, “Not being able to score the first few games, that really just came with time, that just took time to produce.” 

McKenna showed through this season that even when standing yards away from his teammates in the goal, he perseverance and determination for his team, and as a goalie, while always present while playing. 

The boys soccer team will play East Lyme Wednesday, Nov., 12, 7:00 pm, at Waterbury Municipal Stadium for the State Semifinal


All photos taken by Ms. Joanne Campbell Instagram: @grafx.eagle

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