Lacrosse turns in impressive season
Coach Smalkais
retires after 30 years/404 wins
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his season marked the end of the Chris Smalkais era, as coach retired over the summer following the ’16 season. Smalkais gave Prep 30 years of service as Head Lacrosse Coach and gave the Prep community and his players everything he had, every game he coached. His illustrious career, which boasts 404 wins, 6 CIAC State Championships, 12 SCC Championships and a spot in the CT Lacrosse Hall of Fame, began in 1987. As a young coach he began building a program that would become a perennial state championship contender and top team in the state year in and year out. There have been many special moments for Coach Smalkais and the Fairfield Prep Lacrosse program over the past 30 years and many more life long bonds, lessons and friendships that have come out of it. For everyone that was along for the ride please join Fairfield Prep in thanking and congratulating Coach Smalkais on an amazing career!
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he 2016 Prep Lacrosse team turned in yet another successful season this past spring, winning the SCC regular season title, the SCC tournament championship and advancing to the CIAC Class L semi-finals. The Jesuits finished the season with a record of 17-4 and were led by senior captains, Colin Smalkais, Jack O’Connor and Nick Franchuk. Smalkais, senior Brendan Hoffman, junior Mitch Savoca and junior Chris Brown shouldered much of the offensive load for a Jesuit squad, which as a team registered over 10 goals in 15 of those contests. Anchoring the defense alongside Franchuk were seniors Aidan Coyle and Matt Pompa and juniors
lacrosse Honors • Chris Brown ’17 ALL- SCC Lacrosse Second Team • Nick Franchuk ’16 All-American; NH Register All Area MVP; SCC Lacrosse Player of the Year; ALL-SCC Lacrosse First Team; CHSCA All-State First Team Defense; Hearst Media All-Star; U.S. Lacrosse Bob Scott Award
Jack Kornutik and James Loughran. The Jesuits registered key early season victories against Cheshire (W, 16-7) and Don Bosco, NJ (W, 13-6) before falling to national powerhouse Chaminade (LI) mid-season. After the Chaminade game the Jesuits registered 11 straight victories including the thrilling SCC Championship game which saw Colin Smalkais scoring an overtime goal to defeat Guilford 12-11 for the title. The Jesuits scored a victory against powerhouse Delbarton, NJ, who was ranked 10th nationally at the time, 7-6, during the win streak. The Delbarton win was fittingly Coach Chris Smalkais’ 400th win as the Fairfield Prep Lacrosse coach and also put him • Brendan Hoffman ’16 ALL-SCC Lacrosse First Team; CHSCA All-State Second Team Midfield • James Loughran ’17 ALL-SCC Lacrosse Second Team • Jack O’Connor ’16 News 12 Scholar Athlete; ALL- SCC Lacrosse Second Team • Matt Pompa ’16 ALL- SCC Lacrosse Second Team
among the top 40 all-time winningest lacrosse coaches in the nation. Following the SCC tournament the Jesuits defeated Cheshire 13-11 in a tightly contested game for the first round of the CIAC tournament. The Jesuits went on to defeat Greenwich 11-10, in the Class L quarterfinals, in a thrilling victory. The Jesuits ultimately fell to Simsbury in the semi-final game to end the season. The Jesuits will miss the many seniors graduating but will return a strong squad including freshman contributors Thomas Walton and Ethan Grandolfo that will again look to compete with the very best of Connecticut and tri-state area lacrosse.
• Mitch Savoca ’17 ALL-SCC Lacrosse First Team; CHSCA All-State First Team Attack; NH Register All-Area • Colin Smalkais ’16 ALL-SCC Lacrosse First Team; CHSCA All-State First Team Midfield; NH Register All-Area • Chris Smalkais NH Register Coach of the Year
Wrestling Wins 2nd straight SCC Division Title
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rep Wrestling enjoyed yet another successful season. Led by new coach Ron Chivinski and senior captains Jack Bosken, Orlando Sanchez, Kasim Khan and Kevin Zentner, the team finished the season with a 9-6 record and its second consecutive SCC Division Title. Through a tough schedule filled with competitive meets and tournaments, Prep wrestlers exceeded expectations. The team saw many individual achievements, as well as finishing in the top five teams at the Ludlowe, Branford and Jonathan Law Invitationals. Kevin Zentner, Patrick Grasso ’16 and Evan Titus ’17 all placed in the SCC Tournament, while Kasim
Khan, Orlando Sanchez and Evan Titus earned medals at the LL State Tournament and wrestled in the State Open. Seniors Matt Jakab and Andrew Lagrange and juniors Raphael Baranello, Grant Ballesteros, and Michael Shea all contributed significatntly to Prep’s accomplishments.
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