Linked Up – Fall Championships 2016

Hillhouse celebrates its Class M football championship. John Vanacore – New Haven Register.

And that is now officially a wrap on the 2016 fall championship edition of linked up. Thirty-eight championship stories are included below (and there are many more stories out there on this outstanding teams, so please seek them out also). This has to be one of our favorite recurring features on CIACsports.com because it highlights so many great championship stories, along with the excellent work of the news outlets in covering these events.

For those unfamiliar (or simply as a reminder for those who are previously familiar) Linked Up Championships will provide a link to the local media story for all of the CIAC Championships over the course of the season. Following each championship event this page will be updated with links to all the completed championships, providing a one-stop shop for anyone looking for great stories on championship-winning teams. With the cross country divisional championships taking place last weekend, we are now off and running with the 2016 championships.

Football:

From GameTimeCT: A monstrous second-half carried Hillhouse to a state championship in Class M.
From the Stamford Advocate: For Darien it was a perfect end to a perfect season with a second-straight Class LL crown.
From the Watrebury Republican-American: A furious fourth-quarter rally propelled Ansonia to a title in Class S.
From the Stamford Advocate: It was an historic night on several fronts for New Canaan which captured a fourth-straight championship in Class L.

Lyman Memorial coach Marty Gomez offers a hug after his team earned the Class S volleyball title. Jimmy Zanor – Middletown Press.

Girls Volleyball:

From the Waterbury Republican American: Seymour had a lot of Faith, and that helped it to the Class M crown.
From the Stamford Advocate: A comeback that fell short actually propelled Stamford to its first Class LL championship.
From the Norwich Bulletin: The third time was the charge for Lyman Memorial which claimed the Class S volleyball title.
From the Hartford Courant: RHAM focused on what it needed to do, and the result was the Class L state title.

Brookfield celebrates its 1-0 win in the Class M boys soccer final. H John Voorhees III – Hearst Connecticut.

Boys Soccer:

From the Danbury News Times: Brookfield made it a two championship season with a shutout win in the Class M final.
From the Hartford Courant: After a year of heavy motivation, Coventry can finally turn the page after winning the Class S championship.
From GameTimeCT: The story was different this time around for Daniel Hand which worked overtime for its Class L championship.
From the Hartford Courant: Two early goals propelled Farmington to the Class LL state crown.

Old Lyme made one goal stand up to earn the Class S girls soccer championship. John Vanacore – New Haven Register.

Girls Soccer:

From the Connecticut Post: St. Joseph wasn’t deterred by the loss of some significant contributors and repeated as Class L champions.
From the Hartford Courant: Glastonbury got emotional before the game and then celebrated after earning a third-straight LL title.
From the Day of New London: Caleigh O’Neil wasn’t expecting to score, but her goal was the difference as Old Lyme battled to the Class S title.
From the Connecticut Post: Two teams came away with championship emotions as Immaculate and Notre Dame-Fairfield shared the Class M crown.

New Canaan claimed a second-straight Class M title. Dave Stewart – New Canaan Advertiser.

Field Hockey:

From the New Canaan Advertiser: New Canaan’s season started with questions, it ended with the Class M championship.
From the Darien Times: Two top teams played to a scoreless draw with Darien and Staples earning co-champion honors in Class L.
From GameTimeCT: A close game was expected in Class S and Haddam-Killingworth and Westbrook delivered just that as they earned co-championships.

The Darien team celebrates a Class L title with a leap into the pool. Matthew Brown – Hearst Media.

Girls Swimming & Diving:

From the Greenwich Time: Its divers staked it to a big lead, and Greenwich rolled from there earning a second-straight Open crown.
From the Danbury News Times: It was a victory a long time in the making as the dream of a Class M championship came true for Brookfield.
From the Weston Forum: Weston was in top form and claimed a fourth-straight Class S championship.
From the Greenwich Time: The tradition continued for Greenwich as its depth carried it to a Class LL championship.
From the Stamford Advocate: The journey was tough, but the result was the same with another Darien Class L title.

The Derby girls cross country team celebrated the program’s first title. Photo provided by Jenny Ames and GameTimeCT

Girls Cross Country:

From the Ridfefield Press: Ridgefield showed the truth in an old cross country adage in winning the State Open championship.
From the Hartford Courant: Tolland is no stranger to class championships, and the run continued with a Class M title.
From the Waterbury Republican-American: Pomperaug blitzed the field in Class L to earn a championship.
From the Ridgefield Press: A championship in Class LL made Ridgefield two-for-two in titles so far this postseason.
From the Danbury News Times: A move to Class SS didn’t change the result for Immaculate.
From the Waterbury Republican-American: A tough effort in spite of injury helped Derby capture the Class S crown.
From the Hartford Courant: A season-long focus for RHAM paid off with a win in the Class MM title race.

Zakeer Ahmad’s win helped Staples capture the Class LL crown. Melanie Stengel – Hartford Courant.

Boys Cross Country:

From the Westport News: Staples pulled off a rare triple by earning the State Open title.
From the Norwich Bulletin: After a nervous start came an exhilarating finish as Lyman Memorial won Class S for its first title since 1983.
From GameTimeCT: Haddam-Killingworth followed its plan which resulted in a Class SS championship.
From the Hartford Courant: In the Class M race, the Tolland boys matched the success of the girls team by earning a title.
From the Redding Pilot: Joel Barlow captured its first title since 2006 with a win in the Class MM competition.
From the Danbury News Times: It was a third-straight win for the New Milford boys squad at the Class L title race.
From the Westport News: A good season is suddenly becoming a great one for Staples as the team earned the LL championship.