Mustang Monthly
Boys Basketball: The Mustangs had a tremendous season (21-5), almost making it to the D1 CIAC Championship title. The team, ranked #7 seed in the D1 tournament, first defeated #10 seed Ridgefield in the second round of States on March 6 with a thrilling overtime win of 71-67 (click here for article). Then on March 11 they toppled #2 seed Notre Dame - West Haven 53-46 in the quarterfinals and headed onto the semifinals. (Click here for an article that shares the exciting play details.) However, the team was stopped in their title journey by #6 seed Windsor on March 13 in a 71-62 loss for the Mustangs (click here for an article). The boys basketball team played phenomenally all season, especially as a D1 team, and should be proud of their accomplishments, as all of the Immaculate family is! The team was lead all year by seniors Mikey Basile and Jack Woods, along with juniors Quinn Guth and Sean Guiry. Congratulations to Coach Mingachos and the boys for a fantastic season!
The boys basketball team ranked #7 in the Final 2018-29 GameTimeCT Top 10 Boys basketball Poll! Click here for the article/list.
Three members of the boys basketball team were named to the SWC All Conference First Team: seniors Jack Woods and Mikey Basile and junior Quinn Guth. Junior Sean Guiry was received All Patriot League honors. Mikey Basile was also named First Team-All State.
Senior Mikey Basile was chosen to bring his basketball skills to the Connecticut High School Coaches’s Association's 43rd Annual CHSCA Senior All-Star double-header game on Tuesday, March 19 at the Morgan School in Clinton.
What better way to feel Mustang Spirit than by watching the IHS Cheerleaders! The squad cheered at every boys basketball game, encouraging them to play their best and helping to keep the energy going!
Four girls basketball players received SWC honors: Kristen Cirone '19 and Mackenzie O'Rourke '20 were named to the All-Patriot Team while Olivia Kent '20 and Ashley Nicoletti '22 received Honorable Mentions.
Immaculate had four All State athletes from indoor track: Molly Coyle ‘20, Kayla Ondy ‘22, Taylor Mascetta ‘19 and Ailene Doherty ‘21. These girls are members of the fastest 4x800 relay team in SWC history in indoor track. Taylor also earned All State as the Class S champion in the 1600m. They went on to win the event at the State Open and the New England Championships in two amazingly close races. They are the first ever Immaculate girls runners to win a the New England Championship! As IHS Athletic Hall of Fame member for track, Joe Mohn '02, said, “The girls showed confidence, guts and a commitment to each other that should be inspiring to other IHS track athletes for many years to come.”
IHS golfer Jack Woods ‘19 was named “Top CIAC Golfers to Watch in 2019” by GameTimeCT. He and his teammates won the SWC title last season.
IHS Coaches Horosky and Ariniello Named Field Hockey Coaches of the Year
Field Hockey coaches Shannon Horosky and Matthew Ariniello were named Coaches of the Year for Field Hockey by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association. They were chosen for their “accomplishments in the sport and with the IHS program.”
The coaches are no strangers to honors...they were voted Coaches of the Year by the Field Hockey Coaches Association twice (2012, 2015). This time they will be honored with Coaches of the Year from other sports at a special banquet at the Aqua Turf Club on May 9.
“I feel that this award really belongs to the team, not to Matt and I. The CHSCA is recognizing the years of hard work and dedication from the players in our program,” said Coach Shannon Horosky “When I came to Immaculate, the team had not had more than four wins a season in the previous four years. We have turned the program around and have been contenders in both the SWC and the State Tournaments for the past nine years. This senior class has been a part of so many firsts: our first undefeated regular season their freshmen year, our first SWC Championship last year, our first 20-win season this year, and of course our first State Championship,” she noted.
The field hockey team finished an amazing Fall 2018 season by winning the Class S State Championship, the first time field hockey won the State title in school history. They defeated #1 seed Granby Memorial in a 3-0 shutout in the final game after entering the Class S Tournament as the #3 seed and finishing first in the SWC Patriot Division. After a tough loss to Pomperaug in the SWC Championship, the girls avenged their loss by capturing the State title. The team was lead by their All State award winners Madison Halas ‘19, Lauren Oskam ‘20, Kristen Cirone ‘19 and Celia Preveza ‘21. Celia, Madison and Lauren also were awarded All-SWC honors as well. The field hockey team also had four All-Patriot Division award winners in Kristine Cirone, Molly Coyle ‘20, Mackenzy Garden ‘19 and Stephanie Faria ‘19.
“I am humbled and honored to receive this award from the CT High School Coaches Association and our colleagues. It has been amazing to see the support of not only our families and the Immaculate community, but also our extended family of countless IHS field hockey alumni whose connection to the program they grew up in remains strong and their support unwavering,” said Coach Matthew Ariniello. “The transformation of this program has been amazing and it continues to thrive. Reaching the State championship and battling off teams that have had a stronghold in our class and large youth programs that support them was just amazing,” he said.
Coach Ariniello believes that the program has been successful for the past decade due to many factors, including supportive families, community and administrators; player buy-in to the system and “a plethora of mentors consisting of long-time high school and college coaches who have supported our program.”
“I have been so blessed to have worked with individuals who have not only succeeded in sport but also in life; our objective is to not only grow these kids as student-athletes but as contributing members of society. Coaching at Immaculate has been an amazing experience and I look forward to continued success,” said Coach Ariniello.
Coach Horosky feels the same way: “It has been an incredibly rewarding nine years working with all of the student-athletes that have come through our program,” Coach Horosky said. “I always tell the student-athletes when they come in that I am not their friend, I am their coach. At our banquet this year, I said that the seniors still weren't my friends; they had become my family. That is what this program is; one big, mushy family!” she said.
IHS WINS CIAC BATTLE OF THE FANS VIDEO COMPETITION!
Congratulations to the IHS Video and Animation Club for winning the CIAC Battle of the Fans contest! The club submitted an original video featuring Mustang spirit with the cheering of the Immaculate Stable and other fans front and center. BOTF is a competition between schools’ student fan sections in Connecticut sponsored by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC). Each school must demonstrate the best mix of creativity, school spirit and sportsmanship. The Video and Animation Club, advised by IHS’ Digital Media Director Austin Alterio and led by students Brian Douglas ‘20, Lauren Oskam '20, Brianna McLin '21, Kieran Doolabh '20, Ethan Beaulac '21, Matthew Christe '19, Madison Halas '19 and David Talarico '19, worked on this video for several months, and CIAC staff visited IHS and met with student-leaders and administrators to help them determine the winning school/video. Last year Immaculate was runner-up in the contest. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.