BY KYLE BRENNAN
CITIZEN’S NEWS
It was a memorable year of local high school sports. Woodland and Naugatuck combined to win 11 Naugatuck Valley League championships, place dozens of athletes on All-State teams and even a handful more on All-New England rosters. Here are the top 10 stories from the 2021-22 school year.
Slavin, Poulos pace Hawks in cross country: Colin Slavin won the NVL boys cross country title in 17 minutes flat to help the Hawks run away with the league title, but no runner last fall was more impressive than his teammate, Chloe Poulos. She won the NVL title by more than two minutes, and a week later she became the first runner in school history to win a state meet. Poulos ended the season with All-New England honors, the first female athlete in Woodland history to earn the honor.
Woodland girls win another NVL swim title: The Hawks easily clinched another NVL girls swim title, winning in part because of school-record efforts by the 200-yard freestyle relay team and diver Ella Bernegger, who also finished second in Class S. Woodland was third in Class S, paced by 100-yard breaststroke champ Emme Starzman.
Hawks take NVL girls soccer title in thriller: Sara Alessio fired in the game-winning goal off a header by Michaela Gasparri with 3:43 remaining to lift Woodland to a 2-1 win over Holy Cross for the Hawks’ first league championship since 2015.
Greyhounds conquer Ansonia for first time since 2010: Naugatuck overcame a halftime deficit to score a pair of second-half touchdowns, including the game-winning, 12-yard touchdown run by Michael Deitelbaum, to beat Ansonia, 14-7, at Jarvis Stadium for the first time since 2010. Not only did it give Naugy its first NVL title in 11 years, but the ‘Hounds ended Ansonia’s 104-game winning streak against league opponents. The Greyhounds lost a heartbreaker to Masuk in the Class L quarterfinals less than a week later.
‘Hounds sweep NVL indoor track meet: The boys squad edged Woodland in a thrilling track meet, while the girls demolished the competition as Naugy completed the sweep. Lalo Lopez won the 600 meters for the boys, while Allison Murphy, Lily Jason and Nadia Cestari all earned individual gold medals. At the Class L meet, both 4×400 relay teams set school records in title-winning performances, while Lopez claimed the 600. The girls 4×400 squad (Jason, Murphy, Julia Kropo and Lauren Sonski) re-broke its record to win the State Open title and later placed fifth to earn All-New England honors.
Woodland boys win first league swim title: The Hawks ended Holy Cross’ reign of seven straight NVL titles by breaking through to win their first. Alex Weisenbacher, Tyler Cyr, and D.J. Mulligan won gold medals to propel Woodland to the historic championship. The Hawks fell just shy of Holy Cross in the Class S meet, finishing with a program-record second-place effort. Weisenbacher earned All-State honors.
Undefeated Naugy hoops squad wins NVL boys crown: In one of the most dominant seasons in NVL history, the Greyhounds cruised through the league with an undefeated regular season and then ripped through the NVL tournament, ending with a 58-42 win over Kennedy, to win their second league title in three years. Ese Onakpoma and Avery Hinnant earned All-State honors for Naugy, which suffered an upset loss to Wilbur Cross in the second round of the Division I state tournament.
Locals once again dominate NVL outdoor track: The regular suspects, the Naugy boys and Woodland girls, repeated as the league’s outdoor track champs. Twenty-eight local athletes earned All-NVL honors, and there was more success in the state meets. The Naugatuck boys and girls finished third and fourth, respectively, in Class L, led by double champs Ese Onakpoma and Allison Murphy. Laci Davis and Chloe Poulos both broke school records in gold-medal efforts for the Woodland girls in Class M. Davis, Murphy, Onakpoma, Eric Meade, Dan Anderson, Layshawn Lindsay, Lalo Lopez and Taylor Trowers all earned All-New England recognition.
Woodland baseball reaches state final: The Hawks saved their best baseball for the postseason. They upset the state’s No. 1-ranked team, St. Paul, in the NVL semifinals before falling short in the league final. Woodland rebounded to reach its first Class M final, propelled there by Tyler Giambra’s no-hitter against Jonathan Law in the semis. The Hawks lost to Joel Barlow in the final.
Hawks win Class M softball title, finish unbeaten: Woodland softball players vowed to get revenge after losing in the state semis in 2021, and they sure did it this spring. The Hawks (27-0) finished as the state’s only unbeaten team, beating Oxford for both the NVL and Class M championships. Kylie Bulinski, Riley Kane and Sam Sosnovich all earned All-State honors for Woodland, which won its first softball state title and fourth overall state championship in school history.
