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.