As was rumored, St. Joseph girls basketball star Michelle Gorman has been cleared to play and is expected to be in the starting lineup tomorrow when the top-seeded Cadets host Brien McMahon in the opening round of the FCIAC Tournament.
Gorman, the Cadets’ top scorer and team leader, was sidelined two weeks ago with mononucleosis that was supposed to cause her to miss the playoffs. She has been cleared by a doctor to play.
St. Joseph will still not be at 100 percent however. Its second-best player, Nancy Stablein, will miss the rest of the year after suffering a broken wrist last week.
A little experiment here: There have been a number of comments on some recent posts that have had nothing to do with the subject matter, but readers didn’t know where else to ask questions or express views.
So I thought I would set up a post here where you all can ask any questions or start a thread on various subject matters that are of interest to you.
I’m not trying to sway the discussion, but I have been exclusively covering mostly boys and some girls basketball all winter so those are the sports I can speak about with greater expertise.
But if you want to talk about something else, feel free. This is your blog post to be heard.
Kofi Agyapong of St. Luke’s was named on Thursday as the Gatorade Connecticut Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
The 5-foot-8, 135-pound senior forward and midfielder recorded 32 goals and 10 assists this past season, leading the Crusaders (14-3-1) to the New England Prep School Athletic Council Class C semifinals. An ESPN RISE First Team All- American selection and a two-time First Team All-Western New England Prep School Scholastic Association honoree, Agyapong led St. Luke’s to the Fairchester Athletic Association regular-season and tournament titles for the first time in the program’s history. He concluded his three-year high school career with 57 goals and 24 assists.
Agyapong had a 3.51 grade point average. A native of Ghana who moved to the United States when he was 14 years old, Agyapong has volunteered as a local camp counselor and has raised funds to benefit cancer research.
“Kofi Agyapong is not the tallest or strongest player, but he’s incredibly agile,” said John Chivaroli, Agyapong’s coach with the Beachside Soccer Club. “Over the first five yards, he’s very quick. As a result, he’s able to create separation. He pulls one-on-one moves very quickly and effortlessly and is able to wrong-foot defenders consistently.”
Agyapong has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on a scholarship at Wake Forest University this fall and graduated St. Luke’s early to begin attending spring semester collegiate classes.
Former Trinity Catholic star Da’Shena Stevens’ college career at St. John’s has been off to a great start. Last year, as a freshman, Stevens was named the Big East Freshman of the Year.
Last night was the high point for Stevens and St. John’s. Stevens scored 21 points to help lead the Red Storm, the No. 22 team in the country, to a 76-71 upset of No. 4 Notre Dame, the biggest win in the program’s history.
With St. John’s leading, 69-65, Stevens was fouled, made the first three throw, missed the second, got the rebound and was fouled again. Her two foul shots put the Red Storm ahead, 72-65.
Stevens is leading the 21-5 Red Storm in scoring (13.9 points) and rebounding (7.6).
Fairfield Warde's Michael Sullivan controls Danbury's John Smith on his way to winning the FCIAC 160-pound title. (Photo: Kathleen O'Rourke / Stamford Advocate)
Michael Sullivan of the Fairfield Warde wrestling team and sisters Cayleigh and Mackenzie Griffin of the Trinity Catholic girls basketball team are this week’s winners of the BlueStreak-Overtime FCIAC Player of the Week award.
Sullivan and the Griffins will receive plaques and T-shirts from BlueStreak.
Sullivan was a key factor in helping the Mustangs end Danbury’s 23-year run as the FCIAC champion. Competing at 160 pounds, Sullivan had three straight pins to reach the final, then defeated John Smith, the Hatters’ three-time defending champion, 11-9 in overtime, to win the title. Sullivan, a junior, is 34-3 this season.
The Griffin sisters played leading roles as Trinity won the city title with a win over Stamford and then defeated Wilton, as the Crusaders won for the 15th time in 16 games.
Cayleigh, a 5-foot-11 senior, had 11 points and five rebounds against Stamford and 18 points and 10 rebounds against Wilton. Mackenzie, a 6-foot sophomore, had 21 points and 12 rebounds against Stamford and 13 points and 10 rebounds against Wilton.
Nominations for next week’s award will be accepted starting at noon today and run until noon next Tuesday.
Darien's Sam Stevenson started and scored a goal in her first college game on Sunday, but her Richmond team lost to Maryland, 17-7.
Darien’s Sam Stevenson started and scored a goal in her college debut for the Richmond women’s lacrosse team last Sunday. Stevenson discusses her memories of a 17-7 loss to Maryland, the No. 2 team in the country, in her latest post on her blog, “Stickin’ With Sam.”
With the regular season winding down and the postseason underway in several sports, there is a strong pool of six candidates for this week’s BlueStreak-Overtime FCIAC Player of the Week award.
On the boys side, the contenders are Michael Sullivan of the Fairfield Warde wrestling team, Will Love of the Darien hockey team, and the Darien track team’s 4×200 meter relay team, which consists of Stockton McMullin, Brent Eppley, Peter McDonough and Kevin Keller.
On the girls side, the contenders are Shelby Barada of the New Canaan hockey team and sisters Cayleigh and Mackenzie Griffin of the Trinity Catholic basketball team.
The winner, who will be given a plaque and T-shirt from BlueStreak, will be announced tomorrow morning.
