Canton High's
championship legacy 2000-09
Class S championships
2009 girls softball
2003 boys soccer
NCCC championships
2009 boys cross country
2006 field hockey
2005 baseball (shared)
2002 boys soccer (shared)
2002 field hockey (shared)
2002 wrestling
Southern Connecticut Girls Golf League
2009 girls golf
2008 girls golf
Individual titles
State championships
Mike LeDuc, 2009 Class SS title, boys cross country
Erik Nystrom, 2009 Class S (3,200 meters), boys indoor track
Kelvin Valencia, 2004 Class S (215 lbs.), wrestling
Josh Kaplan, 2002 Class S (140 lbs.), wrestling
NCCC championships
Connor Smyth (long jump)
2009 boys track
4x100 relay (Ryan Gallagher, Kevin Kurnat, Dylan Pestruskevicious, James Rosshirt)
2009 boys track
Matt White (103 pounds), 2009 wrestling
Rich Jones (140 pounds), 2009 wrestling
Steve Carpenter (103 lbs), 2008 wrestling
Brandon Leach (140 pounds), 2008 wrestling
Jasen Watsen (300 meters), 2007 boys indoor track
Nate Bussiere (600 meters),
2007 boys indoor track
Kim Powell (3,200 meters),
2007 girls indoor track
Christa Turbach (long jump)
2007 girls indoor track
Dana Nappi (140 pounds), 2007 wrestling
Kelvin Valencia (215 pounds), 2004 wrestling
Josh Bristol (135 pounds), 2004 wrestling
Heath Cotton (145 pounds), 2004 wrestling
Melissa Hambley,
2004 girls cross country
Kelvin Valencia (215 pounds), 2003 wrestling
Josh Kaplan (140 pounds), 2002 wrestling
Josh Bristol (119 pounds), 2002 wrestling
Josh Kaplan (135 pounds), 2001 wrestling
Adam Szychowski (215 lbs, 2001 wrestling
Tom Bujold (130 pounds), 2000 wrestling
Josh Kaplan (135 pounds), 2000 wrestling
Zack Gurski (275 pounds), 2000 wrestling
No. 1
2003: Talented boys soccer team wins
Class S championship
Led by All-American Karl Schilling, the Warriors’ boys soccer team wins its third Class S championship with a 2-1 victory over previously undefeated Lyman Memorial at windy Dillon Stadium in Hartford on a bitterly cold Friday evening. Trailing 1-0, Canton scored twice in about 10 minutes. Off a restart, Mike Connon took a nice pass from David Spatcher and ripped a shot that deflected off the hands of the goalie and the late Jordan Church was on the far post to tap in the rebound. Five minutes later, Spatcher fed Schilling, who moved down the left sideline and chipped in a hard shotl. Again, the ball bounced off the hands of Murphy right to Brian Phelps all alone on the right side of the goal. He popped it in for his fourth goal of the year. Coach Bill Phelps praised the team’s work ethic and talent. “I have never seen a team with such talent,” he said. “If some kids were off, someone else stepped up. There was never just one star." Canton (15-1-4) beat Old Saybrook, 1-0, in the semifinals on Schilling’s school-record 33rd goal.
No. 2
2009: Canton stuns Coginchaug to win Class S softball championship
The Warriors score two runs in the top of the seventh to stun Coginchaug, 4-2 and win its first state title since 1991. Coginchaug had played in the previous four Class S title games and had won three times. With two outs, Canton scored two runs on a sacrifice bunt from Sarah Sapia, some exceptional hustle from Melissa Parente and a Coginchaug error. In the semifinals, pitcher Mo Gauthier was superb, striking out 11 in a 4-3 victory over a Derby team with a pitcher who will play collegiate softball at the University of New Haven next year. Canton rallied with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead for good and Gauthier struck out the side in the seventh to send Canton to the championship game.
No. 3
2009: A season of excellence for boys basketball
The Canton High boys basketball team posts its best-ever regular season (19-1) and advances to the final of the NCCC Tournament where Canton was beaten by Avon for the second time. Avon. Canton’s only regular season loss was to Avon, 80-71 in overtime and it was the deciding factor in the league championship race. Avon was 13-0 in the league and Canton finished 12-1. The season ended with an overtime loss to Kolbe Cathedral, 65-62 in the Class S quarterfinals after the Warriors had erased a 15-point deficit. Canton finished 22-3.
No. 4
2004: Field hockey team earns spot in championship game in Grace's final season
In the final season of her 20-year coaching career, Nancy Grace leads her Canton High field hockey team into the Class S championship game for the ninth time. The Warriors didn’t roll over opponents, winning two regular season games in overtime and coming home with six one-goal victories. In the Class S tournament, Canton earned a spot in the championship game with a 2-1 semifinal victory over Lewis Mills on penalty strokes. They played regulation and four OT before going to strokes. But in the final, Granby was too much in a 3-1 victory.
No. 5
2005: Late inning heroics carry Canton's baseball team to brink of state championship
Few teams were able to get past the Warriors but Windsor Locks was one. The Raiders earned a share of the league championship with a 1-0 victory on an unearned run. Three other wins came in Canton’s final at-bat. In the Class S quarterfinals, Joe McGuigan’s RBI single in the seventh inning lifted Canton to a 2-1 win. In the semifinals, Sean Bahre’s line drive in the bottom of the ninth beat Morgan-Clinton, 5-4. Heath Cotton’s RBI single in the seventh sent the game into extra innings. Cotton pitched 10 spectacular innings in the Class S championship game at historic Yale Field against Windsor Locks but Canton couldn’t convert in the ninth or 10th inning. When Cotton had to leave after 10 innings due to CIAC rules, it was a matter of time for the Raiders. Locks prevailed, 4-3 in 12 innings.
No. 6
2007: Varsity football returns to Canton
After an absence of 43 years and years of work in town by parents and volunteers, the Canton High football returns as a varsity sport in a September night game at Stafford. The Stafford/East Windsor co-op squad prevails 24-18, scoring a touchdown with 16 seconds left in regulation to spoil Canton’s return. Canton goes 0-10 in its first season with primarily sophomores and juniors.
No. 7
2007: Magical season of thrills for boys basketball
The Canton High boys basketball team was a contender for the NCCC championship for the first time in years with a magical season that includes a 21-point win over Avon at home. The Warriors opened the season with seven straight wins and 17 wins in its first 18 games. The season ended with a 73-66 overtime loss to Cromwell in the Class S semifinals despite a career-high 29 points from senior guard Dwayne Rivers. There were other thrilling moments.
n Rivers made a layup with 0.8 seconds left to beat Portland, 67-65 in OT in the fourth game of the year.
n In early January, Canton limited Granby to just two field goals and four points in the final four minutes of regulation and OT. Six-foot-2 junior center Brian McLellan grabbed a rebound which put it back in with 19.1 seconds left for a 63-61 Canton win.
n In late January against Avon, Canton rallied from an early 10-point deficit and outscored Avon 20-2 over an eight-minute span in the second half to earn a dominating 21-point win over the Falcons 67-46 - its largest victory over Avon in 25 years.
n In February against Tolland, senior guard Joey Dionne hit a three-pointer at end of regulation to force OT where Rivers hit a bank shot at the buzzer to give Canton a 60-59 victory.
No. 8
2007: A return to the finals for field hockey
The Canton High field hockey team surges in the postseason to earn a spot in the Class S final for the first time since 2004 but fall to Granby, 3-0. The Warriors (15-2-1-2) outlasted rival Avon in the semifinals on a cold night in Simsbury, 2-0. Junior wing Crista Anderson took a long pass from a teammate, evaded two defenders, turned toward the goalie and in a single motion, rifled a shot past the goalie for a two-goal lead to cement the victory. Granby beat Canton, 2-1 in the final regular season game to win the NCCC title.
No. 9
2009: Greatest season ever for boys cross country team
The Canton High boys cross country team has a season for the ages. The Warriors won their first-ever league championship, going undefeated and easily claiming the NCCC title. They finished second to Weston in Class SS but surged to finish an astounding fourth in the State Open. Canton raced in the New England championships for the first time and took 13th. In the decade, the Warriors finished in the top 10 of Class S or SS nine times.
No. 10
2009: Girls petition to help establish boys indoor team
In the winter of 2008, boys were barred from practicing or participating as one-man teams with the Canton's girls indoor track team as three boys had done the year before. In the fall of 2008, girls on Canton’s indoor track team petitioned the Canton Board of Education asking for the BOE to add boys indoor track. The board agrees and in their first season, the boys finish second in the NCCC and seventh in Class S. The girls, in their third year, take third in the NCCC.
2002: Championship season for wrestlers
The wrestling team is the first CHS team to bring home a title in the decade by going undefeated in the NCCC and winning its fourth league championship. Josh Kaplan wins his third straight NCCC title and a Class S title as the Warriors set a new record for wins in a season (22). Canton finishes fifth in Class S -- its best finish since 1996.
Other big events from the first decade
2009 – The girls golf team wins their second straight Southern Connecticut Girls Golf League championship and finish sixth in the CIAC State Open championships.
2009 – The boys golf team finish sixth in the CIAC Division IV championships – its best finish in school history.
2004 – The girls soccer team upsets Avon, 1-0, to snap the Falcons’ 61-game winning steak.
2007 – The girls soccer team surges into the Class S semifinals for the first time in school history.
2006 – Alena Jasinski scores a school-record 40 points in one girls basketball game against East Granby in February 2006. She hits 14 field goals and drains six three-point shots.
2000 – The boys tennis team finishes third in Class S. They will finish fourth in the next two seasons at the Class S tournament.
2006 – With 27 points from Mike Connon, the Warriors eliminate Avon in the first round of the CIAC Division IV boys basketball tournament, 57-41.
2003 – Randall Rice sets a new school record for points scored in the CIAC tournament with 37 points in a 72-60 win over Old Saybrook as the Warriors boys basketball team wins in the Class S tournament for the first time since 1995.
2008 – The Canton girls basketball team earns their first CIAC tournament victories in eight years as freshman Sarah Benedetti scores 31 points in a 52-48 win over Grasso Tech. She adds 21 as the Warriors upset No. 1 Wamogo, 42-40 in the quarterfinals.
2007 – Canton adds a girls indoor track team and three boys compete unofficially at the NCCC championships. Jasen Watson, Nate Bussiere and Chris Bradley earn enough points to finish fourth with Bussiere winning the 600 meter title and Watson claiming the 300 meter crown.
2009 – Erik Nystrom wins the Class S indoor track title in the 3,200 meters
