Linked Up – Fall Championships

Members of the Southington football team celebrate the squad’s LL championship. David Butler II – Hartford Courant.

It took (way) longer than anticipated, but with the class LL football championship in the books, the CIAC fall sports championship season is now officially concluded. There were numerous wonderful stories throughout the championship season (which began with the cross country divisional championships on October 26) and the Championship Edition of Linked Up is a place to find a lot of those stories in one place. Congratulations to all the athletes who took part in the championships, and thanks to all the hard-working writers and photographers who helped tell their stories.

Football:

From the Hartford Courant: A second half surge carried the Southington football team to the class LL state championship.
From the Stamford Advocate: Alex LaPolice had cake on his mind, and then a championship trophy in his hands as New Canaan won the class L title.
From the Connecticut Post: A long climb back to the top culminated in a class M state title for St. Joseph.
From the Waterbury Republican-American: Whatever name he goes by, Arkeel Newsome and Ansonia earned another state championship in class S.

Emilie Arrix of Wilton shows the joy of an overtime winning goal as Wilton captured the class M field hockey title. John Nash – The Hour.

Field Hockey:

From the Stamford Advocate: Practice paid off with two key penalty stroke conversions for Darien as the team captured the class L title.
From the Norwalk Hour: In the class M field hockey final, Wilton came up with the winning goal in overtime.
From the Norwich Bulletin: The final eight minutes may have felt like the 26 year wait for Stonington field hockey as the team prevailed in the class S final.

The Guilford girls soccer team celebrates with its fans after a win in the class L final. John Vanacore – New Haven Register.

Girls Soccer:

From the Connecticut Post: St. Joseph struck fast and early to cap an unblemished season with the LL state title.
From GameTimeCT: The class L final saw Guilford perfectly execute its strategy to earn the championship.
From the New London Day: Waterford was not expecting the program’s first state title at the start, but that is how it ended in the class M championship.
From GameTimeCT: The defenses ruled the day as Old Saybrook and Portland were crowned the co-champions of class S.

Farmington coach Steve Waters gets a victory shower following his team’s class L championship win. Mar Mirko – Hartford Courant.

Boys Soccer:

From the Hartford Courant/Danbury News Times: Glastonbury pulled out one more comeback and Ridgefield battled through adversity as the teams earned the class LL championship.
From the Hartford Courant: There was very little for Farmington to get upset about as the team nabbed a second-straight state crown.
From the Hartford Courant: Suffield overcame the pressure of expectations to record a perfect season, capped with a class M championship. Also from the Courant, there were mixed emotions for one Suffield soccer family on Saturday.
From GameTimeCT: The class S final saw Cromwell start fast and never look back en route to the championship.

Woodland’s Anna Khalid and her teammates celebrate the class M volleyball championship.

Girls Volleyball:

From the Meriden Record Journal: The Cheshire volleyball team went one step farther than last season and completed an unbeaten campaign with the class LL championship.
From the Hartford Courant: The class L championship lived up to its billing as RHAM gutted out a 3-2 victory to earn the title.
From the Waterbury Republican American: Several years after changing its focus, Woodland was able to see the reward with a class M state championship.
From GameTimeCT: It had been an eight-year wait, but Morgan ended its title drought and earned the class S championship.

It was a second-straight Open title for the Darien girls swim team. Autumn Driscoll – Hearst Publishing.

Girls Swimming & Diving:

From the Stamford Advocate: The Darien girls swim team was happy to pose after winning a second-consecutive Open Championship.
From the Greenwich Time: The penultimate meet for Greenwich coach Dick Hawks went the way many others have as the Cardinals earned the class LL title.
From the Stamford Advocate: The championships keep piling up for Darien as the team won the class L swimming meet.
From the Waterbury Republican-American: Pomperaug was dominant en route to the class M swimming championship.
From the Norwalk Hour: A powerhouse relay helped Weston return to the top of the class S swimming standings.

Several members of the Griswold girls cross country team celebrates its class SS cross country title. John Shishmanian – Norwich Bulletin.

Girls Cross Country:

From the Hartford Courant: A dream season continued with Tolland capturing its first State Open.
From the SportsDept.com: The challenges were similar, and Glastonbury girls cross country still came away with the LL championship.
From the Norwalk Hour: Wilton continued its run atop the class L girls cross country field with a third-straight championship.
From GameTimeCT: There were smiles and tears for the class MM champion Branford girls cross country team.
From the Manchester Journal Inquirer: The depth of its roster was the decisive factor as Tolland rolled to the class M girls cross country title.
From the Norwich Bulletin: Alyssa Brehler’s trying week ended with an individual title and a class SS state championship for Griswold girls cross country.
From the Danbury News Times: It was another step in a memorable season with a win in the class S championships for Immaculate girls cross country.

Parker Timmerman of Brookfield paced the field and helped his team capture the class M crown. Mara Lavitt – New Haven Register.

Boys Cross Country:

From the Danbury News Times: Ridgefield continued its impressive season with a State Open title.
From the Danbury News Times: The weight of expectations didn’t keep Ridgefield from earning the class LL cross country crown.
From the Darien News: It was a third-straight title for Darien in the class L boys championship race.
From the Danbury News Times: After a runner-up finish last season, New Fairfield turned the tables to capture the class MM boys title.
From the Danbury News Times: Five runners in the top-16 helped Brookfield win a class M title for the first time in nearly two decades.
From the New London Day: The memory of his grandfather helped Ross Golebiewski power Old Lyme to a championship in the class SS meet.
From the Hartford Courant: After placing second by the narrowest margin last season, the Capital Prep boys weren’t taking any chances in the S championship race.