Girls basketball
Losses can't tarnish NCCC championship
AVON, March 8 – Sometimes, when the season comes to abrupt end, it can be hard to see what you accomplished along the way.
The regular season ended with a 18-point loss to Bacon Academy, which finished with its first undefeated regular season in 12 years. After a six-point win over Granby in the quarterfinals of the NCCC Tournament, East Granby outlasted the Falcons, 46-44 to keep Avon out of the tournament championship for the first time since 1999.
And in Avon’s first game in the Class L tournament, Masuk High grabbed an early 12-2 lead in the first quarter and never looked back in a 48-33 second round victory at Avon High.
There were tears and some long faces when it was over for the Falcons. But it wasn’t a lost season.
Avon went 15-1 in the NCCC and won 10th league championship in the last 12 years. They were 17-3 in the regular season. The biggest win was probably a 39-37 victory over defending Class LL champion Norwich Free Academy when senior Emily Jordan sank a 10-footer at the buzzer for the victory.
“It was a good season,” Avon coach Frank Waters said. “Winning the league championship is certainly something to be proud of.”
Avon had hoped to be competitive with Masuk, who scored just 19 points in a loss to Pomperaug in the Southwest Conference semifinals. It was the second lowest offensive output in Hall of Fame coach Dave Strong’s tenure that began in 1976.
The Panthers (16-7) were a bit better in a 40-34 decision over Windsor in the first round of the Class L tournament but the Falcons thought they had enough offensive firepower to play with Masuk. “We felt if we played a good zone defense that would be the right way to go,” Waters said.
Avon senior Kiera Givens scored the first basket of the game to give the Falcons a quick 2-0 lead. But Masuk scored 14 of the game’s next 16 points to seize control. Emily Antenucci and Michelle Wu each drained a three-point goal, Victoria Schiebe hit a jumper, Wu had a nice fadeaway jumper and Brooke Butkovsky drove hard to the basket to give the Panthers a 12-2 lead.
Givens hit another jumper but Butkovsky responded seconds later with a layup and a 14-4 advantage. Avon finished with just six points in the first quarter and 10 in the first half. They trailed 22-10 at halftime.
Masuk outrebounded the Falcons and were much more efficient offensively. “That was probably the best game we’ve played all year,” Strong said. “Our defense has been pretty good. Today, we had some offense, too.”
Wu finished with a game-high 16 points while Butkovsky added 15 for the Panthers. Avon was led by Givens with 13 and Caroline Jadovich with 11 points.
The Falcons struggled shooting the ball, sinking just 12 of 52 shots while Masuk shot 57 percent from the floor. And when Avon missed, Masuk frequently controlled the rebounds.
“We don’t have overwhelming talent,” Strong said. “Our formula is tough defense and patience on offense. We worked on taking a good shot. We tend to rush. If you have a good shot, one of teammates probably has a better one.”
Avon (18-6) tried to rally. They switched to a more aggressive man-to-man defense. It helped fuel a 7-2 surge that cut the lead to nine points with 4:50 left in the third quarter.
The rally began with Jadovich scoring under the basket off a nice feed from Givens. After an Avon steal, Anna Schrecengost scored on a fast break and after a Masuk turnover, Givens scored on a baseline jumper. A steal by Jenna Donahue led to a three-point shot by Jadovich to trim the lead to 28-19. But Masuk outscored Avon in the final 4:50 of the quarter by a 6-2 margin to extend the lead back to 13. A three-point shot from Wu and a baseline jumper to open the fourth quarter iced the game for the visitors.
“I’m proud of the effort our kids gave,” Waters said. “They worked hard and didn’t roll over and go through the motions.”
Senior Emily Jordan finished with two points, six rebounds and five steals. Senior Maggie Hartman had two points in her final game.
“All three seniors (Jordan, Hartman, Givens) left everything they had on the basketball court,” Waters said. “They played with the urgency seniors need to play with and I was proud of that.”
In the NCCC Tournament, Jadovich had 20 points in a 46-43 loss to Suffield in the tournament consolation game. Suffield led by one in the final minute and extended it to three with a pair of foul shots with eight seconds remaining.
Masuk 48, Avon 33
At Avon
Masuk (16-7) Victoria Schiebe 0-0-0, Kelly Zazuri 1-0-2, Jamie Madden 0-0-0, Diana Antenucci 0-0-0, Kelsey Kovachik 3-0-6, Michelle Wu 5-4-16, Brooke Butkovsky 7-1-15, Emily Antenucci 2-1-5, Melissa Peet 2-0-4, Lauren Maile 0-0-0. Totals 20-5-48
Avon (18-6) Caroline Jadovich 4-2-11, Alana Pulling 0-0-0, Caroline Schaefer 0-1-1, Maggie Hartman 0-2-2, Julia Schrecengost 0-0-0, Kiera Givens 5-3-13, Emily Jordan 1-0-2, Chelsea Foster 1-0-2, Anna Schrecengost 1-0-2, Jenna Donahue 0-0-0. Totals 12-8-33.
Masuk 14-8-13-13 – 48
Avon 6-4-12-11 – 33
Three-point shots: Wu (M) 2, Antenucci (M), Jadovich (A) 1
State Open wrestling
Pearson wins pair of matches at Open
NEW HAVEN, Feb. 26 – The difference between winning and losing is small at the CIAC State Open wrestling championships. Avon’s David St. Onge lost his two matches by a combined four points.
Avon’s Ryan Pearson (160) won two matches and was eliminated in the consolation semifinals, one victory shy of finishing in the top six of their respective weight classes and earning a medal.
Pearson, who finished second in Class L at 160 pounds, had a rematch of the recent NCCC championship bout in his first Open match. In the NCCC final, Pearson pinned Ellington’s Matt Janiga in less than a minute. However, this time, Janiga prevailed with a pin in 5:44.
Tied at 4-4, Janiga got a third period takedown, put Pearson to his back and made it stick. Pearson (33-9) rallied with two straight wins in the consolation round. He beat Manchester’s Chris Turner, 8-2 and shutout Romera DaSilva of Platt Tech/West Haven, 9-0. However, in the consolation semifinals, Fairfield Warde’s Mike Sullivan was too strong in a 5-0 victory.
St. Onge lost a 3-0 decision to Somers’ Kyle Foster in the first round and was eliminated after a 1-0 loss to Tyre Pinder of Hartford co-op thanks to a third period escape.
Avon teammate James Gendler (140) finished fifth in Class L and was an alternate. He was ready when another wrestler dropped out. Gendler lost both his matches but his second loss was a close one in a 4-3 loss to RHAM’s Kyle Schilling. Down 3-0, Gendler escaped and got a takedown to tie the match but Schilling’s late escape gave him the victory.
Wrestling
Pearson, St. Onge each finish 2nd in Class L
BRISTOL, Feb. 19 -- Avon finished eighth in the Class L tournament with Ryan Pearson (160) and David St. Onge (189) each finishing second. James Gendler (140) and Joe Murphy (152) each took fifth.
The season turned around for Pearson (160) after some losses at midseason. “It’s been a different presence in the second half of the year,” Avon coach John McLaughlin said.
Pearson was disappointed after losing a match to a wrestler from Coventry at mid-season. “He just said, ‘I don’t want to lose again.’ And he took off. His work ethic was great and there was a tenacity there.”
Pearson (31-7) finished the season strong. He won the NCCC championship with three pins, all in under a minute, and rolled into the Class L finals with three straight wins, including a pin of No. 2 seed Clay Helms of Wilton in just 1:28.
But against No. 1 Mike Sullivan of Fairfield Warde, Pearson made a mistake and Sullivan made his pay for it. Sullivan (38-0) pinned Pearson in 1:17.
St. Onge (189) had a nice tournament getting to the championship match. He pinned Farmington’s Shaun Rio in 1:50 in the quarterfinals and beat No. 9 seed Michael Cassin of Bristol Eastern in the semifinals, 15-3. Cassin had upset the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals.
“He is one of the most underrated kids on the team,” McLaughlin said. “He flies under the radar. People don’t know how good he is.”
However in the finals, he met Norwalk’s Brandon Riggins, a former Oklahoma resident who began attending Norwalk High earlier this winter. He wrestled two years at East Longmeadow, Mass., before moving to Oklahoma in 2010. Riggins (14-1) who beat the No. 2 and No. 3 seed to get to the finals, beat St. Onge, 16-3.
Gendler (140) lost a 2-1 decision in the semifinals and finished fifth while Murphy (152) also lost in the semifinals before taking fifth.
McLaughlin was pleased with Avon’s eighth place performance in Class L. “All year, we’ve been led by these four leaders who placed here,” he said.
Indoor track
Noonan, Rendeiro win NCCC titles for Falcons
NEW HAVEN, Feb. 7 -- The reborn Avon High program is in its second year but last year got off to a late start and there were few opportunities to compete. This year, the Falcons had a full slate of indoor events to prepare for the NCCC and Class M championship meets.
“It was a good opportunity for the kids this winter,” Avon coach Al Daddario said.
At the NCCC championships, the Avon girls were eighth led by senior Brianna Noonan, who came up with two clutch jumps to win the high jump with a leap of five feet. The Avon boys finished seventh, led by Greg Rendeiro, who won the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, 11.75 inches.
Locked in a tight match with Ellington’s Sarah Moore, Noonan cleared 4-foot-10 with her third and final jump to remain alive. Moore missed all three jumps at five feet but because she had made all of her previous jumps, Noonan had to clear five feet or finish second. On her third and final try, she cleared five feet to win.
Other top five finishers included Graydon Stewart, who was third in the 300 meters, Stephanie Koo, who was fifth in the 55 meters, and the Falcons 4x200 meter relay team that finished fourth.
At the Class M meet, Noonan took second in the high jump with a leap of 4-10. The winner, Ashley Raymond of Career High in New Haven cleared 5-foot-4.
This is the second year for Avon girls competing in indoor track. The Avon boys had a team in the 1960s and 1970s.
Girls basketball
Avon pulls away from Granby in home opener
By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Collinsville Press.com
AVON, Dec. 14 – Senior Kiera Givens had a game-high 16 points and five steals, including a crucial jumper with 2:15 remaining in the game to help the Avon High girls basketball team outlast Granby, 43-33 in the home opener for the Falcons.
Avon (2-0, 2-0 NCCC) had a horrific first half shooting the ball, making just 4 of 21 field goals but they led by five points. The Falcons extended its lead to as much as 12 points in the second half only to see Granby tighten up the contest in the fourth quarter.
Granby’s Kristen Endorf hit a three-pointer with 6:07 remaining in the game to cut the Avon lead to seven points. On the next possession, Granby’s Gabby Dixon stole the ball but the Bears missed a layup. But Granby was energized.
Avon extended its lead to eight but Makuch hit two foul shots and Dixon scored inside with 3:33 remaining to cut the Falcon lead to four, 36-32.
Givens extended the lead to six, 38-32 with 2:15 remaining, scoring on a wide-open jumper after a nice pass from Emily Jordan. That was the final field goal of the game. The Falcons outscored Granby from the free throw line by a 5-1 margin the rest of the way.
Jordan had two free throws in that run. She was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe with a game-high 10 rebounds. Carolyn Jadovich scored eight points while Chelesa Foster added seven.
For Granby, Markuch led the Bears with 14 points while four other players scored four points each.
Despite missing two starters due to injuries, Avon High coach Frank Waters expects more from his team. “We’re a tall basketball team and we’re not boxing out on rebounds. For the second straight game, a smaller team had too many second chances. We’re not even close to where I think this team can be.”
Waters praised Givens, who had three steals in the third quarter – two on back-to-back possessions. “She provided the energy we needed,” he said. “She played extremely well.”
Granby coach Dean Godin said this game was lost in the first quarter after Avon took a 12-4 lead, scoring a pair of three-point shots in the final 1:08.
“We can play with anyone,” Godin said. “Are we ready to kick the door down yet? I wasn’t happy how we prepared to play the game. We got to the gym but we weren’t focused and we played like it in the first quarter.”
Avon 43, Granby 33
At Avon
Granby (33) Haley Makuch 4-6-14, Ellie McDougall 0-0-0, Emily Stone 0-4-4, Sarah Eckhardt 0-0-0, Michelle Guttermuth 0-0-0, Kristen Endorf 1-1-4, Shannell Starling 2-0-4, Rachel Horr 0-4-4. Totals 7-14
Avon (43) Kiera Givens 6-4-16, Emily Jordan 0-4-4, Carolyn Jadovich 2-1-8, Chelsea Foster 3-0-7, Anna Schrecengost 1-4-6, Jenna Donahue 0-0-0, Lauren Perez 1-0-2. Totals 13-13
Three-point goals: Endorf (G), Jadovich (A), Foster (A)
Records: Avon 2-0, Granby 1-2
