5: The 2013 season was full of ups and downs for the Staples Wreckers football program. However, the biggest victory of the entire season came on November 1, as the Wreckers upset Trumbull, which sat atop of the FCIAC and State standings at the time. In a shoot-out where both offenses were firing on all cylinder, neither defense could come up with a stop. Down 42-35 with 1:25 minutes left, the Wrecker’s defense had a critical stop and gave their offense the ball on their 30 yard line. At this point, Jack Massie ’14 led a drive down the field that culminated a touchdown pass to Will Johnson ’14 with just 25 seconds left. This forced the first overtime game for the Wreckers in the last four years. Riding the momentum from the end of the game, Jack Greenwald ’14 ran in a touchdown to kick off overtime, and then Jake Melnick ’15 made the game-winning tackle on the three yard line: a play that sent the players on the bench, coaches, and fans in the stands all running onto the field to celebrate.

4: The 2013 Staples Girls Volleyball team Recreational Basketball in Staples was nothing short of fantastic throughout the 2013 season. They coasted through the regular season with only one loss to the Greenwich Cardinals. This penciled them in as the number two seed for the FCIAC tournament, where they met Greenwich once again. And again, in a thrilling fifth set, the Wreckers came up just short. Next for the Lady Wreckers was the state tournament. After cruising through the first three rounds, Staples was once again matched up with their kryptonite, Greenwich, in the semi-finals. Staples came out strong and dominated the first set. They faltered in the second and narrowly lost, but rebounded and won the third. Needing to win just one more set to clinch a berth into the state finals, fans felt the tension clearly in the air as the fourth set began. The Wreckers answered the bell and were victorious and the overflowing student section mobbed the court in celebration.

3: Recreational Basketball in Staples is a big deal to a lot of people. Not much could pry these ‘athletes’ away from their own games. But, on Februrary 8, 2013, the basketball game between Westhill and Staples did. Westhill came into the game as an overwhelming favorite. Undefeated and leading the FCIAC, as the Wreckers were just 9-6 and fighting for a playoff spot. However, this game was tightly contested the whole way. Westhill would jump ahead, and the Staples would fight right back. Led by 23 points and tenacious defense from Peter Rankowitz ’13, the Wreckers were down by just one point with under a minute left. At this time James Frusciante ’13 rattled home a jump shot to put the Wreckers up one. After a missed game winner by Westhill, the fans, and almost the entirety of Rec Basketball, stormed the court and mobbed the players.

2: The 2011 Staples Wreckers Baseball team was nothing short of dominant. They finished the regular season with 18 wins and just five losses behind All FCIAC players Mikey Scott ’11, Brendan Bernstein ’11, Rob Gau ’11, Mike McGowan ’11, and Bryan Terzian ’12. Rob Gau took the bump for the Wreckers as they faced off against Danbury. He proceeded to put on a performance that will live in Staples baseball legacy. Just two days after firing a complete game shutout against New Canaan in the quarter finals, Gau once again went the distance. He reached down and threw the 102 pitches that were needed for the win. “Rob lives in the weight room, and there’s probably not another kid in the state who can do what he did on two days’ rest,” Staples coach Jack McFarland said. The offense was inspired by the gutsy performance and scored four runs, all with two outs, in the fifth, and took the lead. The game ended on a beautifully turned double play by the Wreckers, and they captured their third FCIAC championship in four years.

1: The 2013 Staples Boys Volleyball team was one of the best teams Staples has ever had. After losing the first game of the regular season in 2013, the Wreckers proceeded to show everyone just how good they were by winning the next 21 games in a row, en route to a State and FCIAC championship. Perhaps the most dominant volleyball team Staples has ever assembled, the 2013 Wreckers took down Ridgefield in the FCIAC championship in front of a boisterous crowd, and then defeated Ridgefield once again in the state semi-finals to face Glastonbury in the championship game. Glastonbury won the important game one and looked to have all the momentum. However, the Wreckers weathered the adversity and won game two to even the score at 1-1. Outside hitter Johnny Denowitz ’14 played the game of his career, diving for countless saves and also racking up the kills. He led the Wreckers to a game three and four win, and thus a state championship. That made them the only Staples team to win a state championship in the 2013 calendar year.