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Capt. Tim Butala ’13
Reflects on Season
Coming into the
2012-2013 season
there were many
questions surrounding
the Prep basketball
program. How would
the team cope with
the loss of star, Terry Tarpey ’12? How
would the group of younger players
and transfers come together to form a
team? Well I would say that all of these
challenges were overcome and put to
rest by this year’s squad. Like each of
the teams I have been a part of in the
past, the team truly came together to be
the quintessential example of the cliché
term of Prep “brotherhood.”
Two years ago, when I was a
sophomore coming off the bench, the
team made a historic run to the state
finals and finished as the runner-up.
Last year as a junior the team reached
the state semifinals where we lost to
Hillhouse. Unknown to us at the time, it
would be Hillhouse that would become
the antagonist once again to us this
year. As the year went along both our
Prep team and Hillhouse handled all
competition besides the other with
relative ease. We would face each
other twice in the regular season,
splitting the matchups, and again in
the conference finals, where we lost
a nail bitter in OT. The stage was set
for an epic clash of the titans in the
State Championship at Mohegan Sun.
Sure enough both teams advanced for
one final matchup. Although we once
again were defeated by the extremely
talented Hillhouse squad, our team had
much to be proud of. We finished with
the best record in school history (25-3),
where the only team we lost to was the
State Champions.
As I look back on my four years
I would say that although they are
marked by the agony of coming so
close, they were truly the happiest
moments of my life. The most important
lessons one learns at Prep are outside
the walls of the classroom. Prep
basketball showed me what it meant to
be a part of a community, what it meant
to create a whole greater than the sum
of its parts, and to care as much about
the journey as the destination. Like the
fight song says, “We may laugh, we
may cry, but we never say die. Let’s go
Fairfield. Fairfield, let’s go.”
Alvarado and team had a great year, but they aren’t done yet!
hristain Alvarado ’14 had as good a year as any Prep
Crunner of the past. During Cross Country he proved himself
in the elite of Connecticut and the Northeast qualifying to run
at the Footlocker National Championships. He added 4 new
Prep school records (3000 m in 8:26.25 at Penn Relays; 3200
m in 9:07.00 at New England Championships; 1 mile in 4:11.94
at Danbury Dream Invitational; and 2000 m Steeplechase in
6:03.44 at the New Balance Nationals) and won individual
championships in the SCC, Class LL, State Open, and New
Englands. All this and he was only in his junior year; certainly
there is more to come.
What makes Alvarado’s success all the better is the
opportunity to continue on with several teammates who are
also among the fastest that Prep has seen. Adam Vare and
James Mullikan are also rising seniors who are the two best 800
runners in Prep’s history – Alvarado
(pictured) rounds out the top three.
Vare’s new school record of 1:54.81 at
the Danbury Dream Invitational broke
the record he set as a sophomore.
Mullikan ran 1:55.43 at the Nationals,
also better than Vare’s old record.
Add to this mix the contributions of
next year’s seniors Raphael Kinney
and Alec Hilton; next year’s team
Wrestlers pull their weight
rep Wrestling had a great season under its first year Head
PCoach Corey Dennis and Assistant Coach Chris Paladino.
Despite a 6-17 team record, the team excelled individually with
the leadership of captains Conor Ward, David Maloof, Nick
Crowle, and Matt Barnett. At 152 pounds senior Conor Ward
finished with a 23-3 regular season record: never losing by more
than three points, and taking first place in the Fairfield Ludlowe
Prep Tennis serves winners
rep had an excellent season in 2013 with a record of 12-6,
Pqualifying for the state tournament as a team, sending four
singles players and three doubles teams. We were anchored by
a good senior class, with Kevin Culligan, Shane Sutera, Scott
Ball, Chris Kelly, Charlie Dodge and Nick Vandervoorn. Our
sophomore class is at the forefront of a talented group of players
boding well for future seasons.
Our regular season finished with a hard fought 4-3 semi
final loss to Daniel Hand in the SCC Tournament, resulting in a
3rd place finish. Kevin Culligan and Shane Sutera were both
honored with all league selections, and Culligan was honored as
well with an All Area Selection by the New Haven Register.
In the State Tournament we had two seeded doubles teams
that both lost to finalists. Twelfth seeds Scott Ball and Peter
Nestor lost in the third round the eventual State Champs from
From left: Adam Vare ’14, James Mulliken ’14, Christian Alvarado
’14, and Raphael Kinney ’14.
promises to turn some heads.
The SCC is one of the premier distance-running conferences
in Connecticut and this group of juniors managed to win all
distance related events at the league championships (4 x 800,
1600, 800, 3200, and even the 4 x 400). All of these runners will
compete in Cross Country next fall with a goal of taking the state
championship, and all will have the opportunity to compete at the
collegiate level when they graduate. Prep has had outstanding
distance runners in the past, but there is no looking back for the
current group, only looking forward.
By Bob Ford Jr., Science Teacher, Cross Country
Coach
Individual Tournament. At the LL State Tournament Ward took
second place and went on to take seventh at the State Open. He
finished his career with an incredible 95-55 record.
Junior Nick Crowle was an amazing force in the 285 pound
weight class. He finished the season with a 25-3 record, and won
first place, as well as MVP of the Fairfield Ludlowe Tournament.
He took third at the LL State Tournament.
Captain Matt Barnett had a career ending injury in his
first match of the season, but would come back to wrestle one
final match at Senior Night against East Haven. At 145 pounds,
Captain David Maloof finished with a 13-10 regular season
record. The team was also greatly supported by juniors Robert
Fumai, Ryan Zentner and Dave Martens. In addition, the future
looks bright for sophomore Matt Freed who finished 12-12 at 120
pounds, freshman Lucas Mendicino who finished 9-14 at 126,
freshman Jack Bosken who finished 7-14 at 132, and freshman
Austin Prusak who finished at 8-16 at 106.
By David Maloof ’13, Co-Captain
Ridgefield, while the seventh seeded team of Kevin Culligan and
Shane Sutera lost to the #1 seed team from Westhill in a closely
contested 3 set match, 7-6, 4-6, 2,-6.
Prep Today 27