Taking it to the next level.

By KIM HARMON

Published: Nov 26, 2004 12:00 am

Most of the time, that cliche refers to an athlete simply stepping up and playing better than he or she has to that point in an effort to achieve something special.

In this case, it refers to the many former Newtown High School athletes who have truly taken their game to the next level.

In college.

From former soccer stars Mike Troy and Chelsea Morin to former volleyball stars Stephanie Logan and Erin Carolan, a number of NHS graduates have found success on collegiate fields.

And courts.

Take a look â

With the Newtown High School girlsâ and boysâ soccer teams reaching their respective CIAC Class LL championship games, how well are former players â those who worked hard to try and help bring their teams to that plateau â doing on the collegiate pitch?

Well â¦

[Mike Troy, a 2003 graduate of NHS, has been limited to just 10 games this year with the Fairfield University menâs soccer team and scored just one goal. As a freshman, Troy finished with seven goals and two assists in 17 games and started the whole thing off with a bang by scoring a goal in each of his first four collegiate games (Fairleigh Dickinson, Iona, Boston University and Harvard). He earned three MAAC weekly awards during the year, including the MAAC rookie of the week award for September 1 and October 6 and offensive player of the week for October 20. He was named to the MAAC All-Rookie team. Troy (All-League, All-State and All-New England in high school) once owned the NHS all-time goal-scoring record with 97 tallies â¦ but Marcus Tracy (who will be on his way to Wake Forest next fall) recently broke that mark. Troy is now studying business at Fairfield U.

[Ryan Tracy, another 2003 graduate who played alongside Troy, scored his first collegiate goal back on September 24 in the University of Pennsylvaniaâs 2-0 win over Drexel. A midfielder, Tracy has played in 10 games for the 7-8-2 Quakers. As a freshman, he also played in 10 games (his debut was against Villanova on September 14, 2003) with three starts. Like Troy, he took a strong soccer resume to UPenn â helping the Nighthawks claim two straight South-West Conference championships, take a trip to the 2002 CIAC Class LL state championship, and earned a No. 2 national ranking by the NSCAA. An All-State and All-New England player in high school, Tracy played for a Beachside FC team, which advanced to the state finals three straight years while winning as a U16 side. He is now enrolled in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences as a mechanical engineering major.

[Chelsea Morin, a 2004 graduate of NHS, has already made an impact with the Ursinus College womenâs soccer team, scoring the game-winning goal to lead Ursinus to a 1-0 win over Muhlenberg College in the first round of the Centennial Conference tournament. The 12-7-1 Bears fell to top-seeded Gettysburg, 2-0, in the semi-finals and Morin finishes her initial collegiate with three goals and two assists in 11 games (10 starts).

[And down in the Big Easy (New Orleans, Louisiana), Carrie Lipnick â a 2004 graduate and former teammate of Morinâs â scored in the 33rd minute and lifted Loyola University to a recent 1-0 win over Louisiana College. Her goal came off a free kick and helped lift the Wolfpackâs record to 6-11-0 on the year. In her first 10 games (all starts), Lipnick scored two goals and assisted on three others.

[Former NHS goaltender Kim Allen, another 2004 graduate, has patrolled the net for the Castleton State College womenâs soccer team in 10 games (starting six of those) and as she amassed an 8-0-0 record, she registered 37 saves (.881 save percentage) while allowing only five goals and recording five shutouts.

[Allison Frobey, a 2003 graduate of NHS and now a sophomore co-captain of the Plymouth State University womenâs soccer team, was named to the All-Little East Conference Second Team. Frobey played sweeper for the Lady Panthers, who compiled an 8-10-1 record while finishing fifth in the LEC. Frobey â who has started every game in her two seasons at Plymouth State â helped the Panthers post six shutouts as the defense allowed two goals or fewer in 14 of 19 games. âThis is welcome recognition and well deserved for both of them,â said head coach Keith Scarlett. âAllison was forced to carry the pressure of leading a revamped and new defensive scheme with new personnel â¦ as well as serving as captain. She took to the role quite well.â

[Senior midfielder Andy Smith, a 2001 graduate of NHS, was named to the Empire 8 Second Team after helping lead the Ithaca College Bombers to a 12-3-2 season (winning the regular-season title). Smith is a three-time conference All Star and played in 14 games this year with 13 starts. He recorded five points on a pair of goals and an assist and scoring the game-winner in a 1-0 win over Cortland. He also scored a goal in a win over St. John Fisher that helped the Bombers secure the Empire 8 regular season title.

[While his brother has hooked up with Marcus Tracy for a couple of dramatic goals this year on the high school pitch, Derek Miles, a 2003 graduate of NHS, played (and started) in all 20 games for the Eastern Connecticut State University menâs soccer team. A sweeper, Miles scored a goal and assisted on another to help lead the Warriors to a 6-11-3 record (3-3-1 in the Little East Conference). Miles led the team in minutes played (1,771) and was named to the All-LEC Second Team.

[Sophomore goaltender Matt Pachniuk, a 2003 graduate of NHS, helped lead the Wheaton College menâs soccer team to a 17-3-2 record. Playing (and starting) 21 games for the Lyons, Pachniuk allowed just 16 goals (0.78 goals-against average) while making 68 saves (.810 save percentage) and registering eight shutouts. He was named for the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team.

[Meanwhile, sophomore midfielder Brendan Cavanaugh of Newtown, a 2003 graduate of the Salisbury School, saw action in 13 games (with six starts) for the Wheaton College menâs soccer team and registered one assist.

But fall is more than just soccer â¦

[At 5-19 overall (3-5 in the Little East Conference), the Quinnipiac College womenâs volleyball team may not be having a good season by former Newtown High School middle hitter Stephanie Logan â only a freshman â is having a fine campaign. In a team-high 88 games, she has registered 169 kills (1.92 per game) while coming up with 19 digs (.22 per game) and 80 blocks (0.91 per game).

[On the Roger Williams University volleyball court, Erin Carolan, a 2002 graduate of NHS, has played in 108 games (32 matches) for the 23-11 Hawks and registered a team-high 302 kills (2.8 per game) with 25 service aces, 158 digs (1.46 per game) and 68 blocks (0.63 per game). She was recently named Female Athlete of the Week in the hawkwtalk winter fall sports review and garnered Commonwealth Coast Conference Second Team honors.

[Ross Coates, a 2003 graduate of NHS, played in all eight games for the Western Connecticut State University football team and has registered 20 tackles (eight solo with 12 assisted). One of those tackles was for a loss for the Colonials, now 3-5 in the Little East Conference.

And with basketball season lumbering into action â¦

[Kelley Haines, the all-time leading scorer in Newtown High School girlsâ basketball history, saw her first collegiate action for the University of New Hampshire on Thursday, November 4, in an exhibition tilt with Spartak Moscow and scored four points in 12 minutes of action. Haines was 2-for-5 from the floor (all three misses coming from beyond the three-point arc), dished off an assist, and grabbed two rebounds as the Wildcats captured a 95-90 win in front of 298 spectators.

[Itâs back to work for junior center Lisa Masella and the Western New England College Golden Bears. Masella led the Bears in scoring (12.7 points per game), rebounding (10.0 rpg) and field goal percentage (48%) while gained All-GNAC (Great Northeast Athletic Conference) Second Team honors for the second consecutive season. Masella is a tri-captain this year, as well. WNEC was 16-10 overall in 2003-04, 8-4 in the conference, under head coach Wendy Davis (a former University of Connecticut standout).

[Senior guard Jayme Beckham, a 2001 graduate of NHS, returns to the Western Connecticut State University womenâs basketball team as a co-captain, having led the Colonials to a 9-17 record in 2003-04. Last year, Beckham played in all 26 games (with 22 starts) and scored 119 points (4.6 per game) on 46-of-128 shooting (.359 shooting percentage) from the field and 26-of-41 shooting from the free throw line (.634 average). She also grabbed 80 rebounds, dished off 44 assists, and made 27 steals.

And then there is another winter sport â¦

[Meghan OâDay, a 2004 graduate of NHS, is a freshman breaststroker for the Eastern Connecticut State University womenâs swim team. A three-time letterwinner for the Newtown High School swim team, OâDay swam the 50 and 100 freestyles as well as the 100 breaststroke. She is majoring in psychology at ECSU and hopes one day to be a school psychologist.

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My darling, You were the best GRANDmother a child could ask for. You created so many great memories & traditions that I have passed down to your Great grandchildren. You brought joy into every room you stepped into. Your laughter, singing, whistling and the signature Rockettes high kicks, is something I will always hold in my heart. There was something about walking into your home and being greeted by your beautiful face. *kiss on each check* followed by HELLOOOOOO Darling! The classical music playing softly in the background and your love and comfort made your home, a safe space. Somewhere, where love knew no boundaries. It was so much more than a home. I aim for the same in my home, and play the classic music 24/7, but it will never be the same. I pray I can be 1/4 of GRAND, you put in GRANDmother. You were so resilient. You found the positive in every situation. I look up to you so much. I remember begging Mom and Dad for years to change my name to “Carmen”. They didn’t officially change my name, but eventually started calling me “Carmenita” as I am a little you. THE HONOR. You were there for me, no matter the day or hour. You were always the one who would talk me through whatever hard situation I was going through. When my baby passed away, I refused to talk to anyone for 3 weeks. Except for you. You said to me “Better days are coming, babes. There’s always a rainbow after the storm”. Of course, you were right, because you are GRAND. I picture you in heaven dancing and laughing with him. Uncle Jay playing the money game with him. To know you are with your children again & with mine does bring me some joy. Twas the night before Christmas & New Year’s Eve, will never be the same. Another tradition you created. A memory that will last forever. Not just with me, but for generations to come. It may not be the same, but we won’t let it die. It will live on, in your name. To be your first GRANDchild was a blessing. I could write an entire book about you & all the amazing things about you. Even though we were robbed of time together & it makes me angry, I know I will see you again. This isn’t a goodbye, but a “see you later”. Just like we ended every phone call. Ciao, darling. I love you. MWAH MWAH! Love your GRANDchild, Kimberly aka Carmenita

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To add context that did not occur at the meeting would not be an accurate representation of the meeting and would, in fact, be editorializing to shape public opinion. The editorial staff here do not consider ourselves to be final arbiters of what the truth is (and if we did, it would make us partisan and biased), and we would need to provide a source for any dissenting information (sourcing all information in an article is literally Journalism 101). There were no such sources present at the meeting in question, and so it would not be appropriate to include such information in an article about the meeting. Dissenting voices appear in meeting stories when there were active participants with dissenting opinions, such as during public participation or the words of a council member who disagreed. It should be noted that the Interfaith Council, like many local boards and commissions, conduct meetings that are open to the public. This was not an article on the actions of the Greater Danbury Area Unites for Immigrants, or on immigrants, or on ICE's actions in the community, where including other voices or perspectives would be appropriate. We appreciate your opinion, but we stand by our meeting coverage and consider this discussion closed.

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Taking it to the next level.

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