Coginchaug Regional High School Student News
crhsnews.com
October 9, 2015
Dress Code Frustrates Seniors On Friday, Sept. 4, senior class president Shaun Whitaker was publicly addressed in front of her homeroom meeting for “violation of the Coginchaug dress code.” Whitaker was sent to the office for her exposed shoulders, despite the fact that her strap measured one inch. Frustrated with getting in trouble for a rule that she didn’t violate, Whitaker made an appointment with Principal Brian Falcone for later that day, joined by seniors Amy Arcari, Cassie Kovacs, Taylor Marino, Larissa Cade, and Abigail Coogan in support of her views. “Dress code seems to only be relevant during the fall and spring seasons, so it was an appropriate time to speak our voices,” said Whitaker. “The girls brought to my attention concerns they had with the dress code,” Falcone said of the meeting. Not only were the seniors upset with the fact that girls are getting reprimanded for clothing that adheres to the dress code, but they also hoped to “inform teachers to stop embarrassing girls publically and offensively,” said Kovacs. “If you’re
Inside This Issue
Durham Fair --------------- 2 Benchwarmers ------------ 3 Honor Society Inductees 4 Exchange Student -------- 5 Homecoming Preview -- 6 Sports Updates ----------- 7 Sports News --------------- 8
By Ava Altschuler
going to tell students to change into something that follows school policies, there is a correct way to approach the situation instead of insulting someone’s sense of style or even morals,” she said. “I lost three hours of class time just because of the shirt I chose to put on that morning, and I think there are more important issues that could be addressed in that time,” reasoned Whitaker. At the Sept. faculty meeting later in the month, Falcone addressed his teachers: “I relayed the girls’ concerns to the staff and discussed a new procedure with the goal of doing our best to prevent students from being embarrassed when we enforce the dress code,” he said. Although this partially addresses her concerns,
Whitaker still feels gender discrimination is present in our policies. “Nobody will call out a boy for a cut-off shirt, but teachers have no problem pulling aside a girl for a slight midriff,” she reasoned. Whitaker’s dress code case seemed to be a breaking point for female seniors not because of the dress code rules themselves but because of the conflict in the delivery of the rules by staff. Can heated emotions concerning dress code be eliminated by revising rules? Will staff members approaching the situation in a more professional manner than in the past help ease tension? Or is dress code a perceptionbased topic that can’t avoid the sensitivity and diverse opinions that go along with it?
Volume 22, Issue 1
Healthy Fair Food Is that Possible? By Ava Altschuler A common conversation days before the Durham Fair involves how much greasy fair food one plans on consuming during the long weekend. Yes, an important aspect of the fair is getting to eat indulgent, guilty, and delicious foods and beverages such as chocolate-covered bacon, Lime Rickies, and fried Snickers bars. Although these treats are one of a kind, if you are either looking to stay on the right track with a healthy diet or even a high school athlete trying to feel your best for training, you can find healthy, culturally unique foods at the fair as well. A healthy diet isn’t a common practice by high school students, but Coginchaug athletes have sporting events to play during the course of the fair weekend, and fried dough may not settle properly in the scorching sun on the turf. So whether you want to keep your clean eating habits in check by limiting the amount of cheat snacks you have, or you want to feel refreshed and ready for a football game, no worries, there are healthy food options hiding somewhere among the fairgrounds. First and foremost, note to yourself to always bring a day’s worth of sealed water bottles since “the overpriced water at the fair really impacts how
much you drink during the day,” said senior football player Jordan Solis. However, Instead of completely cutting out the experience of special fair drinks and only drinking water, you can find alternatives to unhealthy beverages. A classic Lime Rickey: fizzy, quenching, and loaded with sugar. Instead of purchasing a $7 large Lime Rickey, you can cool off with a fresh-squeezed lemonade from Melissa’s Lemonade. Coming to the fair for 20 years, Ethan from Melissa’s Lemonade booth says, “It’s important to us to provide people with real, all natural lemonade instead of some of the sugar-based sticky drinks here.” Grecian Delight’s fruit lemonade, made with a base of water and loaded with strawberries, pineapple, and lime, would also satisfy your thirst instantly. After eating a donut, bread bowl, or a hot dog, senior volleyball player Carlie Annechino says she feels sick and therefore can’t eat fair food before an 8 a.m. practice because if she does she, “won’t be able to perform her best.” You can find a simple alternative to a greasy meal by stopping by the Grecian Delight booth which offers chicken breast kebabs and grilled veggie pitas.
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October 9, 2015
Eco Keeps Fair Clean
CRHS Music Groups Perform at Durham Fair By Stephanie Tang
On Sept. 24-26, the Coginchaug Show Choir performed their 29th annual shows at the Durham Fair. Show Choir (pictured above) prepared for the fair weekend since the beginning of the school year. Songs that the show choir performed were “Shut up and Dance with Me” by Walk the Moon and a dance medley which included a mix of different 60s songs. The boys in Show Choir sung “Poison Ivy” by The Coasters; the girls sang “Call Your Girlfriend” by Robyn. The 2015 show was different from previous years
because there are only 26 members whereas a few years ago, there were 36. Coginchaug Acapella groups performed a variety of songs as well. The boys acapella group, No Refund, performed “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by The Rays, “Silhouettes” by Deep Blue Something, and the theme song of “Two and a Half Men”. The girls Acapella group, Nothing but Treble, performed “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus and “I Feel the Earth Move” by Carole King. The shows seemed positively received by viewers.
It was a successful weekend having many Coginchaug student athletes working with the Benchwarmers organization at the Durham Fair. The Benchwarmers are an essential organization for the success of the Coginchaug sports programs. The Benchwarmers supply the school with funding that makes it possible for all sports teams to have materials needed for their seasons such as a new volleyball spike machine, new mini soccer goals for soccer, and cheer mats for the cheerleaders. Senior volleyball player Carlie Annechino said, “The best part of working at Benchwarmers is that when we are working, there really isn’t time for you to be bored.” She also claimed that it’s a great way for the athletes to see people from the community so that people can see the athletes of Coginchaug give back. Senior soccer player Cassie Kovacs said, “The Benchwarmers is a great place for teams within the high school to work on team building.” She also said athletes get to meet who is behind the organization of Benchwarmers
Youth Art Exhibit at DFair This painting by Ryan Newberry earned a first place ribbon at the Durham Fair. For a full photospread, see Zac Schleicher’s post on crhsnews.com.
Composting buckets are stacked up and ready.
Photo by Sam Vigue
Volume 22, Issue 1
Athletes Warm Up the By Taylor Marino Bench
By Samantha Vigue For the ninth year, Coginchaug’s Eco-Club teamed up with Boy Scout Troop 27 to tackle Durham Fair bottle recycling. Mr. Stefan Michael, the leader of the Durham Fair Recycling Project, reported that the scouts and Eco collected about 29,000 redeemable cans and plastic bottles for 5-cent deposits and 7,700 recyclable bottles for no deposit. At specified shifts, the volunteers from the two groups went out with a tractor trailer and collected the bottles from the recycle bins that were all around the fair. Once the crew got back from collecting, it was time to sort everything. The grossest thing that was found this year was a dirty diaper. They also found a whole bag of unopened bottles still wrapped up in the plastic case it came in. Starting last year, Eco collected the compost from different groups around the fair. Mrs. Susan Michael, the leader of Eco and this project, said, “I am still waiting to hear what the weight of our composting was, but the dumpster was definitely more full than last year.” Last year, the club collected 3.84 tons of compost. According to Mrs. Michael, more booths participated in composting this year.
Photo by Taylor Marino
Photo by Zac Schleicher
and put a name to a face. Junior cheerleader Lauren Donnelly said, “The best thing about Benchwarmers is that the atmosphere when you are working is very fun and positive, and everyone brings an upbeat work ethic that makes working an enjoyable part of the fair.” Annechino said, “Benchwarmers is essential to the Coginchaug Athletic Department because it brings in a lot of money in order for us to get the materials that are needed throughout the season.” Kovacs talked about how even at times when sports teams are not purchasing new equipment, the Benchwarmers are very dedicated and motivated to keep pushing forward. She also stated, “The outcome is huge, and a lot of us don’t even realize how much is actually accomplished because of this.” Donnelly believes that if it wasn’t for Benchwarmers, Coginchaug athletes wouldn’t be privileged with the things they have now. Donnelly said, “They create so many opportunities for us that we would never dream of having if it wasn’t for them.”
crhsnews.com
October 9, 2015
New Rules Restrict Freedom
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Photos by Miranda Cronin
By Miranda Cronin The new rules have raised some big questions with the students at Coginchaug: Are these rules taking away our freedom? Are these rules doing more harm than good? The passbook system was a rule that Principal Brian Falcone wanted to implement last year but couldn’t because the people who make the agenda book forgot to print them into the book last year. “The pass system helps us keep better track of students,” he said, “Knowing where students are is essential to their personal safety.“ Even though the passbooks are improving the safety of each student, there are still
a lot of students who don’t agree with the new system. “I think the passbooks are ridiculous because teachers always check it in the hallways, and I’m afraid I’ll run out of pages before the school ends,” stated freshman Aiden Moore. Sophomore Cooper Berry said, “The passbooks take too much time to fill out, so I just don’t go to the bathroom.” Another new rule that was put in place this year was the structured study halls, While sophomore Shannon Meiselman stated “Structured study hall helps you get a lot of work done and keeps you productive. I think that the passbooks
are good because it’s good for teachers to know where students are” The new study hall system has made big waves with some students who think the new system is restricting their freedom. Senior Victoria Pinkett said, “Study halls suck because I can’t do anything. I’m eighteen and need to have a book to use the bathroom or get a drink.” Mr. Falcone understands that some seniors are unhappy with the limit of freedom and said, “My goal is to someday create an ‘upperclassmen lounge’ for the students with frees to hang out in.”
Coginchaug’s Library Media Center has been virtually empty ever since the new rules were put into place.
Redneck Arena Splashes at the Fair By Saige Avery Over the Durham Fair weekend, one of the newer attractions was the Redneck Arena, organized by Samantha Divito. Events included the mud pit belly flop contest and miscellaneous games such as giant Jenga, toilet seat horseshoes, a frozen wet t-shirt contest, and the game of stump. When Travis New-
ell, a mud pit belly flop contestant, was asked if he thought that the Redneck Arena represented the fair well, he quoted the Durham Fair’s motto: “Good. Clean. Wholesome. Fun.” Costumes for different events were picked from a wall of options when the contestants arrived, and they tried to be as creative
as possible. The winner of the mud pit belly flop contest was Chris Slight with the grand prize of a $75 gift certificate to Artie’s Bar and Grill, which was the official sponsor of the mud pit. Overall, the contestants seemed to have a fun time; the crowd was supportive, cheering for the volunteers.
See Saige Avery’s Redneck Arena video package at crhsnews.com.
Photo By Saige Avery
Senior Leonid Funaro gets his passport signed in order to leave the room.
Continued from page 1
HEALTHY FAIR FOOD Durham’s Perk on Main on Wheels may list dessert crepes on their menu, such as a Nutella and strawberry crepe, but they also offer nutritious lunch crepes such as the Popeye, made with grilled chicken, spinach, onions, garlic, and cheddar. The list goes on with healthy options such as John Lyman’s fresh corn on the cob or a baked potato with no toppings; you just have to be willing to look farther down on a menu, past the cheeseburgers and french fries, and be willing to ask for specific requests in orders such as “less cheese” or “not fried”.
“Healthy” desserts are fairly limited at the fair, but if you have the choice of six fried oreos or a lightly coated, chocolate banana, think twice and stick to the fruit. I have yet to find a basic house salad at the Durham Fair, but I promise you there is no reason you don’t have any other option besides going home feeling nauseous from an overdose on fair food. So next time you attend the Durham Fair, or any other fair or festival for that matter, look carefully, ask questions to know the contents of the food, and enjoy!
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October 9, 2015
Volume 22, Issue 1
Fall 2015 Inductees French Honor Society Emma Ackerman Westly Benjunas Larissa Cade Morgan Cunningham Krista DeFilio Dana Hoffman Kayla Therrien Jenna Isleib On October 29 at 7:30 p.m., the CRHS Music Department will perform at their Hallow- Kaitlin Gossart een Concert. Sophomore Colleen Coogan says, “We have worked really hard this year Ashleigh Halligan
Spanish Honor Society
and are excited to showcase our talent.”
Photo and caption by Hailey Byrne
Teacher Feature: Mr. Don Amodio By Keya Stahl Mr. Don Amodio is a new English teacher here at Coginchaug and is currently in his tenth year of teaching. He takes pleasure in exploring literature and has been an avid reader since he was in high school. Mr. Amodio chose to be a teacher because he enjoys working with young people and loves the subject he teaches. What Mr. Amodio likes most about CRHS so far is the positive attitude of students towards learning. “The students here are self-motivated to do well and try to get the most they can out of their classes,” he says. “It’s not something you see at every school.” In his spare time, Mr. Amodio enjoys playing board games,
watching movies, and reading books. He is also a musician and, although
Ivy Linden-Dionne Isabel Puziss Stefan Marczuk Ashley Schuetz Victoria Slight Reid Rodrigue Alexander Stephan Ashely Tang Alyssa van Eyndhoven
not currently, he has played in multiple rock groups.
Alexandra Alsup Hannah Amirault Sophia Baronchelli Marissa Bizzario Sydney Brant José Cadena Kyle Fontaine Jack French Amelia Gagner Kathleen Hennessy Brian Jubelirer Nora Khalil RaAnna Kurek
Natalie Labasi Paige Larkin Julia LaRosa Emily Leibiger Sadie Leiler Kaylie LeMere Nate McDonald Joshua Martowski Olivia Preneta Danielle Quinley Kenny Sung Cuadrado Jill Taber
Contact Us Email: crhsdevilsad@gmail.com Twitter: @crhsdevilsadv Facebook: Devil’s Advocate Coginchaug Phone: 860-349-7215
OCTOBER PRINT CONTRIBUTING STAFF
Contributors: Carson Aitken Ava Altschuler Saige Avery Brennan Bates
Katelynn Branciforte Hailey Byrne Larissa Cade Miranda Cronin
Morgan Cunningham Taylor Marino Spencer McCoy Keya Stahl
Jacquelyn Stevens Stephanie Tang Brooke Troutman Samantha Vigue
The Devil’s Advocate is the official student newspaper of Coginchaug Regional High School, located in Durham, CT, representing the towns of Durham, Middlefield, and Rockfall. The DA is a proud representative of Regional School District 13; however, this publication is student-run and does not assume to reflect the views of RSD13 administration or staff.
October Issue Production & Editing Team: Emma Ackerman Ava Altschuler Morgan Cunningham Jacquelyn Stevens Stephanie Tang Adviser: Ms. Rebecca Suchy rsuchy@rsd13.org
crhsnews.com
October 9, 2015
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Italy Comes to Coginchaug By Katelynn Branciforte Seeing new faces in Durham, CT is a rarity, but what is even more rare is seeing a face and finding out that the person is from another country. Junior Sofia Baronchelli made the long trek all the way from Italy to America to be an exchange student. She is being hosted by the Sinicrope family and finds them kind and supportive. “I am very happy to be with them,” Baronchelli said. Sofia wanted to par-
ticipate in the exchange program because about three years ago someone told her about all of the amazing experiences they had and how it improved their English. She also wanted to see what an American high school was like compared to all of the films she has seen as that was her dream. What she didn’t know was that she would be welcomed to Coginchaug with open arms by both students and faculty who she
finds both kind and helpful. She also found that joining the high school’s cheerleading team helped her make more friends. Even though she is thousands of miles away from home, technology such as Skype and FaceTime have been useful tools that help her keep in touch with her family and friends back in Italy. While the transition seemed difficult, Sofia is excited for the rest of her year in America.
Homecoming in the Making
Junior Sofia Baronchelli has become good friends with a lot of new people, inlcuding her best friend junior Lauren Donnelly.
By Jacquelyn Stevens Wave goodbye to September and say hello to the month of October, including pumpkin spice, the changing leaves, breast cancer awareness events, Halloween, and most prevalent to CRHS students, Homecoming. There will be a pep rally organized by Ms. Bowman and a football game against Morgan at one o’clock on Saturday, Oct. 17, at CRHS. The pep rally is Friday, Oct. 16 and that week there will be a spirit week to get everyone ready for it! “There will be relay races, minute to win it, tug-a-war, along with performances by the Cheerleaders and pep band. Also captains of fall sports will share how the seasons are going.” In order for the blue and white themed Homecoming dance to be a success,
the junior class student council is beginning to meet and plan for the event. Junior student council member Aidan Doyle reports, “If you buy a ticket for $25, you will be welcomed into the fourhour dance with free food including pizza, popcorn, and cotton candy and the atmosphere of strobe lights and light machines... You will receive sun glasses as a souvenir.” The Junior Council is bringing back the photo booth again this year, along with Senior Homecoming King and Queen. The photobooth will not have a photographer, so students can take as many pictures as they want and have the ability to get as creative as they want! Monday through Friday, two weeks before the dance, there will be a nomination box to write
names of people you want to nominate for king and queen; the next week there will be three to five people picked from the given names. Unfortunately there isn’t a deejay yet, but the Junior Council is contacting possible DJs and have a backup plan of renting equipment. Visit crhs.rsd13ct.org for more coverage on the Homecoming Dance!
CRHS October Events Oct. 13-17-Homecoming Week Oct.15-Shoreline Music Festival at CRHS 7:00 p.m. Oct. 17-CRHS Homecoming Dance 7:00 p.m. Oct. 21-CRHS Career Day Oct. 27-French/Spanish Honor Society Induction 7:00 p.m. Oct. 29-Halloween Concert 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30-Volleyball Tournament 2:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Spirit Week: October 13-16, 2015 Tuesday - Class Colors (Seniors: NEON, Juniors: GREEN, Sophomores: PURPLE, Freshmen: ORANGE) Wednesday - Twin Day Thursday - Superhero Day Friday - Blue Devil Day HOMECOMING VARSITY SPORTS SCHEDULE Monday, October 12 Girls Volleyball vs. Cromwell at Cromwell High School (5:30 pm) Boys Soccer vs. Portland at Home (3:45pm) Tuesday, October 13 Girls Soccer vs. Portland at Home (3:45pm) Boys Cross Country at Indian River Complex (4:00 pm) Girls Cross Country at Indian River Complex (4:00pm) Wednesday, October 14 Boys Soccer vs. Foran at Home (3:45pm) Girls Volleyball vs. Haddam Killingworth at Home (6:00pm) Thursday, October 15 Boys Soccer vs. Morgan at Home (3:45pm) Friday, October 16 *Pink Out Girls Volleyball vs. Old Lyme at Home (6:00pm) Saturday, October 17 Football vs. Morgan at Home (1:00pm) *Pink Out Girls Soccer vs. Morgan at Indian River Complex
(3:00pm)
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VOLLEYBALL By Saige Avery Volleyball is off to a good start to the season. They are 5-11. Key players include senior captains Caitlyn Sibiskie and Alana Backert as well as freshman Bailey Zettergren. “We had two serious injuries to two of our starters, and we pulled up freshman Bailey Zettergren to be a new libro, so she was a huge asset,” Beckert said. “ It was a big change but she held up well.” The captains this year are showing great leadership. Beckert said, “One of our strengths is that our team has a strong bond, and we pick each other up on and off the court.” The team’s goal is to make it to States and Shorelines and win.
October 9, 2015
Volume 22, Issue 1
BOYS SOCCER
GIRLS SOCCER
By Spencer McCoy
Girls Soccer with a record of 3 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie get ready to play a home game against Portland on tuesday Oct 13 at 3:45. They are hoping to have the same chemistry between midfielders and hope their back line stays together again like in their game against Old Lyme on Monday Sept 28. During that game their key players were Jess Drop, Larissa Cade, Megan Decker, and Taylor Marino in goal. Senior captain Larissa Cade hopes to play well in the next few games and said, “It determines if we will make the State and Shoreline tournaments.” Before their next game, senior captain Taylor Marino wants to improve on “positive encouragement” while Cade wants to “play the game like we are down a goal the whole game.”
With a record of 3 wins and 5 losses, the Coginchaug boys soccer team is preparing for the rest of their season. On Monday, Oct. 5, senior Alec Bogen scored two goals in their 8-0 victory against North Branford along with Kyle Judson who scored 3. Bogen says their next game should be a “good challenge” as Old Saybrook is a high-ranked team. The boys hope their new, more offensive formation will give them an advantage.
By Katelynn Branciforte
Volleyball photo by Saige Avery Soccer photo by Katelynn Branciforte
For more CRHS Sports action, see our online stories at CRHSnews.com.
Teacher Feature: Mrs. Carrie Howes By Brooke Troutman Mrs. Carrie Howes is the new photography teacher at Coginchaug this year. Previously, Mrs. Howes had a career as a graphic designer but stopped to raise her three boys, although she still did freelancing during this time. When her boys got older and it was time to go back to work, she chose teaching because she enjoys working with kids and wanted to be more involved with art. Mrs. Howes applied for ARC (Alternate Route to Certification) and got accepted to a ten-month program to get certified to teach art. In addition to teaching
photography at the high school, she also teaches art at John Lyman School. “I’ve always enjoyed working with kids, and I wanted to share my passion of the arts with a younger generation,” said Mrs. Howes. When asked why she also chose to teach high school, she replied, “It’s cool to teach older kids because I can develop my craft more, and I’ve always had a passion for photography. It’s the best of both worlds.” In her free time, Mrs. Howes enjoys taking pictures outside of school, singing, and being outdoors.
See page 5 for a full list of Homecoming Week sports match-ups.
crhsnews.com
October 9, 2015
FALL SPORTS UPDATES
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FOOTBALL
CHEERLEADING By Carson Aitken The cheerleading team started their season strong. At their first halftime performance, they hit their routine. Since then, they have performed twice more at the football game halftimes and also performed their routine perfectly. “We killed all three of our routines so far, and I definitely think it will be a great season,” said senior captain Jacquelyn Stevens. Senior co-captain Katelynn Branciforte said, “Our pyramids have been really strong as well as our one mans.” The whole team has been really positive and put in a lot of hard work, but they don’t want to slow down; Stevens and Branciforte both said the team has been training as hard as ever to prepare for competition season. Everyone on the team is looking forward to having a positive season with no setbacks and expecting a lot from sophomore Amanda Potvin and freshman Isabel Haeberly, “underclassman who have shown a lot of drive and determination to be the best they can be,” said Stevens and Branciforte. Their next game is at home in 2 weeks.
Photo By Brennan Bates
By Brennan Bates
Football ended last weekend with a record of 2 wins, 2 losses because the Blue Devils were ready for the game against the Raiders on Oct. 3. Senior captain and quarterback Wes Benjunas wants to fix some things about the team’s pass coverage. He said he has some “reads he needs to work on”. “[We] need to work on pass coverage, but other than that, as a whole, we played very well,” Benjunas continued. During that game, their key players were senior runningback Parker Tregoning and Benjunas. Tregoning leads the state in rushing and scoring. He was nominated 4 times for player of the week in 3 different news outlets. The Devils play again at home on Oct. 17 at 1:00 p.m.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY By Taylor Marino The boys have not won a meet yet as a school but say they are constantly improving during practice. Their next meet is Saturday, Oct. 10 at Wickham Park. The key runners to look out for at the next meet are Peter Schulten, Matt Woznyk, Sean McMaster and Danny Turecek. Senior captain Owen Tobin said, “We are making a lot of improvements, and we have a good chance of winning Shorelines; we are excited for future meets.”
Photo By Mrs. Koerber
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY By Larissa Cade Girls cross country is doing well so far this season. They won four of the six meets they have run and finished close to first place the two they lost. Senior captain Angela Koerber has been a great leader and pushes her team every day to work harder to improve and become better. “I am proud of how the season is going, and I think that we’ve improved a lot since last year,” said senior Sam Vigue. With returning key runners senior Samantha Drop and junior Allie Alsup, the girls cross country team hopes to make a statement in the Shoreline Conference and States; their goal is to take home another trophy, just like last year.
Photo By Katelynn Branciforte
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October 9, 2015
Volume 22, Issue 1
Tregoning Breaks Records; News Notices Senior Parker Tregoning rushed for 410 yards on 31 carries and scored six touchdowns in the Blue Devils’ Oct. 3 game against Windsor Locks/East Granby/Suffield, which the boys won 46-14. According to Coach Nick D’Angelo, Tregoning’s “…426 yards rushing is eighth all time in the state of CT for yards in a single game”. According to MaxPreps.com, Tregoning leads CT in scoring and rushing.
Many media outlets have noticed Tregoning’s consistency and stats, nominating him in various polls: CPTV Sports UChoose Student-Athlete of the Week WFSB Friday Night Football Athlete of the Week, Week 4 GameTime CT Week 4 Football Star Tregoning lost GameTime CT’s week three vote to a kicker by twenty-five votes, making it their closest poll, according to Coach D’Angelo.
Tregoning crosses into the end zone for one of his six touchdowns scored in the Blue Devils last matchup against Windsor Locks/East Granby/Suffield on Saturday, Oct. 3. Photo by Jose Cadena
Coginchaug Cross Country Runs to the Sun By Ava Altschuler On Tuesday, Sept. 22, the boys and girls cross country teams hosted their annual Going to the Sun Invitational at Coginchaug. The girls team had a strong turnout taking first place while the boys placed fourth overall. With Portland as their biggest rival, the team felt prepared for competing against them with their strength of “conquering the big hill because as a team [they] practice that a lot, and other teams fall behind by that point,” according to junior Allison Alsup. Senior captain Owen Tobin likes how “the team knows exactly where to kick in their last bit of energy on the course.” As coach Lavinia Vigue began calling races through a megaphone, senior captain Angela Koerber organized tags, gathered baked goods, organized teams, warmed up her team, and prepared
ice and water. “I love the spirit of this meet, and our overall setup is really well marked,” Koerber said with pride. The CRHS cross country team makes the meet inspirational by writing phrases such as, “Keep going” and “Run harder” on the grass uphills and along Allen Brook Park’s brick wall. Although the meet was a challenge to organize, it ended up being “more relaxed, with no traveling and no need of reviewing the course. Little logistical things made it easier to focus on getting prepared to race,” Coach Vigue said. Senior Samantha Drop came into the race composed yet confident as she predicted to win the girls varsity race and place first as a team. “I feel the pressure to do even better because it’s our own meet,” said Drop. Top female runners of the day included senior
Samantha Drop, junior Allison Alsup, sophomore Ashley Dana, senior Samantha Vigue, sophomore Adriana Wimler, and sophomore Kate Schulten. Drop accomplished her goal of taking first place individually. The top male runners included freshman Peter Schulten, junior Matt Woznyk, sophomore Shaun McMaster, freshman Connor Rulnick, and senior James Peters. Going to the Sun was an altogether special day for Coginchaug cross country runners including “the first recognizable girls cross country senior night within the past four years at Coginchaug, which was established by the juniors who made heartfelt posters and gave out flowers,” said Koerber. The event also contributed to “bringing in the majority of fundraising money to contribute to cross country’s needs,” said Allsup.
Sibiskie Earns 1,000 Assits; Nominated Player of the Week
Sibiskie was presented with the 1,000 Assists Award, along with flowers and balloons, at center court on Monday, Sept. 28 with friends and family present. Photo by Head Coach Eddie Castano
Volleyball captain senior Caitlyn Sibiskie was in the running for GameTime CT’s Player of the Week after her 21 assists, seven aces, and four blocks in Coginchaug’s home win (3-1) against Cromwell on Sept. 21. Blue Devil fans were able to vote for Sibiskie until Oct. 6 at noon. The results had not been published by the time of publication but can be found at crhsnews.com. Sibiskie was honored with the 1,000 Assists Award on Monday, Sept. 28 before the Blue Devils faced Hale Ray. The girls fell to the Noises 3-0, but Sibiskie added 12 more assists to her total that night. See page seven for a full volleyball update.