4th Grade Future Warriors
Despite the cold weather outside, the 4th grade Future Warriors team came out hot, with a 38 - 6 victory over Weston.
A well balanced scoring attack by the Warriors team was lead by Will Byrnes with 8 points and Jake Padilla and Charlie Roy 6 each. Blake Ongley and Liam Joy distributed the ball well with several assists each, as well as 5 points for Ongley and 2 for Joy.
The scoring was sparked by the fast hand steals of Theo Satrazemis and Kieran Wiseman, with both players adding 4 points.
Under the basket the trio of Max Totten, Grant Stein and Joseph Aversano lead the way defensively with strong play. Stein contributed with 2 points, Totten with 1 and Aversano lead all players with 4 rebounds and several assists.
7th/8th Grade Boys
The Wilton 7th/8th grade boys team, sponsored by Carluzzi’s, lost a heartbreaker on Sunday to Easton who tied the game up with a three-pointer with 3 seconds to go in regulation play, and then another to seal the deal in O.T. Connor Robertson was a force to be reckoned with in the paint, pulling down 12 rebounds and dropping in 6 points. Dillon Mannix and Conor Lilis lead the team with great hustle and ball control as well as scoring 9 and 8 points, respectively. Sean Wiseman, Will Sullivan, and James Minich were a tenacious trio piling on key steals and rebounds throughout the game. AJ Preisano dumped in 3 buckets and a free throw for 7 points, and the ubiquitous Jefferson Mitchell and Tim Martin contributed 4 points each. Harrison Lent and Dylan Smith had great team play contributing assists, steals, and rebounds, and Colin Tsai was sorely missed. Wilton scored 38 combined points in their 43-38 loss.
7th Grade Boys
The 7th grade Warriors, sponsored by Wilton hardware, took on a pesky Greenwich Flame team Saturday. As soon as the ball was tipped Wilton took off and never looked back. The Warriors were led by Bailey Finn with 12 points and three boards, Nick Walden and Tommy Walsh each contributed 8 points. Ryan Preisano, Spencer Liston ( 4 assists), Alexander Reyes and Tommy Mckiernan (2 assists) each had 4 points while Jackson Duncan and Griffen Turner had a bucket each and played great defense adding up to a Warrior win 51-24.
Sunday’s game pitted the 7th grade Warriors against the Southport/Wakeman Boys Club. The Warriors again wasted no time jumping out to an early lead. Four players scored double digits. Nick Walden, Alexander Reyes and Bailey Finn had 12 points each and Tommy Walsh scored 10 points ( 2 assists). Tommy Mckiernan added 6 points ( 4 assists), Ryan Preisano 4 points ( 3 assists) and Jackson Duncan had 2 points (2 assists). A stout Wilton defense shut Southport/Wakeman down. Griffin Turner's 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots along with multiple steals from Roth, Liston and Mckiernan ended the weekend on a high note for the Wilton Warriors with a 61-24 victory.
8th Grade Girls
Wilton 8th grade girls’ team, sponsored by Pinocchio Pizza, played two tough games over the weekend. The first game was against a strong St. Mark Stratford team who started very well and built an early lead. The Wilton team responded with 2 quick baskets from Grace Williams, one of which followed an excellent assist from Katie Umphred. Stratford led 17-8 at half time. Wilton raised their game in the second half and closed the gap to 5 points after two 3 pointers from Ellie Coffey. However, in the end Stratford ran out 32-25 winners. The second game was against Norwalk who also proved to be a strong team and beat Wilton 39-23. The Wilton team pushed Norwalk hard throughout the game particularly our top scorers, Bella Andjelkovic (7 points) and Catherine Dineen (5 points). Olivia Rossi and Leah Martins consistently made good passes over half court against a tough Norwalk defense. Ellie Copley, Erynn Floyd, and Morgan Lebek all played strong defense with numerous blocks and steals. Once again, Wilton played a much stronger second half and played hard until the end.
5th Grade Girls
Wilton recorded an impressive 26-4 victory over Westport White this past Saturday. The outcome was never in doubt as Wilton jumped out to a quick lead and held their opponent scoreless until the 4th quarter. Mia Sommer got Wilton on the board first with a layup, followed by Abbey Byrnes draining a shot from the top of the key. Grace Costa added a couple baskets off fast breaks and Wilton closed out the 1st half with a 14-0 lead. Sophie Mulfinger, Julia Monrow, Kaitlyn Zizzadoro and Grace Ratcliffe added baskets in the second half to extend the lead. Abby Phelan controlled the boards with many rebounds, and Annalise Lamanna and Cosette Lepore provided tenacious defense in what was a terrific all-around effort for the Wilton team.
The following day, Wilton suffered a narrow and hard-fought loss to Westport Blue by the score of 21-25. At one point in the 1st half, Wilton trailed by 14 points, but then went on a 17-4 run to pull within 1 point. Cosette Lepore nailed a baseline jump shot for Wilton’s first points, followed by beautiful baskets from Kaitlyn Zizzadoro, Grace Costa, Julia Monrow and Annalise Lamanna. Mia Sommer led the scoring for Wilton in the 2nd half with 7 points, and Sophie Mulfinger, Abby Phelan, Abbey Byrnes and Grace Radcliffe added numerous assists and stellar defense to help spark the exciting comeback. Although Wilton was not victorious on this day, they showed their determination and resiliency by battling back to the brink of victory.
5th Grade Boys
The Wilton Warriors 5th Grade Boys team played two hard fought games this past weekend.
On Saturday, the Warriors lost to a very strong St. Theresa-Trumbull squad by a score of 45-32. Despite being down 38-22 after three quarters, Wilton went on a 9-1 run to cut the lead to 39-31. Offensively, the Warriors were led by a balanced attack.
Jack Schwartz (6 points, 5 Rebounds), Grady Kaliski (7 Points), Liam Murphy (5 points), Cael Dexter (4 points and 4 rebounds, Luke Ginsburg (4 points and 2 steals), Luke Perna (4 points), Liam McKiernan (2 points, 4 assists), Ryan Luchetta (2 points) and Cole Siegel who controlled the boards (4 rebounds).
On Sunday, the Warriors defeated Ridgefield by a score of 38-30. Liam McKiernan led with an all around effort (5 points, 5 steals, 3 assists), Grady Kaliski (10 points, 3 rebounds), Jack Schwartz (7 points, 6 rebounds), Luke Ginsburg (4 points, 2 steals), Luke Perna (4 points, 3 rebounds), and Matt Garcia (2 points).
Defensively, Wilton was led by the strong play of Ryan Luchetta (2 points, 3 steals), Cole Siegel (2 rebounds, blocked shot), Cael Dexter (2 points) and Liam Murphy (2 points, 2 rebounds).
7th Grade Girls
The Wilton 7th grade girls, sponsored by Wilton Hardware, went 1-1 this weekend, beating Darien 43-17, then dropping a close defensive battle to North Haven 24-26 in the final seconds.
Against Darien, Kendal Scholtz led the scoring with 10, followed by Ava Fasano with 9, Kelly Holmgren 8, Heather Plowright and Anna Joy each with 6, and Lucy Corry and Molly McLaughlin with 2.
A strong second half saw 29 of the 43 points.
Sunday against North Haven saw Hannah Fitzgerald lead the charge with 7 points, Followed by Scholtz with 6 and Plowright with 4.
Mary Scally scored 3, in addition to 5 rebounds and a block while Charlotte Casiraghi played tenacious defense pulling in multiple rebounds and forcing jump balls to keep the score close.
6th Grade Boys
While many spent the past weekend keeping warm indoors, the Wilton 6th Grade Boys played their hearts out in three games, one local and two on the road.
Saturday’s match against New Rochelle at Middlebrook tested the Wilton boys’ persistence, as New Rochelle charged hard at the start and never let up, ultimately winning 39-18. After a tough first quarter, Wilton gained some momentum and fought back, with points scored by Kyle Roesser (6), Todd Woodring (4), Anderson Campbell (4), Henry Roy (2) and Jack Minnich (2).
The first of Sunday’s two games was at Fairfield Country Day School against Fairfield Fierce.
Wilton had consistent scoring throughout the game, but could not gain the upper hand against Fairfield. Roesser (6 points, 4 boards), Woodring (6 points, 5 boards), Luke Umphred (4 points, 2 boards), Campbell (2 points, 4 boards), Levi Kaplan (2 points, 1 board) and Peter Reyes (2 points) all contributed to Wilton’s scoring. Defensively, Wilton worked hard to keep Fairfield on its toes, with many steals and blocks by Roy, Campbell, Kaplan and Roesser, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to halt Fairfield’s march, falling 32-22.
The closest of the three matches was played Sunday evening against the Madison Tigers. Wilton and the Tigers were competitively matched, and after their first two losses this weekend, Wilton was fired up to keep the pressure on, as was demonstrated by the tied halftime score of 16-16. Max Jarvie clearly ate his Wheaties before this final game, scoring an impressive 12 points (plus 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 boards) which kept it a close-scoring game throughout. Wyatt Jones facilitated scoring opportunities for his teammates, with two assists and two steals. Roesser and Roy each earned 2 points with free throws, and additional points were racked up by Campbell (2), Minnich (4), Reyes (2), Roesser (6) and Roy (2). Despite Wilton’s strong defense and determination, Madison came out on top with a final score 38-32.
6th Grade Girls
It was a bitter cold day this past Sunday when the 6G Wilton Hoops, sponsored by Servco Oil, took the court against Danbury, but things heated up quickly! In the first half Wilton held off Danbury with spectacular defense by Julie Colias, Caroline Hage, and Marin Burke. Wilton was able to keep the ball moving with team effort and skilled passing, steals by Riley Fitzgerald and Lauren Moe led to Ashleigh Masterson and Anisa Burrows to put 8 points on the board.
In the second half Wilton stayed steadfast on the ball. Wilton came together as a team on defense holding back Danbury though close; and with defense by Ella Mulfinger and steals by Molly Hancock, and a foul shot by Maddie Dineen to bring the win to Wilton 28-24.
5th/6th Grade Boys
Wilton Warrior 5th/6th sponsored by Servco Oil take two wins this weekend over Weston and Westport.
On the opening tip, Jack Williams hit Patrick Heffernan who scored with an easy layup. Weston immediately set up the full court press but Luke DiRocco managed to steer his way thru the pressure to set up the Warrior offense. Heffernan led the Warriors scoring effort in first half with 6 of the 9 points and first quarter ended 9-4. Warrior ran a 1-2-2 defense led by some intense defense from Justin Kammerman and Mason Andrews to counter the Weston press. Heffernan again opened up the half with a layup, was fouled on the play but couldn't convert the and 1. Cole Galante nailed a 3 pointer but it was subsequently changed to a 2. Galante made up for the call by scoring an easy layup the next time down to up the Warrior lead 15-3. Stephano Cross lead the break down court on the ensuing plan and made a beauty of pass to Brody Hess who was going to go in uncontested but was fouled by the Weston forward. Hess converted on one of the two foul shots. On the following defensive stand Jack Williams cut off a Weston pass and sent a lead pass down court to Luke DiRocco for an easy layup. Warrior lead was now 18-3 with 4:30 left when the game turned scrappy with both teams assessed 5 fouls. Williams followed up his defensive display stealing the ball and setting up Luke for a 3 pointer that hit the middle of the basket but rimmed out. With a few minutes left Henry Soojin threw a pass down court to a breaking Hess who pulled up and nailed the jumper at the foul line. Wilton was called for illegal defense while pressing up more than 15 points and Weston #31 got hot hitting a long range jumper to bring the score to 20-5. The Warriors grew concerned when #31 made another bomb to bring the score to 20-8, but Jack Williams put on a rebounding, shot blocking and outlet passing display and the half ended 20-8. Wilton opened the third quarter with a pass from Justin Kammerman pass to Declan Brokaw who hit a turnaround jumper from just outside the key. Declan grabbed the next rebound in the defensive end and passed to Jason who lead the break out but the offense couldn’t convert due to a series of turnovers. With the score at 22-11, Jack Williams had a monster block and led Tucker Farrell on the break. Farrell drew the foul but missed both at the line but a hustling Will Fisher put the rebound up for a wide open jumper. On the next trip down Patrick grabbed an errant pass, broker down court, was fouled and converted both foul shots to make it 26-11 with 140 left. Patrick remained hot with a tremendous ball fake in the corner, and an easy put in to end the quarter 28-11. To start the fourth, Heffernan received a break out pass from DiRocco for easy 2 points. Fisher rewarded DiRocco with an easy layup the next time down and 32-13 with 5 min left. Farrell passed to Galante on the break for an easy 2 with 345 left. Williams walled off two Weston forward with a screen and Galante was able bury an uncontested baseline jumper to make it 36-16 with a 130 remaining in the game. Cole got a hot hand and hit the next jumper making it 38-16 and a win for the Warriors.
In the second game, the first half was a defensive battle led by gritty play from Luke DiRocco, Cole Galante, Jack Williams, and Patrick Heffernan. We ran a 2-3 defense with Henry Soojin, Mason Andrews and Justin Kammerman. At the half the Warriors lead was 18-14 despite having a height disadvantage, they battled defensively with scrappy play from there guards, Will Fisher, Brody Hess and Tucker Farrell. Hess made a look away pass to Stephano Cross who fired a shot while being fouled. He couldn't convert either of the two shots, but grabbed a rebound on the ensuing defensive stand. Westport was running and effective 2-3 zone trap, until the Warriors unleashed their well-rehearsed baseline passing game, that yielded many open shots but they Warriors couldn't get anything to fall. Wilton coaches decided to run a press of their own and Declan Brokaw made a steal and hit a breaking Tucker Farrell who converted on a fast break layup, Wilton 20-14. With 5 seconds in the fourth Brody Hess buried top of the key jumper to seal the victory 22-14.
5th/6th Grade Girls
On Saturday Wilton traveled to New Canaan and faced a tough opponent who got out to an early lead against the lady warriors. Wilton came back to win 18-10, however.
Wilton's offense quickly responded led by Dobson (4 points) with two clutch free throws, Kelly (4 points) and Sullivan (5 points) off the bench. Casey, Doyle and Tomasulo had key passes and multiple assists on offense. In the fourth quarter New Canaan tried to mount a comeback but O'Connor hit a great jump shot and Luce made a great lay up in transaction to add two points each with Phelan adding another point with a free throw. Wilton's great defensive plays included two steals by Stengrim and Guglielmo each kept the lead secure down the stretch.
In the second game, a 24-18 win over Redding-Easton, Wilton got out to an early lead through the efforts in the paint by Kelly (5 points), Sullivan (4 points) and Tomasulo (2 points), and great passing and jump shots by Dobson (5 points), Casey (4 points) and Doyle (4 points). Phelan added to the scoring (1 point) along with making key contributions to the offense (2 steals/ 5 assists). However, Redding/Easton came storming back right before the half to make in 12-11 Wilton. In the second half, Wilton's solid defense led by O'Connor (2 steals) and Stengrim (2 steals/ 1 assist) kept the Redding/Easton team in check while key offensive rebounding and assists by Luce (4 rebounds/ 2 assists) and Guglielmo (3 rebounds/ 1 assist) allowed the Wilton's offense to back take control and pull away outscoring their opponent 6-4 in the final quarter.