Month: March 2022

East Catholic High boys basketball coach Luke Reilly is well-versed in dealing with the bright lights of state championship weekend at Mohegan Sun Arena. He will be making his sixth appearance in the title game with the Eagles on Sunday.

But it will be a whole new experience for every player on the Eagles roster when they step onto the court to face Notre Dame-West Haven in the Division I final at 8:15 p.m.

“It’s so special, and just to comment on Mohegan Sun and the way the CIAC is doing it, it’s a world-class arena, and I would say if you look across the country, the way these state championships run in each state, it’s second to none,” Reilly said.

“It’s just a thrill….Pulling in on the bus and behind the scenes and walking the corridors that all those big time players have walked and just taking a moment to enjoy getting there. Then it becomes strictly business and there’s a game to be played. So you definitely want to take time to stop and smell the roses but you’re there to play a game and win as well. So it’s a delicate balance, but it’s certainly something you want to treasure.”

East Catholic (19-6) is making its 14th appearance in the championship game. The Eagles took home the title in 1965, 1968, 1972, 2014, 2016, and in 2019, the last time the tournament was played in its entirety

“I think Coach (Reilly) has been in many ways the standard around the state and certainly in his area,” Notre Dame-West Haven coach Jason Shea said. “They’ve had so much success …. Our programs are very similar. Both programs, the kids play extremely hard, they’re all coachable, but certainly he’s been a model program for all of us. And he’s been at…

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Whata Treasurer and driver Anthony Napolitano (Curtis Salonick photo)

WILKES-BARRE, PA – Queen Kendall and Toddler Tantrum were winners in the first week of the Game Of Claims Pacing Series for $10,000-base price horses, but on Monday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, they both had to take a back seat to Whata Treasure, who closed from last to win by 3¾ lengths in 1:53.1 for driver Anthony Napolitano, who topped the local drivers colony with four wins.

Whata Treasure was claimed for $10,000 out of the first leg, and despite the hike in price to $12,500 for the second prelim, he was again taken out of the claiming box on a day where twelve horses changed hands for a total of $132,500.

New owner Lawrence Smith will have to decide whether a first and a second in the first two prelims will be enough to make the final, or whether to drop him back in next week and risk losing him before the final on March 28.

WHATA TREASURE REPLAY

There were no repeat winners in Monday’s five divisions, each worth $10,000, at this level, but the horse who caught the eye the most was Owen, who had a closing fourth in his GOC bow, was taken by owner/trainer Stacey Currie, then won the day’s opener in an overpowering 1:52.1, taking a new lifetime mark while motoring his own last half in 55 flat under Jim Pantaleano’s guidance.

Other winners for this tag Monday were two for driver Simon Allard, Ain’t It Fun (1:54.2) and IC A Free Spirit (1:55), and Sanattle Slew (Anthony Napolitano, 1:55.4). All these winners went back home to familiar surroundings afterwards.

The four $7500 purse events which today saw the entrants…

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NEW BRITAIN — Five years removed from its last state final appearance, the Thomaston girls’ basketball team will make the trip back to the Mohegan Sun following its 48-42 Class S semifinal victory over Bolton on Monday.

The top-seeded Bears appeared in five straight title games from 2013-2017, winning twice. This year, they met little resistance in the first three rounds before edging Bolton by six points.

“I feel happy for our players because they worked really hard to get here,” Thomaston coach Robert McMahon said. “To see them finish it off like this is great. Now we have one final step, and we will see what happens then.”

Thomaston was led by sophomore Nicole Decker who led all scorers with 18 points. Ava Harkness contributed 12 points to the winning effort, while Aurelia Barker scored 10.

“We knew when Nicole was in kindergarten that she would get the keys to the car,” McMahon said. “We waited a long time to get her here and we are soaking up every minute.”

Thomaston jumped out to a first-quarter lead and never relinquished it, leading at the end of every quarter.

“We knew they had two sophomore guards that we needed to stop,” Decker said. “We just played good defense and didn’t foul, that was a big thing today. I think we did a good job on them.”

After a tough loss in the semifinals of the Berkshire League tournament, Thomaston has returned with a vengeance and a determination not to experience that losing feeling again.

“We went into practice after that with a ‘we are not going to lose again’ mentality,” Decker said. “And we are not, we are going to…

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