Morgan had an outstanding 40 all-conference athletes this spring. An exceptional number opposed to the fall’s 26, and winter’s 15.
Along with a peak in all-conference recognition, the school saw both the boys tennis and baseball teams clinch historic conference titles. Not to mention, multiple athletes receiving player of the year honors.
To highlight the MVPs and teams that shined brightest this spring, the PawPrint compiled an in depth report on all 39 all-conference performers, and their stats to receive their awards.
All stats are before the state tournament*
Boys Lacrosse:
Morgan boys lacrosse went 7-8 in the regular season, securing the 4th seed in the conference tournament. They lost to Haddam Killingworth 10 to 19. Morgan had four all-conference athletes. Senior Jake Lichack, sophomore Bowen Gersz, and senior Braeden Steahle were all nominated for second team all-conference, and senior Johnnie Alexander received honorable mention.
Lichack, a forward, finished the regular season with 32 conference goals and 14 assists. Gersz scored 22 conference goals from the midfield. Steahle, the team’s goalkeeper, recorded 109 conference saves. Alexander is a defensive middy who won 72 ground balls.
Girls Lacrosse:
Girls lacrosse finished the regular season with an impressive 10-6 record, finishing tied for second in the Shoreline Conference alongside North Branford. The seeding fell to a tiebreaker, which North Branford won due to the fact that they beat the one seed Lyme-Old Lyme once in the regular season. The top 4 teams made the tournament, and as the 3 seed, Morgan played North Branford in the first round, where they lost 7 to 15.
The lacrosse team had 6 all-conference players this year. Led by conference Player of the Year junior Emma Holecz, who finished the shoreline season with 61 goals, 44 assists, and 88 draw controls from the midfield.
Morgan also had the goalie of the year, junior Annabelle Parent, who had 156 saves, passing the milestone of 400 career saves. Currently, she has 482 saves.
Joining Holecz and Parent on the first team was junior Nora Winsor, a midfielder who scored 36 goals, completed 12 assists, and had 79 draw controls.
On second team were junior defenders Emerson Dunning and Emma Teurner. Both have caused 23 turnovers in the 17 Shoreline games.
The team had one honorable mention, junior Sam Weinzeimer, a forward who scored 24 goals in the Shoreline season.
Boys Tennis:
Morgan boys’ tennis had a dominant regular season, going undefeated. The boys secured the Shoreline title with the most wins in the conference, beating all other conference teams to clinch the title. They went into the tournament as heavy favorites.
In the Shoreline tournament, junior Nathan Miller went undefeated, winning the singles 1/2 tournament, and was named Player of the Year. Also on the first team was freshman Dylan Miller. Dylan lost in the final game of the singles 3/4 tournament, receiving 2nd place.
Doubles 1 Andrew Alvarez-Hidalgo, a senior, and Hendrick Bausch, a junior, won the doubles tournament, securing first team as well, beating Old Lyme’s doubles 1 in the final game.
Seniors Nicky Hicks and Nick Vetrano secured second team. Hicks lost in the semis of the singles 3/4 tournament to the same opponent as Dylan.
Vetrano lost in the quarter finals of the singles 1/2 tournament and also received second team all-conference.
Morgan received one honorable mention, that being sophomore Zhen Wu. Wu played for the doubles 3 team alongside sophomore Brayden Winnicki. Wu and Winnicki lost to Alvarez-Hidalgo and Bausch in the second round of the tournament.
Girls Tennis:
The girls tennis team received three all-conference accolades. Senior captain Tessa Gebauer received second team. Gebauer plays singles 1 for the team and has since her freshman year. Sophomore Mia Zhiminaicela and senior Kate Gardner received honorable mention. They are the doubles 1 team for the girls.
Baseball:
The baseball team went 14-6 in the regular season, securing the 2nd seed. The boys beat Lyme-Old 6-2 in the quarters, Valley 2-0 in the semis, and kept the train rolling and defeated Cromwell in the conference championship bringing the title home to Morgan. With an impressive season, the team received 5 all-conference accolades.
Junior Benjamin Brown was the lone first-team recipient. Brown is a shortstop and a cleanup hitter with a .350 batting average. Brown also leads the team in RBI, with 19.
Second team features include seniors Nathan Levy and Zach Viens, and junior Trevor Powell. Levy is a first baseman and left-handed pitcher with .349 batting average and 16 RBI while also pitching 28 and 1/3 innings.
Viens is the centerfielder leading the team with a .397 batting average and leading the team with 16 stolen bases.
Powell is a third baseman and relief pitcher. Powell has a .364 batting average and 15 RBI with 15 appearances on the mound.
Jacoby Brown received an honorable mention. Brown is a starting pitcher with a 1.37 ERA with the team leading 43 innings pitched. Brown has 42 strikeouts in those innings.
Softball:
Morgan softball had a very young team this year. Only having 14 players, with no seniors and five freshmen on the team. The team received one honorable mention. Receiving the award was junior outfielder Aaliyah Langer.
Track & Field:
Track and Field had the most all-conference athletes, 12 in total. For the Shoreline Conference, to receive first team you must finish first in an event, second team you must finish second, and honorable mention you must finish third.
Morgan had two first team runners, freshman Addyson Massey and senior Addison Reed. Massey finished 1st in two different events, the 100 meter and the 200 meter. Massey ran a 12.62 in the prelims of the 100 meter, getting first, and later ran a 12.64, getting first. In the 200 meter she ran a 26.04, beating out 22 other runners.
Reed finished 1st in the mile/1600 meter. Reed ran a 5:19 mile and beat out 17 other runners. Reed also finished 2nd in the 3200.
Joey Morrissey received 2nd team in high jump. Morrissey jumped 5 foot 10 inches, beating 13 other jumpers.
Honorable mention went to the majority of runners. Morgan had two relays finish 3rd. The boys 4×800 meter ran in 8:23. All runners, sophomore Michael Bowker, senior Owen Lombardi, sophomore Andrew Costanza, and freshman Darren Haverkampf receive the honorable mention. Bowker also received honorable mention in the 1600 finishing 3rd with a 4:30.
The girls 4×100 meter finished 3rd with a 52.94. Freshman Kaitlyn Gutierrez started the race, then she passed the baton to junior Demi Rehberg, who passed it to senior Jacquelyn Ciarleglio, and sophomore Bella Santello anchored the race. Santello also finished 3rd in the 100 meter with a 13.13.
Freshman Cameron Grenon finished behind Morrissey in high jump, placing 3rd, jumping 5 foot 8 inches, also receiving honorable mention.
Golf:
The golf team had one all-conference recipient, sophomore Landon Coley. For the Shoreline Conference, the scores are averaged throughout the season. The top seven lowest scores receive first team, and the next seven receive second team. The average is done for 70% of the total season and 30% of the conference tournament. Coley averaged around 3.5-4 strokes per hole, placing him on second team.
