Old Lyme Senior Jacob Volkerts (center) placed first in the 100m Dash with an impressive time of 10.64 defeating the second-placed sprinter by just 0.02 seconds.
OLD LYME — The Lyme-Old Lyme High School Track and Field team achieved some amazing results at last Monday’s State Open Championship held at Willow Brook Park in New Britain.
Old Lyme Junior Jacob Volkerts placed first in the 100m Dash with an impressive time of 10.64 beating second-placed Achillius White of Windsor by a mere 0.02 seconds.
Old Lyme Freshman Chase Gilbert ran to victory at the 3,200 meter distance and also joined the 4 x 800 meter relay team in achieving 5th place in that race.
Freshman Chase Gilbert also ran to victory in the 3200 meter race, recording a remarkable time of 10:47.04.
Meanwhile, Senior Dylan Sheehan garnered second place in the discus with a throw of 165 ft. 8 ins.
The girls’ relay team of three Seniors — Maddy Morgado, Lyla Powers, Kate Walsh — and freshman Gilbert placed fifth in the 4 x 800 meter relay with a time of 9:34.
All these athletes will now compete in the New England State Open Championship, which will be held this Saturday, June 10, in Bangor, Maine.
From left to right, President Mary Ellen Jukoski, VNA Board Member and Adjunct Three Rivers Instructor Linda Legassie, and Three Rivers Division Director of Nursing and Allied Health Cindy Arpin hold the $4,000 check that will support Three Rivers Nursing students.
NORWICH, CONN. – The Old Lyme Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) has donated $4,000 to the Three Rivers College Foundation. This gift will be used to support Three Rivers Community College (TRCC) nursing students with demonstrated financial need residing in the towns of Old Lyme, Lyme, or South Lyme.
Founded in 1922, the Old Lyme Visiting Nurse Association is committed to providing high quality healthcare services to members in the communities of Old Lyme, Lyme and South Lyme. Services include individual, family and community health, disease prevention, and skilled home care. Through this philanthropic gift to the Three Rivers College Foundation, the Old Lyme VNA has demonstrated that their commitment to care extends to training the next generation of highly skilled nurses.
Three Rivers Community College (TRCC) is the only higher education institution in southeastern Connecticut that educates future nurses. In southeastern Connecticut, When you enter a hospital or care facility in this area, there is a high likelihood that a Three Rivers nurse is providing your care. TRCC nurses train, live and work in this shared community.
As we face a shortfall of nurses nation-wide, the Three Rivers College Foundation is prepared to invest directly in this vital program.
The Three Rivers College Foundation, in conjunction with community partners like the Old Lyme Visiting Nurse Association, remains committed to providing financial support for educational opportunities in Southeastern Connecticut.
The foundation is a charitable, educational, nonprofit organization, incorporated under the laws of the State of Connecticut and granted 501 C (3) tax-deductible status by the IRS. Its purpose is to support the educational efforts of the College, the staff, and the faculty.
To see the full scope of what Three Rivers and the TRC Foundation has to offer, visit www.threerivers.edu.
The team and their coaches celebrate becoming Class S State Champions.
OLD LYME — UPDATED 5:30pm with coach’s comments: This morning at Wesleyan University, the Old Lyme Girls’ tennis team emerged victorious in the Class S State Championship, winning the tournament for the third time in succession.
By the time the girls’ team returned to Old Lyme, the boys’ tennis team had made them this sign!
The girls defeated Westbrook 7-0 to remain undefeated through the whole season.
The singles winners were, from left to right, Elaina Morosky, Sam Tan, Callie Bass and Katherine Zhang
We asked coach Lauren Rahr how she felt about today’s victory. She replied by email, “It is hard to put into words how this feels. I don’t think it has fully sunk in yet.”
She continued, “Growing up playing high school tennis, we always looked at the state championship like a once in a lifetime opportunity (if that, my junior year team was ranked #1 in the state and we didn’t even make it to the finals.) The state championship was the best of the best and [it was] super rare to come home with a trophy. To think that we now have three is simply incredible.”
The victorious coaches share a smile: Coach Lauren Rahr and her father and Assistant Coach David Rahr.
Rahr commented, “I hope all of the girls recognize how truly remarkable their season was. A large portion of the team started when I started coaching in 2021. Most came with no match experience. My goal was to build their confidence, mental toughness, and change the way they thought about tennis to make it more about hitting the right shots at the right time.”
She concluded, “We have all come so far. I want to thank the team for their constant dedication to the program. They put in many hours of hard work to get to where they are today. I couldn’t be more proud, and I am so lucky that these girls are now part of my favorite tennis memories.”
The full results of the final match were as follows:
1st Singles: Sam Tan Vs Megan Bache 6-4, 6-3 2nd Singles: Elaina Morosky vs Delaney Belcourt 6-0, 6-2 3rd Singles: Callie Bass vs Ava Ciarcia 6-0, 6-0 4th Singles: Katherine Zhang vs Caroline Dias 6-1, 6-0
What a way to say farewell! These Old Lyme seniors played their final game for the school and won the state championship. From left to right, Samatha Tan, Alexis Fenton, Livie Bass, Izzy Reynolds and Callie Bass.
Huge congratulations from all of us here at LymeLine to all the team players and their coaches on such an amazing season!
The doubles winners were, from left to right, Aggie Hunt, Beatrice Hunt, Alexis Fenton, Livie Bass, Izzy Reynolds and Natalie Buckley.
The Old Lyme Girls Tennis team takes a well-deserved break after defeating Litchfield 7-0 in the Class S semifinal round. The girls now advance to the state final, which will be played TODY, Thursday, June 1, at Wesleyan at 9am. GO WILDCATS! Photo by Andrea Fenton.
On Wednesday, May 31, Old Lyme defeated Litchfield 7-0 in one of the CIAC State Team semi-finals. Old Lyme will now play Westbrook in the state final at 9 a.m. TODAY (Thursday) at Wesleyan University. Go Wildcats!
The semifinal scores were:
Singles: 1st Singles: Sam Tan Vs Leah Sepples 6-0, 6-0 2nd Singles: Elaina Morosky vs Jillian Saunders 6-0, 7-6(5) 3rd Singles: Callie Bass vs Riley Southard 6-0, 6-3 4th Singles: Katherine Zhang vs Peyton Weik 6-1, 6-0
This relay team of Maddy Morgado, Olivia Powers, Kate Walsh, and Chase Gilbert took 1st and 3rd place respectively in the 4 x 800 and 4 x 400 races.
On May 30, Old Lyme competed in the Class S State Track Meet. Here are some of the remarkable highlights of the team’s results:
Jacob Volkerts 1st place in the 100m (10.86) and 200m (22.63) Dylan Sheehan 1st place in shot put (49-11.5) and discus (161-5) Maddy Morgado, Olivia Powers, Kate Walsh, Chase Gilbert 1st place 4×800 (9:44.32) and 3rd place 4×400 (4:14.09) Zoe Eastman Gorssel 3rd place 100m Hurdles (15.72) and 3rd place 300m hurdles (47.70) Chase Gilbert 1st place 3200m (10:40.02) Maddy Moragdo 3rd place 800m (2:22.68) Maggie Thuma 3rd place discus (106-8)
The team will compete again in the State Open Meet next week.
BASEBALL
Lyme-Old Lyme defeated Old Saybrook 6-1 in the second round of the Class S tournament. The boys now advance to the quarter-finals where they will meet Haddam -Killingworth on Saturday, June 3, at a place and time to be determined.
Lyme-Old Lyme scored five of their six runs in the first inning. David Evers (0-3, 1 RBI, 1 R) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in a run, Rowen Meisner (2-3, 3 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB) hit a bases clearing 3 RBI double, and last, Jordan Hanes (2-4, 2 RBI) had an RBI single to score Meisner.
Santiago Rodriguez got the win for Lyme-Old Lyme. He surrendered zero runs on two hits over five innings, striking out eight. Grady Lacourciere threw two innings in relief out of the bullpen. Lacourciere recorded the last six outs to earn the save for Lyme-Old Lyme.
Lyme-Old Lyme had nine hits. Grady Lacourciere (2-3, 1 R, 1 BB) Meisner, and Hanes all had a multi-hit game for Lyme-Old Lyme.
SOFTBALL
Wednesday evening, May 31, in what LOL High School Athletic Director Hildie Heck described as a “heartbreaking loss”, the girls were defeated 10-7 by Notre-Dame Fairfield in the second round of the Class S tournament.
BOYS’ TENNIS
Old Lyme Boys Tennis defeated Litchfield 7-0 in the first round of the Class S tournament but on May 30, were defeated 4-3 by East Catholic in the quarterfinals.
These were the results from the Litchfield game.
Singles:
Cooper Munson def Ben Mqanza: 6-2, 6-3
Charles Hinckley def Aaron Tiong: 6-0, 6-0
Griffin McGlinchey def Jackson Bates: 6-0, 6-0
Andy Sicuranza def Haydn Marriot: 6-0, 6-2
Doubles:
Micah Bass / Will Danes def Matt Aldrich / Xavier McDermott: 6-3, 6-4
The newly restored terrace with slate paving stones will be highlighted at the official opening of Gillette Castle on Saturday, May 27. Photo submitted.
EAST HADDAM, Conn. – On Saturday, May 27, the interior of Gillette Castle re-opened to visitors after completion of a half-million-dollar project to restore its surrounding terrace.
Most Connecticut state park buildings, museums, nature centers and other enclosed structures are expected to open during the Memorial Day weekend.
Through Sept. 4, the century-old fieldstone mansion may be toured daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Advance purchase of tickets from park staff is highly recommended, and may be done at ReserveAmerica.com under “Gillette Castle State Park Tours.” Questions about tickets should be directed to park staff at (860) 526-2336.
“The home of the late stage actor William Gillette is the true centerpiece of this wonderful park, and our plans over the past couple of years are coming to fruition — with more to come,” said Lynn Wilkinson, president of the Friends of Gillette Castle State Park.
“What visitors may not notice is the restoration of the upper terrace behind the Castle, which has been in works since last autumn,” she added. “The work allowed an improved drainage system to be installed, preventing possible damage to the Castle.”
The $480,000 project was administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in cooperation with the engineering firm Nathan L. Jacobson & Associates of Chester and Baltic, Conn.-based Mattern Construction Inc.
“Now that the project has been completed, the terrace and a restored retaining wall look just as they did before,” Wilkinson said.
Elsewhere on the Castle grounds, visitors who travel to the ferry dock may note that efforts are continuing to prevent additional deterioration at the former home of Gillette’s longtime assistant and friend, Yukitaka Osaki.
The park’s grounds are open from 8 a.m. until sunset daily, offering visitors a chance to use the park’s varied hiking trails, stroll around Gillette’s unique home and perhaps spot the eagles that frequently nest with their young along the river at many times of the year.
The park is nestled between the towns of East Haddam and Lyme. Many of its trails follow a former railroad bed created for a narrow-gauge track installed by the late Connecticut stage actor, who built his castle-like home atop one of the Seven Sister Hills along the river.
Trail maps and videos of the estate may be found on the Friends website at www.gillettecastlefriends.org. Those interested in becoming a Friends member may sign up online or download a mail-in application form at the website, or direct their questions to info@gillettecastlefriends.org or (860) 222-7850.
The organization’s mission includes the preservation, restoration and conservation of the historic structure and its scenic grounds. The all-volunteer, nonprofit group works in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Memberships help to finance park and structural improvements while preserving the estate and Gillette’s legacy.
