State Open wrestling
With two wins at Open, Getler finishes 38-3
NEW HAVEN, Feb. 26 – Nate Getler, Canton’s most recent state wrestling champion, finished his career with a 2-2 record at the 2011 State Open championships at the New Haven Athletic Center. Getler (38-3) had two pins and a pair of close defeats at 130 pounds.
Getler opened the tournament by pinning Newington’s Braden McManus in 1:08 but he lost 2-1 to Bacon Academy’s Sean McAllister in the quarterfinals. McAllister made a first period takedown stand up.
In the first round of the consolation round, Getler pinned Thomaston’s Jeff Desaultels in 54 seconds. But in the consolation semifinals, New Milford’s Andrew Golden outlasted Getler, 3-1 in overtime to eliminate the Canton wrestler.
Golden took a 1-0 lead with a second period escape but Getler tied it with 1:08 left in the match with an escape of his own. Getler tried to secure a takedown and came close with 18 seconds remaining but the two wrestlers were ruled out of bounds. In overtime, Getler tried a throw but Golden was able to slip out of it and behind Getler to get the takedown and the victory.
Matt White (125) was scheduled to wrestle but he was overweight on Friday and could not participate. Bryan Fitzpatrick (135), who finished fifth at the Class S tournament, was an alternate and grabbed an available spot in the tournament. Fitzpatrick (25-12) lost a pair of matches to eventual runnerup Forest Dolby of Cheney Tech by pin (25 seconds) and to Fairfield Warde’s James Namontis by a 9-2 score.
Class S wrestling
Getler brings title home
HARTFORD, Feb. 19 – Senior Nate Getler lost in the Class S semifinals twice and missed one year due to an injury. In his final chance, Getler had four pins to become the first Canton High wrestler to win a Class S championship since 2004 on Saturday night at Sport and Medicine Science Academy. Canton finished 12th overall.
Canton boys indoor track
wins 2nd straight NCCC title
NEW HAVEN, Feb. 7 -- David Kucia, Kevin Kurnat and Dylan Smith won individual events while the Canton High boys indoor track team won three relays to lift the Warriors to their 2nd straight NCCC championship.
Weekly roundup
Canton girls have shot at NCCC in their hands
By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Collinsville Press.com
CANTON, Feb. 1, 2011 – It’s been tough to get the Canton High girls basketball team together this winter.
Snow days and snow delays have made the opportunity to practice inconsistent. Senior point guard Megan Roux missed the first eight games of the season after breaking her ankle and toes in an October auto accident. And when Roux finally returned, All-State forward Sarah Benedetti missed a game with an illness.
Yet with eight games remaining in the regular season, the Warriors (7-5, 7-2 NCCC) find themselves in second place in the NCCC and in control of its own destiny.
Avon (13-2, 10-1) leads the league with Canton with Ellington (9-4, 8-3) and Suffield (9-3, 7-3) right behind. Canton hosts Avon in a big game on Friday night at the high school beginning at 7 p.m. Along with two games with the always-tough East Granby, Canton closes out the regular season against Suffield on Feb. 17.
It won’t be easy but the opportunity to win a league championship sits in front of the Warriors.
With the return of Roux, Canton has finally assembled the team they thought they could put on the court last November. Benedetti is an All-State forward averaging 20 points and 15 rebounds a game. Roux is averaging 12 points a game in her first four games back, including a 18-point performance in her debut against Windsor Locks.
Chelsea Roux, who played on the varsity as a sophomore, is back and provides solid play along with senior Catherine Curvino. “We have a nice nucleus in place,” Canton coach Jeanne Holian said.
Canton went 1-1 last week, beating Bolton, 41-37 but falling to Coventry, 57-35 in a game that Benedetti missed due to an illness. Curvino had a career-high 19 points in the loss to Coventry. Against Bolton, Benedetti tied her season high with 25 points while Megan Roux added eight points.
INDOOR TRACK: The indoor track and field season isn’t long and drawn out. Canton will compete at the NCCC championships on Monday (Feb. 7) at the New Haven Athletic Center and three days later, they will return there to compete in the Class S championships next Thursday (Feb. 10).
The Canton boys are in good position to repeat as league champions. The Warriors looked sharp in winning its first-ever indoor invitational by winning two relays and Dylan Smith capturing the shot at the Haddam-Killingworth Invitational.
In the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay at the H-K Invitational, Nick Chekas, Dave Solomon, David Kucia and Kyle Hall raced to an easy nine second victory in 3:50.25, which qualified the team for the Class S meet.
Canton also won the 400 meter relay (Kevin Kurnat, Solomon, Jon Melite and Tyler Fitzgerald) with another state qualifying time of 3:43.65. Smith won the shot put with a throw of 43 feet, five inches, winning by nearly two feet over his nearest competitor.
The key to winning a NCCC title is depth and teammates finishing in the top eight to score points.
For example at the H-K Invitational, David Kucia was third in the 55 hurdles with a school-record time of 8.19, Chekas took sixth in the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:56.54 while Melite was eighth in the 600 meters in 1:32.32. Peter Leduc was 10th in the 3,200 meters in 10:21.32, earning a spot in the Class S championships. Canton will be challenged by Ellington and Suffield in the NCCC.
On the girls side, Canton’s team isn’t as competitive and there will be athletes shooting for individual bests. Lindsey Phelps, who was seventh in the 55 meters hurdles at the H-K Invitational, should be contender for a medal along with Deanna Nappi in the 1,000 meters.
At the Class S meet, the challenge will be if Canton can muster up the strength for another big performance in just a few days. A year ago, the Canton boys finished third behind Weston and Bloomfield.
BOYS BASKETBALL: With a 68-49 win over Bolton on Friday night, the Warriors moved within two victories of qualifying for the Class S tournament for the seventh straight year and extending the school record for consecutive state tournament berths.
Prior to 2005, the longest run of qualifying for the Class S tournament for Canton was four straight years (1980-83 and 1925-28).
Canton’s Pat Sullivan had a career-high 22 points, including seven 3-point shots, to lead the Warriors (6-7, 3-6 NCCC) against Bolton. Mike Pepin added 17.
Earlier in the week, Pepin had 18 points, Colin Gurry scored 13 and Sullivan added 12 but the Warriors came up short in a 68-56 loss to Coventry.
WRESTLING: The Warriors (5-18, 0-5 NCCC) won one of five matches last week. They dropped a 51-21 decision to Stafford in a NCCC meet. Brian Fitzpatrick (130) had a nice overtime win but four forfeits didn’t help Canton.
At the John Williams Duals at Rockville High on Saturday, Canton finished seventh. The Warriors lost to Windham High, 58-10, Avon, 60-18 and host Rockville, 30-29. Canton beat the Junior Varsity All-Stars, a collection of junior varsity wrestlers from the seven varsity teams to replace a team that failed to appear, by a score of 51-18.
Track and field
Canton runners win H-K Invitational for first time
By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Collinsville Press.com
CANTON, January 23 – The Canton High indoor track and field team continues to break down barriers. A year ago, the boys indoor track team won a NCCC championship in just its second varsity campaign.
On Saturday, the Warriors captured their first invitational event with an impressive victory in the Haddam-Killingworth Invitational at the New Haven Athletic Center at Hillhouse High in New Haven.
Canton beat some impressive programs including Tolland (3rd in Class M in 2010), Hartford-based Capital Prep, Berlin, Coginchaug and Northwest Catholic (4th in Class S in 2010). With two relay teams and Dylan Smith coming up with victories, Canton scored 41 points to outlast Old Saybrook with 35. Tolland was third with 33 points in the field of 40 teams.
The indoor track and field season consists primarily of developmental meets, although there are some established meets and the conference championship events. Canton will defend its NCCC championship on Monday, Feb. 7, at Hillhouse.
At the H-K Invitaitonal, Canton was dominant in the 1,600 meter sprint medley relay with Nick Chekas, Dave Solomon, David Kucia and Kyle Hall racing to an easy nine second victory with a time of 3:50.25, which qualified the team for the upcoming CIAC Class S championship meet on February 10.
The Warriors also won the 4x400 meter relay with Kevin Kurnat, Solomon, Jon Melite and Tyler Fitzgerald earning a three-second win as Canton turned in a state qualifying time of 3:43.65.
Dylan Smith won the shot put with a throw of 43 feet, five inches, winning by nearly two feet over his nearest competitor.
Kucia set a new school record in the 55 hurdles with his time of 8.19, good enough for third place in the event. He broke his own record set in last year’s NCCC championship meet of 8.48 seconds.
Kurnat also qualified for the Class S meet with a fourth place finish in the 1,600 meters in 4:41.78.
Chekas took sixth in the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:56.54 while Melite was eighth in the 600 meters in 1:32.32. Peter Leduc was 10th in the 3,200 meters in 10:21.32, earning a spot in the Class S championships.
In the girls events, Lindsey Phelps was seventh in the 55 meters in 9.81.
Football
Canton has too many players to field co-op team with OWTS
CANTON, Dec. 16 – Canton and Wolcott Tech will not field a co-op football team next fall because Canton will have more players than the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) allows to participate in a co-op program.
CIAC rules allow schools in co-op football programs to have a maximum of 32 athletes. At this time, Canton expects 40 athletes to participate with 14 players coming from youth football programs in Canton, Simsbury and Farmington.
Football
Canton, Wolcott Tech considering fielding co-op team together
CANTON, Dec. 11 – Officials from Canton High and Wolcott Tech in Torrington are investigating the possibility of forming a co-op football team together next fall. Canton athletic director John Bement will meet with Wolcott Tech athletic director Ray Tanguay next week to continue working out the details of the proposal. Bement said he will need approval from Canton High principal Gary Gula and the Board of Education before making a formal proposal to the CIAC. Bement said he hopes to apply for the co-op by the end of January.
According to a preliminary co-op agreement, Canton would be the host school, the team would retain its Warrior identity and colors and would practice and play home games in Canton.
