By Ron Coderre
Putnam Science Academy has added a second big man to its front court with the recent announcement by coach Tom Espinosa that Pennsylvania product Brendan Wagner will become a Mustang for the upcoming season.
Wagner is a rugged 6-foot, 8-inch player who is a force at both ends of the court. As a junior he played for Souderton High School where he averaged 12 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest while turning in 2.6 blocks a game. Souderton finished 16-9 and Wagner as chosen Lehigh Valley all-conference.
As a senior Wagner played for coach Dennis Csensits at Allentown Central Catholic High School. He was a main cog in the success of the Vikings who finished the season with a near perfect 29-1 record. He averaged nine points, seven rebounds and 2.2 blocks per contest.
“Brendan Wagner is a kid who still has plenty of room for growth as a player. He a tough rebounder and defends the inside very well. On offense he can shoot the 15-footer very accurately. He’ll be a great complement to our other big men and gives us much needed depth in the front court,” said Espinosa.
Wagner is the sixth recruit who’s been signed by PSA. He joins guards Kaelan Ives and Tim Quashi, 6-5 twin brothers Andrew and Aaron Robinson, and big man Vincent Eze. The Mustangs are also returning 6-8 Mamadou Dhiarra from last year’s 29-5 team that was ranked 5th in the country in the final prep poll
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Long Signs
Eric Long, center, signs his letter with, left to right: Head of School Joe Hanrahan, Varsity Basketball Coach Andrew Vitale, Shana Solomon ’13 and Rocio Solomon. Courtesy photo.
Ahearn Signs
Bobby Ahearn, center, with, left to right: Head of School Joe Hanrahan, father Robert Ahearn, mother Theresa Ahearn, and Varsity Basketball Coach Andrew Vitale. Courtesy photo.
By Ron P. Coderre
The Marianapolis Prep School basketball program, one of the region’s best for years, is noted for developing college basketball talent. In recent years the Golden Knights have sent a number of players to the collegiate ranks under former coach David Vitale and his successor and current coach Andrew Vitale.
Word from Marianapolis earlier this month is that two members of the 2013-2014 team, which posted a 12-13 record, are headed to the college ranks. Bobby Ahearn and Eric Long officially signed their letters of intent May 9.
Ahearn who hails from Marshfield, Mass.,is headed to NCAA Division I Binghampton University in New York. He was a front court stalwart for the Golden Knights last season, averaging eight points and seven rebounds over the rugged 25-game schedule. Ahearn was the team leader in field goal percentage, steals and blocked shots.
Long, who is from the Bronx, New York, was the leading scorer for the Golden Knights as a double digit scorer from his forward slot, averaging 10.2 points per contest. He also chipped in 5.4 rebounds per game. Long will be attending Philadelphia University in Pennsylvania, which is an NCAA Division II school.
Champions
Students of Quest Martial Arts of Putnam attended the Connecticut Tang Soo Do Championships and took home prizes. Abby Card -2nd in weapons and 3rd in sparring; Matthew Xard placed 1st in weapons; Coby Babbitt - 3rd sparring; Mike McKeon- 2nd forms; Scott Selmicki - 2nd weapons, 3rd sparring; Derek Pomes- Grand champion weapons, first weapons, 2nd in Chil Sung Hyung; David May- Grand Champion weapons, 1st weapons, 2nd sparring, 1st forms. Left to right: Grandmaster Mike Bogdanski, David May, Derek Pomes, Master Kristin Duethorn. Courtesy photo.
By Ron P. Coderre
Killingly enjoyed another spotless week by picking up wins in two matches despite the fact that its top two golfers were unavailable for one of the matches. The Redmen are 15-0-0 and stand atop the Eastern Connecticut Conference Medium Division.
Tourtellotte despite a loss to rival Woodstock Academy raised its record to 15-2-0 and a perfect 10-0-0 to claim the ECC Small Division title. The Tigers picked up three shutout victories following the close loss to the Centaurs.
Putnam continues to play with only two golfers, Spencer Salvas and Nate Tozzi, however the Clippers must forfeit any team competition. Ellis Tech picked up three victories in the Constitution State Conference raising its record to 11-4-0. Woodstock Academy finally seems to warming up to the task of winning, as the Centaurs went 3-1 in their matches last week.
The Woodstock Academy girls are in a tight race with Norwich Free Academy for the top spot in the ECC. Last week they had one victory and tied its other match.
Tigers Clinch ECC Small Division
Tourtellotte and Woodstock Academy engaged in one of the most competitive matches of the season at Quinnatisset Country Club with the Centaurs emerging with a narrow 4-3 win. Tourtellotte’s ace Mike Jezierski finished as the medalist edging the Academy’s Jack Neill 37-39 but it wasn’t enough as the Centaurs captured team medal honors 171-176 to pick up the win. Brandon Bonnette and Andrew Coderre also won their matches for the Tigers.
The remainder of the week was 7-0 in favor of Tourtellotte as they handily beat Windham, Wheeler and Montville by identical scores. Jezierski was the medalist in all three matches, although he shared the honor with his teammate Bonnette against Montville as both shot a three over par 39 at Raceway Golf Club in Thompson.
Woodstock picked up a 6-1 win over Putnam and a 7-0 white washing of Fitch. The Centaurs were felled by Ledyard 6-1. In the Putnam match, the Clippers Salvas was medalist with a 35 at Quinny. Neill was medalist with a 39 in the win over Fitch. The only other time the Clippers were on the links, they forfeited their match at Norwich Golf Club to Norwich Tech despite the fact that Salvas was once again the medalist with a 39.
Killingly led by Drew Aitken’s 36 beat Waterford 6-1. In its other match Killingly bested Griswold 6-1 as the Aitken twins John and Drew were absent from the match. Connor Fillmore rose to the occasion. Playing out of the #1 slot, he shot a 39 at Connecticut National Golf Club to garner medalist honors. Connor Liebscher, Nick Davis and Cole Ricci were also victorious for the 15-0-0 Redmen.
Ellis Tech beat Windham 187-200, Grasso Tech 187-223 and Classical Magnet 188-212 to raise its record to 11-4-0. Matt Snay was the Eagles top golfer in all three matches. Plainfield picked up a victory over New London 5-2 but lost to Bacon Academy 7-0 and Stonington 7-0. The Panthers are 3-13-0 and 2-9-0 in the ECC Medium Division.
Centaur Ladies Beat Bacon & Tie Weston
The Woodstock Academy women’s golf team raised its record to 7-5-1 with a win and a tie last week. The Lady Centaurs handily topped Bacon Academy 215-278 as Roxanne Garceau was the Woodstock low scorer with a 48. Elaina Becher, Alice Meng and Eva Yu also picked up wins for Woodstock. In its only other match the team tied with Weston at 212 apiece.
RPC’s Super Standings: Killingly 15-0-0; Tourtellotte 15-2-0; Putnam 13-7-0; Ellis Tech 11-4-0; Woodstock Academy 7-12-0; Pomfret School 6-5-0; Plainfield 3-13-0; Marianapolis 2-10-0. Girls: Woodstock Academy 7-5-1.