While they never really took a break, the winter sports teams returned to action and started the new year on the right foot with a big hockey win over Fairfield Prep and the basketball team staying undefeated with a win over the Jesuits s well.
Hockey — John-Michael Childs sent the Green Knights home happy with an overtime goal in their 3-2 win over Fairfield Prep on Saturday. John D’Errico and Charlie Andriole also scored for the Green Knights, who had to rally after the Jesuits scored with just over one minute left in the third period to tie the game. D’Errico’s goal came on a penalty shot after he was hooked from behind on a breakaway. Connor Smith made 32 saves in net for Notre Dame..
Basketball — Coach Jason Shea’s squad is off to a 6-0 start, including a pair of wins in the Winter Snow Jam Christmas Tournament co-hosted by the city schools. Connor Raines recorded his 1,000th point in the semifinal win over West Haven, then took home MVP honors with a 28-point outing in championship game win over Stamford. Notre Dame remained unbeaten with a 71-51 win over Fairfield Prep in a game that saw Zach Laput lead the way with a 20-point, eight-rebound performance.
Indoor Track — Max Bothwell captured the sophomore pole vault with a leap of 10-feet as the Green Knights took part in the two-day prestigious Hispanic Games at the NY Armory on Jan. 4-5. Carlos Aurora placed second in the 55-meter dash in the unseeded division, crossing the finish line in 6.81 seconds. West Haven native Jason Sawicki took home a top 10 finish with leap of 6-feet in the high jump to place 9th overall. Warren Murphy the 400-meter dash in 52.36 to finish 17th overall.
Wrestling — Porter Schexnayder recorded three pins as part of his undefeated day as the wrestling team took part in the East Haven duals against some very tough competition. Notre Dame wrestled against four teams, emerging with one win over St. Bernard/Norwich Tech coop team. The Green Knights fell to traditional wrestling powers Newtown, Foran, and Platt to finish the day 1-3. Christian Fillion and Luis Stephenson also had undefeated days, winning three and two matches respectively.
Swimming — The Notre Dame swim team was back in the pool after a 15-day lay-off for the holidays. They got back into the swing of things with a back and forth affair with the combo team of Foran/Law in a meet that came down to the last event. Notre Dame needed a first and third place finish in the final event – the 400 freestyle relay – to squeak out a close victory. While the Green Knights finished first, Foran/Law took home second and third place to win a close 86-84 SCC win on Friday. The loss dropped Notre dame to 2-1 on the young season. Bill Hinckley led the Green Knights with three first-place finishes. He won the 50 freestyle in 24.22 then followed that up with a win in the 100 freestyle (55.27). He was also part of the opening meet win by the 200 freestyle relay that touched the wall first in a time of 1:50.76.
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