Saturday, June 23, 2012
A hole-in-one on a special day for one Torrington dad
Friday, June 22, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Northwestern track star Dan Santalla adds All-American to his list of accolades
Here's some of what Santalla had to say about his efforts:
- "To be an All-American, I basically feel like I'm on top of the world."
- "It's amazing. It's not something you can put into words."
- "This is when you think about all those days you complained about workouts or said you didn't want to do them because you were tired."
- Santalla made that remark, then added all the hard work paid off.
- Santalla thanked his head coach Andy Campbell, who has been instrumental in his success.
- "My coach has been amazing."
- Santalla also had this to say about his performance.
- "It was an amazing feeling. You really find out what you're made of when you compete at that level."
Look for more on Santalla and Tuxbury on Saturday evening.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Torrington Sports Palace picks up first win of Connie Mack season over Winsted
KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen |
Both teams took part in Flag Day festivities before the game. Here's video from the Flag Day event. Look for more on the Flag Day festivities in another blog post here on Friday evening.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Full story on Janet Giampaolo's resignation
Also here are my blog posts with more comments and observations from both Giampaolo and Creedon.
Giampaolo talks about her time as Torrington High School Athletic Director
- "I just had no other time in my life for anything else."
- "I really enjoyed it. It'll be nice to have some time home."
- "I think it was something that I always wanted to do."
- Giampaolo said that the opportunity arose and the conditions were right for her to take the job, so she did.
- Giampaolo said that she would spend a whole day as a coach trying to get the paperwork in order for her teams.
- "That was one of the things that I was really trying to make a whole lot easier."
- Giampaolo tried to meet once a month with team captains to talk about their teams and their responsibilities.
- "It's not just about wins and losses."
- "It's not a defined job. There's just so many facets to it."
- "There's no rule book for being an athletic director."
- FORMER TORRINGTON A.D. NEWELL PORCH
- "I had a great working relationship with Newell. I had no problems calling Newell."
- Giampaolo said that Porch gave her advice early on with regard to the job.
- FORMER WOLCOTT A.D. JOE MONROE
- Giampaolo said that Monroe called one day "out of the blue" to check up on her and see how she was doing.
- "Those were the kinds of things that make the job fun, because people do care."
- "Janet will be surely missed. Her attention to detail, her work ethic and professionalism will be missed. She was always willing to take on NVL projects. I wish her nothing but the best!"
Torrington High School Principal Joanne Creedon talks about Giampaolo resignation
- "She gets all aspects of the job and how important the communication is, and following procedures, rules and regs, making sure everything is clear. I think she tries to instill the qualities of leadership among all of the student-athletes, and good sportsmanship and how important that is. She’s going to be very difficult to replace."
- "I think her ability to see the whole picture, and to communicate effectively. I think her vision of sportsmanship and the development of the young student-athlete, that’s it about how you become a better person. How do sports help you become a better individual, a better contributor to society?"
- "It begins with the posting, and we’ll see what applicants come forward, and then there’s an interview process, and then the interview committee will then make a recommendation to Human Resources. That goes to make a recommendation to the Superintendent."
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
More on Conor Bierfeldt, Titans
Register Citizen file art |
- Torrington manager Misha Dworken decided to give his team a day of work rather than a second straight day off.
- The Titans have been happy to have the chance to use Valley Sports as a place to work out. They got in three full days of work before the first full practice at Fuessenich Park on June 6.
- Bierfeldt had this to say about the use of Valley Sports:
- The players got plenty of work in during practice at Valley Sports, but they also took advantage of the basketball courts within the facility while they were waiting to hit or were done hitting. Some have been known to toss a football around as well.
Double rainout for Titans tonight; feature on Conor Bierfeldt
KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen |
I am trying to confirm what date the rescheduled games will be played on, and I will update that as soon as I know.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Torrington football has productive spring practice session
KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen |
The White team won for the second straight year, 30-18. Torrington has a small team (30 players), but there is plenty of talent. You can see that talent on display in my video. You can also catch up on what happened during the game on my live blog.
Torrington gets back to work on Monday, July 2, with running and weight-training. The regular season kicks off on Friday, Sept. 14, when the Red Raiders host Ansonia at 7 p.m. Here's the rest of Torrington's schedule.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Torrington football Red-White Scrimmage
Torrington went 7-3 last year with losses to Ansonia, Holy Cross and Watertown. All-world running back Brenden Lytton is gone, so the Red Raiders will be looking to Joan Toribio to help fill that void. Torrington opens the season with Ansonia on Friday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Frost Complex. Here is the rest of Torrington's 2012 football schedule.
Torrington Titans win season opener
- The attendance of 602 at Fuessenich Park was a good number for a Thursday night with school not completely out yet. The crowd was into the game, especially on Bierfeldt's two-run homer, as was pointed out by Titan manager Misha Dworkin.
- The music selection was a good one at the game. Quips from Austin Powers got some of the louder laughs from the crowd.
- Titan starting pitcher Alec Palioca was solid, giving up just one hit in six scoreless innings. Palioca was a big reason why Wheaton College made it all the way to the Division III College World Series' championship game.
- Torrington reliever Raphael Martinez struggled in the eighth, giving up three runs on no hits, three walks and a hit batter. The Titans also made two errors in the inning. Dworkin said he is not worried about Martinez's struggles and called the right-hander's arm "electric."
- The Titans showed aggression on the basepaths. Torrington stole a pair of bases and a runner scored from first on Plourde's two-run double in the first inning because he was running on the pitch.
- Torrington travels to North Shore tonight at 7 for a game against the Navigators, who played in the New England Collegiate Baseball League before joining the Futures Collegiate Baseball League this year.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Torrington Titans open 2012 season tonight
KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen |
All Things Torrington Titans
KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen |
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Torrington Titans Media Day this afternoon
Torrington has a new general manager, new field manager, and some new players, including faces that will be easily recognizable to baseball fans from the Northwest Corner and the Farmington Valley. There are also five new teams in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, bringing the total to nine.
You can learn more about the Titans by following my live blog today beginning at 4:15 from Fuessenich Park. The Torrington Titans are hosting a Media Day, which begins at 4:30.
If you can't get to a computer, you can follow me on Twitter @kroberts023 and get updates. Look for more on Torrington Titans Media Day later tonight at www.registercitizen.com/sports.
Stories from the CIAC Girls Golf Championships
KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Farmington Valley Sports |
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Former Torrington football players trying to help program get to next level
Torrington went 5-6 in head coach Dan Dunaj's first season in 2008, then went 5-5 in 2009. In the last two years, the Raiders have posted 7-3 records. DeBerry talked about Dunaj having a five-year plan to win a state title.
"We were set back the first two years a little bit," DeBerry said of 2008 and 2009. "He wanted us to do a little better, my senior year and junior year, but it looks like we're coming along. Definitely."
"We're just trying to get them to that 10-0," Lewis said.
The work continues through next week, then culminates with the spring game on Friday.
Torrington Football Letterman's Club continues to give back to Red Raider gridiron community
Bright future ahead for Torrington softball
MARIANNE KILLACKEY/Register Citizen Correspondent |
The Raiders lose senior shortstop and leader Mollie Bartles (All-NVL Copper Division, .338 AVG, 11 RBI) to graduation, but everyone else is slated to return. Sophomore pitcher Sydney Matzko (All-NVL selection) and freshman catcher Marissa Morris (All-NVL Copper Division) now have a year together under their belts and could continue to wreak havoc next season.
In the pitching circle, Matzko was one of the most dominant forces in the state. Matzko finished the season with a 21-4 record, a 0.287 ERA, an astounding 338 strikeouts to just 18 walks and 14 hit batters. She gave up just 24 runs on 57 hits. Matzko threw four no-hitters this season.
Morris caught every single pitch that Matzko threw this season, and called all of them.
Both Morris (.352, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 1 SO in 71 AB) and Matzko (.313, 2 HR, 28 RBI) can also hit the ball. Matzko will be a junior next year while Morris will be a sophomore.
Torrington has plenty of players to build around the combination of Matzko and Morris. Baylee Vinisko will be the lone senior who saw significant playing time while Nicole Jamieson, Alexa Potter, Sam Pelow and Sara Heath will all be juniors. Brittany Anderson (team-leader in AVG (.375), HRs (3), hits (27)) and Brittany Young will be sophomores.
Torrington will also need to find a replacement for Bartles at shortstop, which will not be easy. Someone will need to take over the leadership role that Bartles held as a senior.
The Raiders showed much improvement, turning a 14-9 team in 2011 to a 21-4 squad this year. Torrington got to the Naugatuck Valley League Tournament final, then won a state tournament game for the first time since 2005. The Raiders have a chance to get even higher in the next couple of years.
Both Bartles and Matzko said the team will need to work on its hitting and defense in order to continue to improve. Torrington will need to find ways to score more runs and give Matzko the support she needs. On defense, the Raiders will need to avoid the mistakes that cost them in both losses to Seymour this season.
There is plenty of potential in Torrington softball in the next couple of years. If things come together, the Raiders could win an NVL title and get deeper into the state tournament. A run to the state final wouldn't be out of the question.
NOTE: A special thanks to Tyler Morris for the statistics that I used in this blog post.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Torrington softball's season ends with quarterfinal loss to Brookfield
Torrington-Brookfield softball quarterfinal live blog, plus analysis
- South-West Conference's top seed going into league tournament. Lost 3-2 to Oxford in final -- credit to Connecticut Post writer Ryan Flynn
- Had eight players named to All-SWC teams (3 were All-SWC, 5 were All-SWC Patriot Division) -- credit to Danbury News-Times web site
- Lost just three times this season (9-8 at Bethel on 4/25; 6-3 at home to Masuk on 5/17; 3-2 to Oxford in SWC final) -- Bethel is also in Class L quarterfinals (No. 7 seed, playing No. 2 Maloney today); Masuk is in 'LL' quarterfinal today as No. 4 seed against No. 5 Bristol Eastern; Oxford lost in second round of Class M as No. 6 seed to No. 11 Griswold, 5-4 in nine innings)
- Brookfield is coached by Frank Bonacci
- Top pitcher is senior right-hander Brittany Fusek (All-SWC Patriot selection)