By Hal Levy, Shore Line Newspapers
Special to MaxPreps.com
Career-New Haven only received two of 15 first-place votes, but still wound up ranked at the top of the first New Haven Register girls basketball poll. The Panthers garnered 342 points to beat out Holy Cross-Waterbury (336), Trinity Catholic-Stamford (316), Kolbe Catherdal-Bridgeport (296) and Mercy-Middletown (290).
Holy Cross got two first-place votes, Trinity Catholic had three, Kolbe got four, Mercy got one, sixth-place Bulkeley-Hartford got two and seventh-place Manchester got one.
Career's Gabby Oglesby broke the 1,000-point plateau for her career with 22 in a 68-35 win over Cheshire.
In probably the top in-state tournament over the holiday break, New Britain (10th in the poll) beat Hillhouse (also receiving votes), 74-53, to win the Manchester Holiday Tournament. Hillhouse beat the host team, 56-43 and New Britain halted eighth-ranked Norwich Free Academy, 61-44, in the semifinals.
Bulkeley earned honors as the Mohegan Sun team of the week with wins over Northwest Catholic, 61-56, and Manchester, 67-50, just before Christmas. Seniors Richelle Anderson and Sherece Huddlin lead the defending CIAC Class L state champs.
Hillhouse-New Haven No. 1
On the boys side, Hillhouse-New Haven continues as the poll leader. The Academics, who have won 59 of their last 60 games, defeated Weaver-Hartford, and Bassick-Bridgeport in two recent contests. The Weaver game was the make-up of a contest scheduled at the LX Center (nee, the Hartford Civic Center), as part of the Doc Hurley Scholarship Classic.
Holy Cross-Waterbury, won its first six games and is second in the boys' poll while Wilbur Cross-New Haven, which won a tournament in Boston for the third time in six years, is third. Cross got wins over host Lexington (Mass.) and Bishop Hendricken of Rhode Island, a three-time state finalist.
Among some of the unbeatens early in the year are Warren Harding-Bridgeport (6-0), Windsor (6-0), New Canaan (6-0), Maloney-Meriden (5-0), Xavier-Middletown (5-0), New London (5-0) and Simsbury (4-0), in addition to Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross, both 5-0, and Holy Cross.
Danbury Tops on the Mat
Danbury continues to roll as the top wrestling team in the state. The Hatters recently won their own holiday tournament, but just before that, they squared off against Mt. Anthony Union of Bennington, Vt.
The Patriots, perennially the best team in the Green Mountain State, had a 30-25 lead in the bout, wrestled at Western Connecticut State University before a crowd estimated at 1,200. Mt. Anthony forfeited the 145-pound class to set up a winner-take-all match at 152, which was won by Tucker Schaefer of Danbury, who had a 10-0 lead before pinning Zach Randall in 4:39.
Behind Danbury in the Norwich Bulletin coaches' poll are Bacon Academy-Colchester (11-0), Ledyard (5-0), New Milford (8-1), Bristol Central (7-0), Windham (8-5), Amity Regional-Woodbridge (4-2), Bristol Eastern (8-1), Middletown (6-1) and Daniel Hand-Madison (5-0).
CSWA Accepting Scholarship Applications
The Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance is inviting high school seniors to compete for the annual Bohdan Kolinsky Memorial Journalism Scholarship. Applications must be reach the Alliance at Box 70, Unionville 06085, by Jan. 24, 2008.
The scholarship honors the memory of Bohdan "Bo" Kolinsky, longtime scholastic sports editor of the Hartford Courant, who died at 49 in 2003. The award supports college study leading to a career in sports journalism in a print medium.
The winner will receive $1,000 for his or her freshman year. By meeting standards of progress set by the Alliance, the student may obtain aid totaling $6,500 over four years.
Application forms and rules of the competition have been sent to student newspaper advisers at more than 200 schools. Forms and information are also available on line at ctsportswriters.org.