The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Looking back before springing ahead
Thank you, March. Glad you are here again.
It is perhaps the most promising month on the sports calendar if you gravitate to college basketball’s conference and national tournaments, or embrace the dawn of another baseball season, or appreciate the fact that as soon as March comes and goes, the Masters is upon us.
Before we spring ahead, let’s do a winter sports dump of the notebook. Lots of good stuff going on in Middlesex County:
** Six years of hard work for six minutes of glory. And there you have it. Kalil Shabazz of Middletown High is your State Open wrestling champion at 126 pounds.
Shabazz was a force to be reckoned with in his weight class at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven. On Friday, he won by pin in his first match and by technical fall (17-2) in his second.
In the semifinals Saturday, the senior scored a 6-3 decision over Zachary Johns of Suffield/Windsor Locks. In the final opposite Class LL champion Tyler Johnson, Shabazz broke out to a 4-1 lead in the first two minutes. In the second period, Johnson rallied to within 6-5.
But in the period’s final 17 seconds, Shabazz managed to escape Johnson and then take him down once again as the clock hit zero to carry a 9-5 lead into the final two minutes.
It was more than enough cushion for a wrestler as talented and drive as Shabazz, who won the bout 12-6 and will compete in the New England Championships this weekend in Methuen, Mass.
“He looked amazing throughout the whole day and then he was incredible in that last match, probably the best he’s wrestled all year,” Middletown coach Wes Ruimerman said.
“Kalil was dominant in all the positions,” he added. “On his feet he was quick and looking to reattack. He was scoring on the edge, scoring with time running out. He was just looking to score. Sometimes it’s hard to do that when the day is long.”
Xavier produced two state champions: Michael Rapuano at 106 pounds and James Lunt at 145. Rapuano is now a two-time state titlist. Thomas Perry of HaddamKillingworth finished third at 285, also assuring himself of a spot at New Englands.
While Shabazz controlled the bout against Johnson, Ruimerman said the second period of the semifinal against Johns was the turning point in his wrestler’s day.
“The 30 seconds left in the period, I told him, were the 30 most important seconds of his career,” the coach said. “He got to his feet and got the escape, but then he was on the edge and did a nice
duck-under to score two points at the end of the period. I thought in my head that just getting the escape was huge, but him just having that feel on the edge to hit this duck-under to score as time was running out … the crowd went crazy.”
The week before, Shabazz won the Class L championship, ridding himself of the bitter taste of being the runnerup in 2019. To achieve his goals of winning at the division and then state level, he went all-in with his training, which meant not playing football in his final year at Middletown High.
“Kalil had to make a tough decision in the offseason with football,” Ruimerman said. “He made that choice to wrestle full time year-round and it’s paid off in this postseason. If he wrestles at New Englands like he did against Tyler Johnson on Saturday, I would think he’ll do very well.”
** East Hampton won the Shoreline Conference girls basketball championship after falling behind by six points with 63 seconds elapsed in the second quarter.
Put another way, coach Shaun Russell’s Bellringers did not score in the first 9:03 of the game. They were down 6-0 at that point. Over the final 22:57, East Hampton outscored Morgan 32-10 and celebrated its first Shoreline title since 2008.
East Hampton has plenty of players who can score, but the team’s commitment defense really laid the groundwork for a 19-1 regular season and three Shoreline tournament wins. And get ready for more — the starting five of Angela Mercaldi, Mya Field, Hannah Barrientos, Meryl Curtin and Danielle Adams are finishing up their junior seasons.
“Our defense is always there, it always comes through for us,” Mercaldi said after the game.
** The Bellringers are the No. 1 seed in the Class S tournament but have an unusual bye into the second round. Their first-round opponent, No. 32 Terryville, last week backed out of the game.
Earlier this season, East Hampton beat Shoreline foe Hale-Ray 101-35. That East Hampton piled up so many points against a program just trying to remain viable at the varsity level created some bad feelings.
And is has now boomeranged on East Hampton, because Terryville coach Tom Morgan reference that game in an interview with the Bristol Press. When it became clear his 2-18 Kangaroos would be matched up against the powerful Bellringers, Morgan said he told Terryville’s principal and athletic director that he’d prefer the team not play, and they agreed with him.
“We basically didn’t want to subject our kids to a situation like that,” Morgan said, referring to the East Hampton/Hale-Ray outcome.
Terryville also had been dealing with injury and illness, which cut into the number of available players, but clearly the Hale-Ray outcome gave them pause and they acted.
The Bellringers, then, await their first opponent in the Class S tournament, either Stafford or Ellis Tech, on Friday at home.
** This feels like the right spot to add that the trial idea to expand the girls basketball tournament to five divisions and populate each division with 32 teams is a one-year wonder. Two three-win teams filled out the Class L field. Terryville was put in a lose-lose situation and will go down as the only team (as of this writing) to refuse to play, though it had justifiable reasons.
** Monday night, in the first round of the Class LL girls tournament, No. 24 Middletown visits No. 9 Southington and No. 25 Mercy plays at No. 8 Glastonbury. If the locals pull the upsets, they would play each other on Thursday at Middletown High at 6:30 p.m.
** The Shoreline Conference boys basketball tournament continues with semifinal games Tuesday. No. 2 Valley Regional (17-4) hosts No. 3 Morgan (14-7) at 6 p.m. and No. 5 Cromwell (12-9) visits top seed Old Lyme (20-1) for a 7:30 tip.
Cromwell, the defending conference champion, was battered by the Wildcats in the teams’ regular-season finale last week. Valley beat Morgan twice during the regular season.
Old Lyme and Valley have been on a season-long track to meet in the final and are expected to do so, with the added bonus that they also are the two best teams by record in the upcoming CIAC Division V tournament.
IN THE SCHOOLS
** The Cromwell girls begin defense of their Class M basketball championship with a first-round game against Lyman Memorial on Monday night (6:30 tip). Gene Gumbs will call the action for wcnxradio.com.
** The Middletown boys team fizzled in the CCC tournament, losing in the first round 55-50 against Farmington. The Blue Dragons (15-5), with a top-seven seed in the upcoming CIAC Division II tournament, have a chance to hit the reset button. The division is wide open. If coach Rick Privott’s guys grit their teeth and get after it, maybe they’ll have a shot. Prince Tech, Naugatuck, Holy Cross and Bristol Central are the contenders. Xavier (13-7) lurks, too.
** Middletown sophomore guards Shadae Bushay and Tyah Pettaway were named to the All-Central Connecticut Conference team as representatives from the South Division. Pettaway and Bushay became focal points in the Blue Dragons’ lineup and eventually the team’s top two scorers when three starters went down with season-ending injuries.
“The recognition is definitely deserved,” coach Rob Smernoff said. “Both really helped to lead our team as the year progressed.”
** Erik Becker, who coached the Coginchaug/Hale-Ray/East Hampton football program for the last three seasons, is the new coach at HaddamKillingworth.
Becker was hired last week to succeed Mike Baklik, who stepped down for family reasons after coaching the Cougars for six years. Becker is only the third head coach in H-K history. Dennis O’Rourke started the program in the mid-1970s and coached until Baklik was handed the reins.
By the way, H-K and Coginchaug meet on Oct. 24 in Durham.
** Coginchaug is expected to name its new football coach sometime this week.
** Woodrow Wilson Middle School handed out individual awards to its winter sports teams.
Boys basketball — sportsmanship: Tevin Cloud; most consistent: Zy’kie Askew; most promising 7th-grader: Connor D’Aquila; team spirit: Mason Sassu; scholar-athlete: Luke Weisenberg.
Girls basketball — leadership: Ava Studinski; sportsmanship: Serenity Quinones; most consistent: Malah Stuckey; rookie of the year: Kelina Robinson.
Wrestling — sportsmanship: John Lagana; rookie of the Year: Michael Sharillo; coach junior: Lucas Sanchez.
Cheerleading — Nia Watson: team spirit; Jazyiah Nelson: sportsmanship; leadership: Emma Goldenberg.
THIS AND THAT
** Rich Magner’s first retirement occurred in 2014, when he hung it up after 35 seasons total with the Xavier baseball program. This year is Magner’s final act in the Xavier guidance department. They don’t make men better than Rich Magner. He graduated Xavier the year I was born and reached Triple-A Albuquerque in the Dodgers’ organization. Whether coaching the Falcons in basketball or baseball, he was a master at game management and as even-keeled as a coach can be. Rich, best wishes for a long and active retirement.
** Good to see Rutgers men’s basketball coach Steve Pikiell getting a twoyear contract extension. He’s led the program to its first Top 25 ranking in 41 years and he’s a Naismith Coach of the Year candidate. I can still remember Pikiell tearing around Pro Gallitto Gymnasium in 1986 with the St. Paul Falcons as they desperately tried — and failed — to beat Tom LaBella’s Middletown Blue Dragons.
** Sean Marinan Jr., son of Xavier’s former football coach, recently joined the staff at Purdue University as defensive quality control coach.
** I say “Giancarlo Stanton,” you say “muscle strain.” His latest injury went under the radar last week with the news that Yankees pitcher Luis Severino will have Tommy John surgery. Stanton played just 18 games for the Yankees last season due to a variety of injuries. His over/under for games played in 2020 should start there. Biceps strain, tight calf, knee sprain, quad strain, calf strain. What’s with this guy?
** Finally, going in, I thought the Oscar-winning documentary “American Factory” would be a slice of U.S.style workforce success. Sigh. Check it out on Netflix and discuss.