Mustang Monthly
IHS Runs in Memory of Sandy Hook Loved Ones
On Saturday, December 14 the boys and girls cross country and track teams ran in honor of the 26 victims on the 7th anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy, with team members running one mile for each of the students and staff lost until they finished 26 miles. This is an annual tradition, and always starts with a prayer circle. This year alumni and parents joined the teams and ran together.
ATI Football Finishes Its Season 9-2
The 2019 Fall athletics season saw all Immaculate teams make it into their championship playoff tournaments (see the November Mustang Monthly for a full recap). ATI Football was the last team to compete. Going into the Class “M” playoffs ranked #5, the team was excited to play in their first State tournament since 2015. They lost to Weston in the quarterfinals, who ended up winning the Class M championship title.
As quoted in the GameTimeCT article (click here), ATI United coach Rich Holmes said: “I’m proud of these kids. I love that we set a goal in the preseason (qualify for the States) and they achieved that goal. It’s an emotional end for me. Forty years of coaching is a long time.This year was about making the State playoffs. My hat’s off to all the CTC teams that got there. Weston was very good tonight. But I love my guys. They gave me everything they had.” Mr. Holmes is retiring as coach to focus on being a grandfather. Immaculate High School is grateful to Coach Holmes for his dedication to the program over the years and we wish him the best in his retirement.
Winter Athletic Competition Begins
After a tremendous showing by our Fall sports programs, our Winter teams look to continue this success as both familiar and new faces lead the Mustangs this season! Go to immaculatehs.org/athletics for a full schedule.
On the ice, Immaculate Ice Hockey moves forward with its own Division I hockey program. The boys took to the ice for the first time with new head coach Brian Lugo on December 2 and are excited about starting a new chapter in Immaculate athletics history. The first home game will be Wednesday, December 18 at 5:30pm against Notre Dame-West Haven at Danbury Ice Arena. Best of luck to Coach Lugo and the boys for a successful start to their season.
Girls Basketball has a new head coach, Tom Sparks. Coach Sparks was a former assistant coach with the Notre Dame-Fairfield boys basketball team and captured a State championship with them. Now instead of competing against the Mustangs, he is a Mustang, and looks to reinforce a winning culture for the girls basketball program. The girls kick their season off at home on Wednesday, December 18 at 7pm vs. Westhill.
Boys Basketball will have new faces leading the charge on the court. The Mustangs only returning starters are power forward Joey Rios ‘20 and center Sean Guiry ‘20, which introduces a brand new front court for the Mustangs. The boys' first test will be a showdown to rule the city as they start their season with the 2019 Boys Basketball Tip-Off Classic at Danbury High School. They will play Danbury in the first round at 8pm on Thursday, December 19, with the championship round being held on Saturday, December 21.
Coach Brian Hayes also looks to have another successful Indoor Track season. On the boys side, senior James Sullivan has committed to run Cross Country and Track & Field at St. Bonaventure University, while senior Ryan McNerney recently committed to run at Middlebury College. The girls will also have a strong showing as Ailene Doherty ‘21, Kayla Ondy ‘22 and Keelin Bremner ‘23 start the season coming off their All-State performances in cross country. Ailene and Molly Coyle ‘20 were named All-American runners last year. The girls also return three members of the New England Championship 4x800 team in Molly Coyle, Kayla Ondy and Ailene Doherty. Molly Coyle has committed to run at the College of William and Mary.
Winter Team Captains Help Lead the Season
Winter sport student-athletes are practicing hard to achieve personal and team goals this season. We wish them all a successful season! Leading the Winter sports teams are senior Captains:
Ice Hockey: Alex Butera, Joe Robinson and Finn Sawitsky
Boys Indoor Track: Drew Mitchell, James Sullivan and Ross Relator
Girls Indoor Track: Molly Coyle and Brigid Gage
Girls Basketball: Olivia Kent, Mackenzie O’Rourke and Sophia Mingachos
Boys Basketball: Diego Echavarria, Sean Guiry and Joey Rios
Cheer: Isabella Font and Michelle DeMotte
Ailene Doherty Named All-State for Cross Country
Congratulations to junior Ailene Doherty for being named to the GameTimeCT All-State Cross Country Girls Second Team! Ailene helped the IHS girls XC team take second place in the Class “SS” State Championship race, coming in second place herself at the meet. Ailene also finished 16th in the State Open Championship Meet and qualified for the New England Championship Meet, where she set a personal best record.
Kevin Curry Will Play College Lacrosse
Senior Kevin Curry, who played lacrosse all four years for Immaculate, will play lacrosse for Savannah College of Art and Design. He will major in Graphic Design. Kevin will continue to play in the face-off position as he did in high school.
“While playing for Immaculate, I have learned that being a stand-out athlete doesn’t make your team the best. The band of brothers that you have surrounding you will bring you where you want to go, you just need to have that common goal. At Immaculate our goal is the best,” Kevin said. Kevin was also goalie on the soccer team junior year and played wide receiver and cornerback positions for the ATI football team freshman and senior years.
Immaculate Gets New Buses
If you look in the back parking lot, you will see something new and exciting. Immaculate has leased two transport vehicles for field trips, athletics and community service. The decision was made to lease the vehicles in order to reduce the cost of our transportation budget for school activities. We are excited to have these transport vehicles for our students. These two new 14-seat buses, with our name painted proudly and boldly on the sides, clearly announces that Immaculate students are on their way! Not only will the buses save money, they will undoubtedly add to Mustang Pride when they drive up to events at other schools and locations.
Attention Mustang Athletics Fans! Watch Our Teams Play On Your Own Device!
Attention Mustang athletics fans! Never miss the Mustangs in action by subscribing to our NFHS Network page to watch IHS boys and girls basketball and boys and girls lacrosse for the 2019-2020 school year! Viewers can tune in from their computer, tablet or phone for live coverage of the Mustangs! To subscribe to an NFHS account to watch Immaculate compete, please follow this link: https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/schools/immaculate-high-school-danbury-ct. Once you've reached our Immaculate NFHS Page, click "subscribe" in the top right corner and Mustang Athletics will be right at your fingertips!