DJ Sixsmith ’11
Web Sports Editor
Football: After winning the FCIAC championship and falling short in the state championship, the Staples Wreckers football team will look to repeat their undefeated regular season performance. However, the Wreckers will have to rely on players with little varsity experience as they only return two starters on offense. Those two are Chris Coyne ’11 and Patrick Murray ’11 who both verbally committed to play football at Yale University in 2011. In addition starting running back and quint-captain Ryan Burke ’11 is out for the year after tearing his ACL during spring practice.
While this is a major blow, the team has experienced leadership in senior captains Rob Gau, Matt Yeager, Coyne and Murray. Luckily for the Wreckers they play the same schedule as last year when they went undefeated. The big games for Staples this year will be on the road as they will face FCIAC powerhouses Greenwich and Ridgefield. With Greenwich in the midst of rebuilding, the Wreckers season could come down to week 3 when they play the Tigers and Florida bound senior lineman Tommy Jordan. The football team plays their first game at home on September 17 against Trinity Catholic.
Boy’s Soccer: Last year was a year to remember for the boy’s soccer team as they won both the FCIAC and State Championship. Finishing the year ranked 15th in the country, the boy’s lead by head coach Dan Woog posted a 22-2 record. While the Wreckers lose top players Jack Hennessy and Mike White, Coach Woog returns several key players who have already made their decision to play at the next level. Leading this year’s team are captains Brendan Lesch ‘11, who verbally committed to Notre Dame and Frankie Bergonzi ’11, who verbally committed to play at Colgate. Also rejoining Staples are Navy bound Sean Gallagher ’11 and Columbia-bound Greg Gudis ’11. The boy’s begin their title defense on September 14 against Fairfield Ludlowe and then return home on September 20 against the Hilltoppers of Central High School.
Girl’s Soccer: The Lady Wreckers will be under new leadership this year as JV coach and gym teacher Nicole Ross has been promoted to head coach. A former player during her time at Staples, Ross takes over a team that went 9-8-1 last year. Knocked out of FCIACS in the first round and states in the second, the girl’s team is lead on the field by captains Shannon Moss ’11, Kelly Bohling ’11 and Jaclyn Katz ’11. Returning with the three captains are fellow senior Nicole Brill ‘11 and juniors Jessie Ambrose ’12 and Abbey Lake ’12. The girl’s begin their season on September 14 against Wilton. The legitimacy of this team will be determined in the first 10 games of the season when the Lady Wreckers will play only three times in front of the home faithful on Loeffler Field.
Boy’s Track: Posting a 14-3 record during the regular season last year, the Wreckers fell short of their ultimate goal of winning an FCIAC and state championship when they finished 3rd in FCIAC’s and 5th at states. Head coach Laddie Lawrence lost several top runners to graduation such as Jonathan Foster, Chase Tagen and Sam Zorfas. However plenty still remains for the Wreckers with Jack Roche ’11, Raph Ray ’11 and Ben Aldrich ’11. Leading Staples this fall are captains Matt Wormser ’11, Roche, Aldrich, Jeff Caffery ’11 and Kentaro Higuchi ’11. The boy’s open up the season on September 14 at home when the Wreckers host a meet with Ridgefield, Stamford and Darien. This will be only one of two times in which the Wreckers are home this fall as they will be on the road for the rest of their schedule after September 25. Dates to look out for are the FCIAC Championship at Waveny Park in New Canaan on October 21 and the CIAC LL State Championship nine days later on October 30 in East Hartford.
Girl’s Track: The Lady Wreckers come into this fall looking to repeat their strong cross country performance last year of 12-5 in the regular season. Losing top performer Joselyn Henry to graduation, the girl’s are lead this year by captains Emily Hanrahan ’11 and Rachel Myers ’11. Head coach Kristin Simonsen returns as the girl’s return several key players including Ingrid Johnson ’11 and Judy Feng ’13. Like the boy’s, the girl’s are begin their season at home on September 14 against Ridgefield, Stamford and Darien. The ladies will have their hands full this year as 10 teams finished with 10 wins or more in the FCIAC last year. The girl’s program is certainly on the rise and will look to go over the hump this season and bring and FCIAC championship home to Westport.