The Old Lyme Girls Indoor Track team secured first place in Friday’s 2025 Shoreline Conference championship. Photo credit: Lyme-Old Lyme High School.
NEW HAVEN, CT—Competing at the Floyd Little Athletic Center on Friday, Feb. 7, in New Haven, CT, the Old Lyme girls team won the Indoor Track Shoreline Conference Championship. Haddam-Killingworth (H-K) came in second place and Cromwell third.
Key Old Lyme results for 1st team All-Conference-Girls were as follows:
Serena Mazzi: 1st place 55m dash 7.55, 1st place long jump 16’5.25″, 2nd place 300m 44.17
Tabitha Colwell: 1st place 4 x 200m 1:55.18, 2nd place long jump 15’6″, 3rd place girls 55m 7.80
Zoe Eastman-Grossel: 1st place 4x200m 1:55.18, 1st place 600m 1:43.81, 1st place 300m 40.81 (meet record)
Kate Walsh: 1st place 4 x 200m 1:55.18, 2nd place 600m 1:44.66, 1st place SMR 1600m Relay 4:48.31
Chase Gilbert: 1st place 1000m 3:02.39, 1st place 1600m 5:11.66, 1st place 3200m 11:22.21
Lane Lopes: 1st place 4 x 200m 1:55.18, 1st place Sprint Medley Relay (SMR) 1600m Relay 4:48.31
Gabrielle Field: 1st place SMR 1600m Relay 4:48.31
Magdalena Tooker: 1st place SMR 1600m Relay 4:48.31
The Old Lyme boys team finished fifth in their championship. The winners were Cromwell followed by H-K.
Key Old Lyme results for 1st team All-Conference-Boys were as follows:
Tyler Cann: 1st play shot put 52’4″ Patrick Lynch: 1st place 55m dash 6.68, 1st place long jump 22’7″ (meet record) Rowen Mesiener: 1st place SMR 1600m Relay 3:57.38 Aidan Carpentino: 1st place SMR 1600m Relay 3:57.38 Kevork Shegirian: 1st place SMR 1600m Relay 3:57.38 Ryan Ortoleva: 1st place SMR 1600m Relay 3:57.38
Honorable Mention-Boys Carson St. Louis: 3rd place pole vault 9’6″
Pictured here are the four girls who qualified for the Footlocker Cross Country National Championship in San Diego on Dec. 14. Lyme-Old Lyme High Schools’s Chase Gilbert is at right in photo—the other girls are, from left to right, Tess Sherry (Conard), Brook Strauss (Glastonbury), and Liv Sherry (Conard.) Photo by T. Gilbert.
BOSTON, MA—UPDATED 12/02 WITH NEW PHOTOS: On Saturday, Nov. 30, Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) Junior Chase Gilbert qualified for the Footlocker Cross Country National Championship with her fifth place finish in the 5,000-meter course at the Northeast Regional Championships at Franklin Park In Boston.
Gilbert’s time was 17:56.9—only around six seconds behind the fourth place finisher, Liv Sherry of Conard High School in West Hartford at 17:49.3.
Brooke Strauss of Glastonbury was the highest-placed Connecticut finisher at third with a time of 17,41,5,
The National Championship will be held in San Diego, Calif., on Saturday, Dec.14..
The fastest 10 girls, who finished the race, qualified for the National Contest and four of those 10, including Gilbert, were from Connecticut. The fourth was Liv Sherry’s sister, Tess—also from Conard—who came 10th.
Chase Gilbert (left) is pictured here after Saturday’s race standing with her LOLHS coach, Jan Merrill-Morin, (center) and Merrill-Morin’s husband, Jeff. Photo by T. Gilbert.
Gilbert is the first Lyme-Old Lyme runner ever to qualify for the National Championship. She is coached at LOLHS by former 1976 Olympian runner Jan Merrill-Morin and LOLHS History and Civics teacher Aron Daquila.
Asked by LymeLine how she felt about her success, Chase responded by email saying, “I am so excited to represent the Northeast at nationals with an amazing group of girls! My coaches Jan and Aron have helped me earn this position with their commitments of coaching and supporting me. My family and teammates have been so supportive along the way as well.”
Chase Gilbert (center) in action. Photo by Alyssa Mercaldi.
“The whole community is very proud of Chase’s achievement,” Daquila said in an email to LymeLine, adding, “Chase is a very focused runner and this amazing achievement is a product of her dedication, patience and perseverance. Now she [has] earned a ticket to San Diego for Nationals, a goal of hers since freshman year. And certainly not an easy one, literally only 10 athletes from the entire Northeast region earned this.”
He concluded emphatically, “I’m just so happy for her.”
Here at LymeLine, we add our heartiest congratulations to Chase!
OLD LYME—UPDATED 10/10 WITH COMMENTS FROM LOL SCHOOLS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR. On Monday, Oct. 7, Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) will be recognized as a recipient of the 2023-24 Michaels Jewelers Achievement Cup Award during the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s (CIAC) 18th Annual Sportsmanship Conference.
Announcing the award in a press release, the (CIAC) explains, “Schools that are part of the CIAC’s Class Act program can be considered for the Michaels Jewelers Achievement Cup Award.”
The announcement continues, “The Michaels Jewelers Cup Committee recognized these exemplary athletics programs for their willingness to subscribe to the Class Act Sportsmanship standards, empowering students to take an active role in their school climate, and their continued support for community service. These schools have made sportsmanship a priority in their district.”
We asked Hildie Heck, who serves as Athletic Director of Lyme-Old Lyme Schools, how she was feeling after the award was announced. She replied in an email saying, “In my opinion, the Michael’s Cup award is a testament to the incredible culture we’ve cultivated at LOLHS. This recognition is a direct reflection of the hard work and dedication of our student-athletes, who have consistently demonstrated excellence both on the field/court and in the classroom.
She continued, “The coaches also deserve credit for setting high standards and creating a positive, supportive atmosphere that empowers our students to thrive. And of course, we must recognize the support of our parents, who support the initiative and programs.”
Heck concluded, “Ultimately, I believe this award speaks to the collaborative effort of our entire school community. By working together and giving our students a voice, we’ve been able to foster an environment where they can truly excel as athletes and leaders. It’s an honor to be recognized for six consecutive years, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for our programs.”
Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser
Asked his reaction to the award by LymeLine, Lyme-Old Lyme Superintendent of Schools Ian Neviaser responded by email saying, “We are so proud of the continued recognition of our student athletes, our coaches, and our athletic department as they demonstrate the utmost commitment to sportsmanship across all of our programs.”
He continued, “This honor embodies the values we strive to impart to all participants and hope to continue this success for many more years.”
Twenty eight schools in the state have been recognized with the Michaels Cup honor this year. Lyme-Old Lyme High School is receiving the honor for a remarkable sixth consecutive year.
The other schools earning the award are Academy of Aerospace & Engineering, Academy of Computer Science & Engineering, Academy of International Studies, Academy of Science & Innovation, Amity Regional High School, Bethel High School, Bloomfield High School, Brookfield High School, Canton High School, Cheshire High School, Danbury High School, Daniel Hand High School, Derby High School, East Catholic High School, Joel Barlow High School, Killingly High School, Ledyard High School, New Fairfield High School, New Milford High School, Newtown High School, Norwalk High School, Simsbury High School, St. Paul Catholic High School, Stamford High School, Valley Regional High School, Westbrook High School, and Weston High School.
Boy’s Soccer On Monday, Sept. 16, Old Saybrook defeated Old Lyme 3-0. Coached by Allyson Gleason, the Wildcats were playing at home and their record now stands at 2-4-0.
Casey DeAngelo, Reggie Duque and Christain Dutra scored for Saybrook. Carlos Velez Torres made four saves for Old Saybrook while Sam Edmed made 11 for Old Lyme.
Old Lyme’s record is now 2-4-0.
On Saturday, Sept. 14, Granby Memorial defeated Old Lyme 3-1 at Granby Memorial High School. Charlie McEwen scored for Old Lyme off an assist by Judah Waldo while Calvin Olsen, Ben DeDegallo and Max Kantner scored for Granby.
Old Lyme’s Sam Edmed made 10 saves while Landon Filmore of Granby notched four.
Girl’s Soccer
On Saturday, Sept. 14, Granby Memorial defeated Old Lyme 4-2 with the Wildcats playing at home. Former Wildcat star player Caroline Wallace is now in her first year as Old Lyme’s coach.
Granby’s Cassandra Earl scored a hattrick with Sarah Slade contributing the fourth. Mia Crunden gave one assist.
Olivia Kelly in goal for the Wildcats made 16 saves.
Old Lyme’s record is now 3-2.
Girl’s Volleyball
On Monday, Sept. 16, Morgan defeated Old Lyme 3-0 with game scores of 21-25, 18-25, 13-25. Playing away, Wildcats Maya LeQuire had 8 kills, Stella Young made 4 aces and Sophia D’Angelo had 13 digs.
Old Lyme is now 2-4 in both the league and overall, Erin Crayton is the longtime girl’s volleyball coach.
On Friday, Sept. 13, Old Lyme beat Cromwell 3-1 with game scores of 21-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-21. Playing at home, Wildcats Maya LeQuire had 7 aces and 11 kills, Katie Ferman made 11 assists and Molly Boardman had 14 digs.
