Staples sweeps FCIAC track and field championships Impressive victories by senior Henry Wynne in the 800- and 1,600-meter races helped lead the Wreckers' boys team to its second consecutive conference title, while record-setting victories by freshman Hanna DeBalsi in the 1,600 and 3,200 helped the Wreckers girls edge defending champion Darien by four points for the title. The Staples boys won with 128 points, followed by Danbury with 97 and Ridgefield with 90. The Staples girls won with 100.5 points, followed by Darien with 96.5 and Ridgefield with 91. Wynne won the 800 in an FCIAC record time of 1:52.94 and the 1,600 in 4:20.82. Jack Scott, Tucker Rizzi and Walker Marsh ran the other three legs on that relay, which finished in 3:22.91. [...] for the Staples boys, Rizzi won the javelin with a throw of 163-1. Wynne is looking forward to running Saturday in the Dream Mile, an elite race on Randall's Island in New York City. There are going to be so many great guys there. Darien's Nicholas Lombardo swept the jumping events, winning the high jump (6-2), the long jump (22-3.25) and the triple jump (45-1.75). Danbury's Micaiah Hill won the 100 meters in 11.05 seconds and finished a close second to Brien McMahon's Shnyden Pierre in the 200. Devan Bovell of New Canaan won the 110 hurdles in 15.01, Norwalk's Hopeton Chambers was victorious in the 300 hurdles in 38.89. Westhill's Billy Thibault tied the FCIAC pole vault record by clearing 15-0 to finish first. Danbury won the 4x100, with the quartet of Tyrice O'Conner, Tyler Challenger, Cyrus Brown and Mathew Andrew finishing in 43.49, as well as the 4x800, with the team of C.J. Cunningham, Michael Leone, Corey Mullins and Steven Farkas finishing in 8:14.65. On the girls side, DeBalsi ruled the distance events, winning the 1,600 in an FCIAC record time of 4:54.59 and the 3,200 in another conference record time of 10:25.18. DeBalsi was fairly humble about her own performances as well, although everyone who watched her run was certainly impressed. If that's what my best is, then I'll keep trying. [...] for Staples, Elizabeth Knoll cleared 5-4 to win the high jump. Ridgefield's Ellie Gravitte won the javelin and the shot put and took third in the discus. McMahon's Sarah Boyd swept the hurdles events, winning the 100 in 15.42 and the 300 in 45.92. Darien's Catherine Lacy won the 200 in 25.93 and the long jump (17-9.5). Other first-place finishes included Crystle Hill of Norwalk in the 100 (12.47), Anna Sulger of Darien in the 400 (56.49), Cate Allen of Fairfield Warde in the 800 (2:15.07), Sarah Cicchetti of Greenwich in the discus (100-7), St. Joseph freshman Jada Harris in the triple jump (34-6) and Maddie Schneider of Darien in the pole vault (11-0). FCIAC TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS May 21, Danbury High School BOYS Greenwich 53; 6. Norwalk 50; 7. (tie) McMahon and New Canaan 34; 9. St. Joseph 32; 10. (tie) Westhill and Wilton 28; 12. Fairfield Ludlowe 16; 14. (tie) Fairfield Warde and Stamford 11; 16. Austin Longi, Greenwich, 11.12; 3. Hopeton Chambers, Norwalk, 11.43; 5. Shnyden Pierre, McMahon, 22.56; 2. Tim Johnson, Trumbull, 22.98; 4. Louis Ambrogio, Greenwich, 23.37. Shnyden Pierre, McMahon, 48.67; 2. Nick Pulitano, Greenwich, 49.25; 3. Aidan Fiol, Fairfield Warde, 10:05.54. 110 hurdles: 1. Devan Bovell, New Canaan, 15.01; 2. Staples (Jack Scott, Tucker Rizzi, Walker Marsh, Henry Wynne) 3:22.91; 2. Tucker Rizzi, Staples, 163-1;2. Triple jump: 1. Pole vault: 1. Danbury 53; 6. (tie) Fairfield Ludlowe and Westhill 40; 8. Leah Hotchkiss, Darien 5-2; 3. (tie) Katie Ward, Wilton; Ellen Hebrand, Greenwich; and Catherine Lacy, Darien, 4-9; 6. (tie) Lily Twomey, Fairfield Warde; Blossom Jean Jocques, Fairfield Warde; Emily O'Keefe, Fairfield Ludlowe; and Bridget Van Dorsten, Staples, 4-9. Catherine Lacy, Darien, 17-9.5; 2. (tie) Naomi Lowry, Danbury; and Crystle Hill, Norwalk, 16-2; 4. Triple jump: 1. Pole vault: 1. Colleen Gruendel, Ridgefield, 8-6; 5. (tie) Beth Kelley, New Canaan; and Erica Leppla, Fairfield Warde, 7-9. ($) denotes state record.

When the Staples and Ridgefield boys tennis teams first met this season on April 23, Wreckers coach Kris Hrisovulos tinkered with his lineup to match his opponent's strengths. The two contenders met for a second time Tuesday with a trip to the FCIAC championship on the line and again the Wreckers utilized their depth to get the best of the Tigers. Shifting from his usual doubles spot to No. 5 singles, Staples' Jack Reardon helped continue his team's postseason run. Reardon's 7-6, 7-5 win over Tal Nizan clinched the second-seeded Wreckers' 4-1 win over third-seeded Ridgefield in Tuesday's FCIAC semifinal at home. The win sets up Staples' third straight FCIAC finals appearance against rival Greenwich, Thursday at 4 p.m. at Wilton High School. The top-seeded Cardinals, who defeated the Wreckers in the final the previous two years, advanced Tuesday with a 4-0 win over No. 5 Fairfield Ludlowe. Staples displayed its superior depth against Ridgefield, winning all four singles matches that were completed. Ridgefield altered its usual lineup on Tuesday, including moving its No. 1 singles player, Arnaud Valentin, down to top doubles after he injured his ankle recently. With the Wreckers having clinched the overall win, the No. 1 singles match between Jake Hirschberg and Ridgefield's Bryson Mosley was called after two sets (6-4, 4-6).

Westport News Athletes of the Week The Westport News Athletes of the Week for May 13-19 Had 12 digs and eight kills in a 3-0 win over Ridgefield on May 13, then recorded 12 kills and eight digs in 3-0 defeat of Greenwich on May 15. Staples' No. 1 doubles tandem clinched the Wreckers' 4-1 quarterfinal win over Darien on May 16 with a 7-5, 6-4 victory.

Greenwich pitcher J.T. Hintzen has been the No. 3 starter all season, but heading into Monday's FCIAC quarterfinal matchup with Staples he was told to be ready for middle relief should the opportunity arise. "(Greenwich Coach Mike Mora) said I was in middle relief today and I just came out with the same approach I always have, throw strikes and get outs" Hintzen said. Liam O'Neil then bunted to try and move Ferraro over, but the throw to first again sailed high, allowing Ferraro to come home with the winning run. Staples scored in the second inning without the benefit of a hit as Marks walked four batters but struck out Sam Ellinwood looking with the bases loaded. The Wreckers scored again in the third on a run-scoring double by Eli Andrew that plated Matt Smith, who led off the inning with a walk. The Cardinals got on the board in the bottom of the third when a throwing error on a groundball by Ferraro allowed Ricky Okazaki to score.

With an opportunity to catapult Fairfield Ludlowe into the FCIAC finals for the first time, Colleen Fitzpatrick wasn't going to let a second set slip away. Fitzpatrick and Boyle responded to win No. 1 doubles 6-1, 7-6, clinching second-seeded Ludlowe's 5-2 win over third-seeded Staples in Monday's FCIAC semifinal at home. Ludlowe will face fourth-seeded New Canaan in the conference championship on Wednesday at Wilton High School at 4 p.m. The Rams, last season's conference runner-up, beat top-ranked Greenwich 4-3 on Monday. The Falcons, who edged Staples 4-3 in their previous meeting on April 11, captured three of the four singles matches on Monday. At No. 3 singles, Ludlowe's Cami Adajian improved her personal record to 17-0 this year with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Kelsey Shockey. After Staples picked up its first win at No. 4 singles, with Julia Bartimer topping Kyra Adajian 6-1, 6-2, the Falcons notched the match-clinching fourth victory at top doubles. Given Ludlowe's strength at the singles positions, Fabian believed his team needed to make an impact at doubles.

The Staples High boys tennis team cruised past No. 7 Wilton 4-0 in the FCIAC quarterfinals on Friday at home. Baxter Stein and Jason Chaskin defeated the Warriors' Bryan Crampton and John Williams 6-2, 7-5 at No. 1 doubles to clinch the match for second-seeded Staples. Each of the Wreckers' wins against Wilton came in straight sets.

Greens Farms Academy defeated Bancroft School of Worcester, Mass. 9-0 on Sunday to win the New England championship. Competing in the tournament's C (small school division) bracket at Westminster School in Simsbury, the Dragons rolled through the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals without losing a set. The Dragons defeated Canterbury School (New Milford) in the quarterfinals and Winsor School (Boston) in the semifinals. Forty schools applied and 24 were accepted into the tournament based on strength of schedule and season record. The Dragons bounced back from a 14-2 loss to Holy Child on May 14 to defeat Convent of Sacred Heart 8-4 two days later. Senior Sarah Young took the mound for only the third time this season, pitching in place of senior Brooke Cirillo, who suffered a concussion against Holy Child.

Greenwich High entered Saturday's FCIAC quarterfinal against Staples' boys lacrosse team well aware of the damage the Wreckers' high-scoring duo of Joey Zelkowitz and Colin Bannon were capable of unleashing. Making the Wreckers' top two scorers work exceptionally hard to get clear looks at the goal, the fourth-seeded Cardinals used a strong defensive effort to post an 11-8 win against No. 5 Staples at home. With the win, Greenwich advanced to Tuesday's semifinals where it will face top-seeded Ridgefield at Brien McMahon High School at 7 p.m.. Six different players scored in the first half, with midfielders Kyle Foote and Michael Ellsworth and attack Jamie Paradise each finishing with two goals. Greenwich struck first as Paradise received a pass from senior Kelley Jaye and snapped a shot past Staples goalie Cole Gendels just 49 seconds into the first quarter. The Wreckers evened the score with a man-up goal by midfielder Will Johnson at the 10:10 mark. With Greenwich running its settled offense, attack Luke Finneran scored off a feed from behind by John Tohir, making it 2-1 with 8:37 left in the first quarter.

On Thursday, just three days after his team edged Darien 4-3, Staples girls tennis coach Paco Fabian admitted that the Blue Wave was the last team he wanted to face again to start the playoffs. Thanks to success at the singles spots, the third-seeded Wreckers calmed their coach's nerves early. Staples won three of the four singles matches against Darien and went on to top the Blue Wave 4-1 at home on Thursday in the FCIAC quarterfinals. The Wreckers had good fortune at the singles positions against Darien, beginning at the No. 4 spot where Julia Bartimer defeated Katie Lashendock 6-1, 6-1. The Wreckers pushed their lead to 2-0 when Melissa Beretta topped the Blue Wave's Jenna Murray 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. The lone three-set match on Thursday was played at No. 2 singles, where Staples' Gabi Titlebaum edged Pia Teschner 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. The No. 2 singles win put Staples up 3-1 and on the brink of clinching the match. With the Wreckers having clinched, ahead 4-1 overall, the final two doubles matches were called early.

Wreckers girls lacrosse downed by New Canaan in FCIAC quarters With the win, the Rams advanced to Monday's semifinals and will take on the winner of Friday's quarterfinal matchup between No. 3 Greenwich and No. 6 Ridgefield. Staples' (8-8-1, 4-7 FCIAC) Nicole Najarian opened the scoring with a hard charge to the New Canaan net, and her bounce shot gave her team its first and only lead at 1-0. Olivia Hompe tied the game with a top-shelf shot and Bea Eppler put the Rams in front for good in the first half. Miller scored consecutive goals 59 seconds apart to make it 4-1, while Hompe netted her second goal for a 5-1 lead. From there, the Wreckers and Rams traded goals for the rest of the first half. Najarian scored her second goal for Staples and Lily Citrin notched the final goal of the first half to give the Rams a 7-3 lead heading into the break. New Canaan controlled most of the action in the first half but put the game away with three quick goals to start the second half.