Winter Recap

By: Ann-Marie Hinckley

As a successful winter season comes to an end, we wanted to reflect on the many accomplishments of the winter season. First of all, we had the first season of winter cheerleading, as Old Lyme Co-Oped with Westbrook and Old Saybrook to create a competitive cheer team, which competed at shorelines as well as states. Anna Eichohholz was awarded second team all shoreline for her performance this season.  We are proud to say that it was a successful first season for the co-op team, and are looking forward to continuing the program in the future. Our wrestling team also found success this season, as Taiyo Gemme finished sixth at state opens and second at the Class S tournament.

The girls basketball team managed to find lots of younger players for this season, as the team worked on rebuilding their skills with their new coaching staff. Sybil Neary was honored with honorable mention all shoreline for her success this season. The boys basketball team found lots of success this season, as three players from the basketball team were awarded with all shoreline awards, with Ryan Hill receiving honorable mention, Colman Curtiss-Reardon receiving second team, Eddie Fiske not only receiving first team, but also being named player of the year, and lastly Brady Sheffield being named as Shoreline Coach of the Year. As a team the boys won the Shoreline Championship, as well as made a deep run into the state tournament, making it all the way to the state championship, where they played a close and difficult game.

Boys and Girls indoor track had an excellent season. They had seventeen players be awarded with an all shoreline award, as well as several players making it to the Class S state meet. There were three Class S champions representing Old Lyme, with Patrick Lynch winning long jump, Chase Gilbert winning the 1000m as well as the 1600m, and Zoe Eastman-Grossel winning the 300m. At the state open level, Chase Gilbert beat her own school record, as well as the meet record, running a time of 4:44.68, to secure herself the state open win in the 1600m. Zoe Easrman-Grossel came second in the 300m, and Patrick Lynch finished third in the boys long jump. As Chase and Zoe both advanced to the New England level, Chase set yet another school record and a New England meet record in the 1600m, securing her first place. Zoe also set a new school record finishing fifth in the 300m. Alyssa Mercaldi and Jan Merrill were also both named as Shoreline Coaches of the year.

Our boys Co-Op hockey team found major success this season. The boys went 17-2 for their regular season games, earning them a second speed in the division ll boys state tournament bracket. The team made it all the way to the state finals, beating teams such as North Haven and Daniel Hand earning their chance at the division ll state championship against Cheshire. At the state finals the boys played amazing, beating Chesire 7-3, after losing to Cheshire the year prior in the state championship. Old Lyme is incredibly proud of Ben Frazier, Carter McGlinchy, Chris Anderson and Cal Lacourciere.

​This season we also continued our gymnastic program where Old Lyme competed alongside East Lyme, which helped the girls improve their skills over the season. This year our varsity men's epee team took 6th place in the state championship and took 5th place at the ECC team tournament with a 9-8 season. In men's epee Cameron Russell took 15th at states, Jaxon Marsden took 5th at the novice tournament, and Mark Burnham took 3rd at the Winter Classic. Lastly, unified sports also had a successful season where they were able to play during the halftime of the boys state championship, where they demonstrated good sportsmanship, as well as our student section demonstrated an amazing inclusive atmosphere as they cheered on both of the unified teams, while holding posters for our unified seniors. Overall we are very proud of all Old Lyme athletes this winter, and are looking forward to a busy spring and successful spring, where many teams are looking to continue their competitive runs they had last spring. 

CONGRATULATIONS WILDCATS!