Plenty of Winter Cheers This Season for Enfield Sports Fans

ENFIELD, CT — With few exceptions in recent years, sports enthusiasts in Enfield have had little to celebrate during the winter months, with the majority of teams from both Enfield and Fermi high schools suffering through sub-.500, and at times, winless seasons.

The consolidation of the two schools in 2016 brought renewed optimism that improvement in the sports programs was on the horizon. The 2017-18 season, however, is exceeding all expectations, with banner years being turned in by Eagle teams on the mat, the hardwood, the ice and the track.

Over the past few days, the wrestling team clinched the CCC East championship, and the boys ice hockey squad qualified for state tournament play for the first time since 2015. Both basketball teams have long sewn up postseason bids, while the first-year varsity girls ice hockey team, a co-op with four other schools, is riding a 10-game winning streak. Additionally, 16 members of the indoor track team have qualified for the state meet.

Here is a brief look at the winter teams, and the strides they have made over the past several years.

WRESTLING

Victories over East Catholic and RHAM Tuesday night gave the Eagles a 5-0 league record and locked up the CCC East championship, the first for a town squad since Fermi won that title in 1999. Last year, Enfield placed 21st of 24 teams in the Class LL meet with just one placewinner. For five years prior to the merger, both Enfield and Fermi struggled with numbers, leading to very few seasons in the top 20 of their respective classes. Top performers this season have been Nate Chesworth with 25 victories, Eli Pelkey and Justin Beiler with 24 wins apiece and Sean Messina with 23 wins.

"This year, having such a young group of kids and a lot of beginner wrestlers, has been a learning curve for us, but the kids have come on strong and are poised to make a run in the state tournament," said head coach Jeff Beiler.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

It wasn't long ago that Enfield girls basketball lost 66 games in a row, but the senior class of 2018 has turned the program completely around, making the state semifinals each of the past three seasons. The loss of senior Danielle Delano for the season due to injury has hurt, but several role players have stepped up to help fill the void. Guards Cassie Urso and Delaney Lawler, who have taken over much of the ball handling responsibility, have combined to average nearly 14 points a game, providing a nice complement to top scorers Mary Baskerville (21.8 PPG) and Cat Fonseca (13.3 PPG).

Coach Jay Gaucher said, "Kaitlyn Bourque has been playing well, doing a little bit of everything. Then we have gotten great production from the Marcotte sisters, Sara and Jess. They do a lot of the little things that you don’t see in the stat sheet. And of late, Shelby Bedard has been giving us some offensive punch off the bench."

Through Tuesday, the Eagles are 15-3, ranked seventh in Class LL, and are enjoying a 7-game winning streak.

BOYS BASKETBALL

With just one winning season in the past four years (11-9 in 2014-15), the glory days of the Trachone Preston/Hugh Lindo-led stellar Enfield teams of the early part of the decade seemed like ancient history. An infusion of new young talent, however, has sparked the Eagles to a 13-3 record thus far, including an 8-game winning streak from Dec. 27 to Jan. 22.

A high-powered offense is averaging just shy of 77 points per game, led by junior Jadon Archer's 26.1 points and 10 rebounds per contest. Junior Kyle Menaker (14.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG), sophomore Wyatt Raymond (11 PPG, 6.5 RPG) and junior Christian Pasini (10.1 PPG) are also consistently scoring in double figures, with outside shooting becoming a specialty. Twelve different Eagles have drained 3-point shots during games, led by Menaker (42), Pasini (31) and Archer (29). On top of that, Colin O'Connell, the team's lone senior who scored 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the season's first two games before suffering a broken hand, is expected to return to the lineup this week.

With the new CIAC 5-division format taking effect this year, the Eagles, currently ranked fifth in Division III, could make a run at the school's second state title.

BOYS ICE HOCKEY

In 2009, Fermi advanced to the Division I semifinals and Enfield played in the Division II championship game, both at Yale University. Three years later, the two schools were a co-op along with East Granby and Stafford, yet fielded a roster with just 18 skaters, leading to a dismal stretch of five losing seasons in six years. After failing to qualify for the Division II state tournament the last two years, Enfield/East Granby was moved to Division III this season, which seems to have rejuvenated the program.

A 6-1 win over Brookfield/Bethel/Danbury Saturday clinched a tournament berth, and the Eagles are currently seeded third in D-III with a 9-5 record. The team has won five of its past six outings, including a pair of thrilling overtime victories over Division II foes in the past two weeks. Eight players have scored at least four goals, led by Jason Marin and Clay Cowee with eight apiece, and Connor Juhasz and Robbie Vose, who have each netted seven. Patrick Fleming has contributed five goals, while defensemen Cam Gaylor, Zach Hacia and Ryan Murphy have added punch from the blue line by combining for 13 goals. Six skaters have plus/minus ratings in double digits, led by Vose at plus-21, while goaltender Ryan Groshans has posted a 1.93 goals against average, a .913 save percentage and three shutouts.

Head coach Frank Genovese said, "We have become a hard team to play against, led by our fine senior class. In addition, we have some younger players that have really stepped it up as well, and when you have that combination, it usually leads to success."

GIRLS ICE HOCKEY

Last season, several girls from Enfield High School joined a club hockey program based at Suffield High School. After just one year as a club, the program was granted varsity status for 2017-18, and the results have been amazing. Through Feb. 6, the co-op team comprised of players from Suffield, Enfield, Ellington, Housatonic and MLC has posted a 13-2-1 record, including a current 10-game winning streak and 11-game unbeaten stretch.

The Wildcats, who are playing in the SCC North Division, are outscoring opponents at an 80-21 clip, and have registered four shutouts. Enfield is represented by a pair of defensemen, sisters Taylor and Tori Geaglone, both All-State field hockey standouts who have adapted well to the ice. Taylor serves as co-captain, while Tori is sixth on the team with 10 points (two goals, eight assists). Top scorers have been Genevieve Bushy and Molly Dowd of Housatonic, followed by Sophie Lupone and Zoe Pancelli of Suffield.

Girls ice hockey is not a CIAC-sponsored sport, but the latest unofficial state rankings place the Wildcats third, behind Greenwich and New Canaan, out of 23 programs statewide.

INDOOR TRACK

Enfield will be well represented at the Class LL championships on Feb. 10 at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven, as 14 Eagles have qualified to participate: Joel Stewart, Greg Roberts, Garrett Rich, Aaron Longo, Tony Barnes, Eric Maloney, Trey Pierce, Ethan Steele, Max Anderson, Sydney Nash, Rue Risby, Ciara Johnson, Katie Marullo, Erika Turner, Alyssa Lima and Alyssa Haskins.

"Both the girls and boys teams are having an awesome season," coach Brian Lowe said. "We've broken every single new school Eagles indoor track and field record from last year except three. The athletes look good, and we're expecting peak performances this upcoming Saturday."

Photos contributed by Scott Beiler, Kevin Lawler, @EnfieldHS1, Michele Marin, Joe Gozzi, Shannon Grant