By: Noah White

 

The Conard fall sports season of 2021 featured a variety of successes and new accomplishments among the teams that took the field, court, course, and pool. Last fall, as students were filing into school for the first time in over half a year, the fall sports season never seemed to get off the ground. A season plagued with Covid stoppages, incomplete playoffs, and a delayed start prohibited the Conard student-athletes from fully competing in the athletics they have grown to love. That changed this fall. As the school continued to maintain its Hybrid-3.0 policy athletics made their way back to normalcy. From the resumption of Friday night football to the ‘beat Hall’ chants throughout the crowds, a step back to previous times had been taken. Not only did high school sports go back to usual, or the most usual that could be accomplished at this time, but the Conard athletics teams also found great success. Here is what came out of this abnormal but highly productive season at Conard:

 

There were a variety of notable and record setting performances individually across the athletics department in these past two and a half months. Gavin and Callum Sherry finished first and second respectively (all records, stats, and finishes via MaxPreps) in both the boys Class L and State Open Championship for Cross Country and also committed to Stanford for Cross Country and Track. Marlena Pegolo also finished first among the Conard Girls Cross Country team in the Class L championship meet. Conard experienced success in Girls Swimming and diving as well. Twins Liv and Tess Sherry finished in the top two spots for the Girls 100 yard breaststroke in Class L while Alison Coburn also won the diving championship for Class L. Many of these athletes will be competing in both state and regional-level championships for the coming weeks. The best of luck to these athletes!

 

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Gavin and Callum Sherry nearing the end of an early season meet

 

To go along with the many achievements at the individual level it was also a prolific season for multiple of the teams at Conard. The Boys Cross Country team as a whole finished eighth in the State Championships while also finishing fifth in Class L. Boys Golf finished 6th in the state, with help from a first place tying score from Sophomore Will Gregware, and third in the CCC. The Boys Soccer team completed their season in the second round of CIAC state tournament after having been guided to a 7-7-1 regular season record by captains Landon Langini, Luke Wadsworth, Ben Tartaglia, and Colin Wright along with leading goal scorer Anthony Catanzaro. On Wednesday the 10th the Girls Field Hockey team completed their season after what was a 10-5-1 regular season and a fourth place finish in the CCC. 

 

Whilst there are teams whose seasons are completed there are also still some Conard teams that have games left on the schedule. Both the Football and Girls Volleyball teams are still in play as of the Courant being edited. The Football team has experienced great success in wins over Southington and Glastonbury and finished their season with the annual game against Hall. Israel Lopez and Jack Kennedy among others have been prominent factors in their production. The Girls Volleyball team is currently pushing their way through the state tournament with three games left to play if they continue to win. The Conard Girls Volleyball team has arguably been the most successful team within the school so far this year. Setter Nyssa Park is 14th in the state in assists and 18th in Aces while the team also has three players with over 100 kills. 

 

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Conard Libero Lily Nguyen prepares to serve

 

Although their seasons may have not been as successful as hoped for by the players, the 

Girls Soccer and Cross Country teams should be credited for their great performances under the difficult circumstances surrounding high school athletics in this time. Each and every one of these teams has put their best into establishing a longed-for normalcy which has helped push Conard back to a degree of Pre-Pandemic life. In a season filled with many peaks and valleys the Conard athletics program found a level of success not met many times before within the program. In order to achieve this success players have had to work extraordinary amounts in order to balance the challenges of both school and their athletics, as many across the nation have. We, the Courant and student body, must applaud these athletes for both their successes within their games and the aspects of our society they are helping. Thank you athletes.

 

Image Citations:

1. Hartford Courant

2. We-Ha.com

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