Despite jumping out to a 10-2 lead, Old Lyme struggled to maintain their early surge and eventually — despite a valiant fight — fell to Innovation in today’s Div. V state championship. Full report and photos to follow this evening.
Champions! From left to right, Matt Pugliese, Mary Stone, Jane Cable and Harvey Gemme stand proudly with their trophy. All photos by Liz Rubitski and Harvey Gemme.
The Lyme, Old Lyme and Old Saybrook Democrats emerged victorious in Friday night’s Trivia Bee hosted by the Lyme-Old Lyme Education Foundation (LOLEF.) Emcee of the proceedings was veteran and charismatic Lyme-Old Lyme High School physical education teacher Bill Rayder and serving as judges were Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser and Kinny Newman.
Playing under the both clever and topical team name of “BEE-ware the Ides of March” (March 15th is the Ides of March, and the ‘Beware’ quote is derived from the soothsayer’s warning about said date in Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’), local Democratic party team members were Jane Cable, Harvey Gemme, Matt Pugliese and Mary Stone. They battled successfully through the early rounds and then, when only two teams remained, the Dem’s won the aptly-named Sting-Off and were duly awarded the coveted Bee Trophy.
The winning team takes a well-earned break from its labors between early rounds.
The organizers of the Trivia Bee were LOLEF President Roger Nosal and Liz Rubitski.
All funds raised will benefit the LOLEF, which is a charitable organization that provides financial support for educational projects, enrichment programs and innovative initiatives not typically funded by Regional District 18 or other governmental entities. LOLEF has awarded grants for educational initiatives benefiting our youngest students to our senior citizens.
Find out more about the grants that have been awarded, as well as how to apply for a grant, at www.loef.org.
Coach Kirk Kaczor (center) leads the traditional Old Lyme boy’s basketball team huddle at the start of a game..
There’s nothing like an Old Lyme team participating in a high school state final to stir the sleepy towns of Lyme and Old Lyme to their core.
Extrapolating from past performance when Don Bugbee’s girls played (and won) the Class S State basketball championship in 2009 — the first played at Mohegan Sun — a conservative estimate suggests that at least half of the population of Lyme and Old Lyme will set their alarms early this morning, may even skip church (or perhaps the Catholics among us went yesterday evening …) and head east across the state to the arena at Mohegan Sun.
One assumes that pretty much every self-respecting, current Lyme-Old Lyme High Schooler will make their way to the arena this morning whether on a school bus or under their own steam. The parents of the boys on the Old Lyme varsity basketball team may even go to see the team bus off from the school at some God-forsaken hour …
The basketball game tipping off at 10:30 a.m. in the arena at Mohegan Sun will be the focus of their attention until around noon.
In a packed arena with likely around 5,000 fans present, can Kirk Kavzor’s boys pull off a spectacular win and topple top-seeded Innovation to bring the CIAC Division V trophy home to Old Lyme?
These third-seeded Wildcats have already crushed all previous records by becoming the first team in program history to reach the final. Can they now — urged on by their fervent supporters aged from 1 to 92 — take it one step further and make their tiny hometown the proudest for miles around and win the title?
In an exclusive and extraordinarily revealing email interview with LymeLine.com, Coach Kaczor gave us the inside story on how this exceptional team has reached the point it is at today, saying, “Two years ago we were 6-14 and a program in disarray. The effort, attitude and culture were not anywhere near what I wanted it to be. We were selfish and undisciplined, and it reflected poorly on me as well as the school. We weren’t all that talented, but more importantly our attitude needed to change for our program to be successful.”
He continued, “Last year, we dedicated ourselves to improving both on and off the court. We made a move to work with a strong group of sophomores and asked the older kids to help bring them along and to provide a fostering culture that valued teamwork and discipline. “
Interestingly he pointed to some small things that have made a big difference in team culture, such as, “We made new rules about tucking in practice jerseys and sprinting to help out teammate or opponent that went down during the game. (You’ll see that during the game.)”
Kaczor concluded, “We had a great season. We finished 15-5 but lost in the first round of our league tournament. We entered the state tournament with a good seed but were beaten at the buzzer in the first round by Capital Prep. However, during that season we created a culture and brotherhood that carried into the summer, fall and then back to the winter.”
Turning to this season, Kaczor said, “Everything was in place to run for the Sun. I never said it, but the kids did. It was the elephant in the room. We knew we had the talent, effort, and attitude to get there.” He mused, “I just wondered if we could catch a break. There always seems to be a little luck involved.,” adding, “Things just fell into place for us.”
Commenting on the tournament itself, Kaczor reflected, “We’ve played three excellent and young teams so far. Beating a good Gilbert team in the second round. Avenging our only home loss (on senior night) to Morgan in the quarters. And this week, we beat a 16-4 Somers team that is really good.”
Kaczor ended with the words, “This season has been amazing in so many ways,” noting, “We just recently won the sportsmanship award presented by our Board 8 officials, as well.”
Let’s hope the season becomes a whole lot more amazing this morning! Good luck boys and Coach Kaczor … and GO WILDCATS!
‘Winter Song’ in oil by Katherine Simmons is the signature painting of the ‘Explorations’ section of the ‘Four Acts’ exhibition.
‘Darby’ in pastel by Anderson Flanders is the signature piece of the ‘Animal Kingdom’ section of the exhibition.
The Lyme Art Association presents its annual Four Acts show from March 8, through April 19. Each room of the gallery has a different theme: Hip to be Square (artwork in a square format), Out of Town (featuring artwork relating to artists’ travels), Animal Kingdom, and Explorations (abstract or exploratory works.)
The Four Acts opening reception is Sunday, March 17, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 to 5 p.m, and by appointment. Admission is free but a $5 donation is suggested.
Lyme Art Association is located at 90 Lyme Street, Old Lyme.
For further information, call (860) 434-7802 or visit lymeartassociat
Violinist Tai Murray, who will perform Sunday in the Essex Winter Series.
Photo: Marco Borggreve for HM
Essex Winter Series presents its Fenton Brown Emerging Artist Concert featuring the New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) with violinist Tai Murray on Sunday, March 17, at 3 p.m. at Valley Regional High School, Deep River.
The 2019 season is generously sponsored by The Clark Group, Essex Meadows, Essex Savings Bank, Jeffrey N. Mehler CFP LLC, Masonicare at Chester Village, Tower Laboratories, Guilford Savings Bank, and BrandTech Scientific.