Southington Adds Girls Golf As CIAC-Sanctioned Sport

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BLUE KNIGHTS GOLF INSTAGRAM

For the first time in history, girls golf will be an official CIAC-sanctioned sport at Southington High School come the spring 2026 season. It took a collaborative, community effort to help get the newest Blue Knights team off the ground – an effort that head coach James McAloon knows will change Southington sports forever.

“There’s a desire for more student athletes to be involved in some way, shape or form at Southington High School,” McAloon said. “This is a pretty special moment. Some might think it’s long overdue, but here we are. It speaks to the number of student athletes that want to be part of something. There’s all kinds of programs, clubs and sports they can be a part of, and now we’re offering another opportunity.”

“It’s really incredible to see the support we’ve gotten for this, and the amount of interest from girls going into the spring season,” he continued.

One of the biggest reasons Southington didn’t have an official girls golf team in the past was perceived lack of interest. McAloon, alongside Colleen Murphy and Dave Yanosy, put that assumption to the test. The trio held an interest meeting focused on girls golf and saw 25 girls attend.

To McAloon, that was a sign that girls golf at the high school was an idea worth pursuing.

“It told me there was an untapped potential to have this thing here at Southington High School,” McAloon said. “The girls were more interested than we realized.”

The increase in interest came from a number of factors. Boys golf moved to the fall right before the Covid pandemic, which allowed the girls squad to play in the spring. Furthermore, the pandemic itself opened more people’s eyes to the sport itself.

“Following the pandemic, there was a surge in interest in golf,” McAloon said. “It was one of the activities that people were able to get out of the house and do during that time. Whether adult, teenager, young kids, male, or female, anybody who wanted could get out and play. It was a good activity for people to do with family members and friends.”

So the wheels began turning for the introduction of an official girls golf team. For McAloon, it was about time for the Blue Knights to join the competition.

“Southington is one the biggest schools in the state,” McAloon said. “We should be represented with a girls golf team.”

Lily Coleman Wants To Golf

When Lily Coleman was a sophomore, she attended the boys golf interest meeting. McAloon, who is also head coach of the boys team, faced a problem. Since there was no girls golf team, what was the proper protocol for Coleman?

Speaking with former athletic director Steve Risser, he was informed she would need to try out the same way the boys do. That realization stirred McAloon’s curiosity about introducing a new team.

“That is what brought out my interest in girls golf,” McAloon said. “To see what we could offer at Southington High School, and see what the rest of the conference and state looked like.”

Once he did some digging, the head coach discovered that 17 schools in the Central Connecticut Conference were represented by a girls golf team. That only reinforced his determination to bring the sport to Southington.

McAloon made a promise to Coleman: it would take some time, but he assured her there would be a Lady Knights golf team before she graduated from the high school.

“By the time you’re done here, there will be a girls golf team. That was a promise I made to her that I’m very happy to say I followed through on,” McAloon said. “I thought she deserved that opportunity just like the rest of the girls in high school who might be interested. I’m glad we've gotten to the position we are in today, where she can have that opportunity.”

Coleman embraced the challenge of trying out with the boys. She teed off from the white tees rather than the red, which makes a significant difference in terms of distance. There was one goal in her mind, and that was to play golf.

“It was incredible character and mental toughness there to put herself forward and try out from the white tees,” McAloon said. “She was going up against high level golfers. Lily went out there and gave it her best. She showed up and tried out for the boys team, putting in an incredible effort. It speaks to her ability to overcome fear. It took a lot for her to do that. I was really impressed.”

Now a junior, Coleman will soon get her first official opportunity to tee off for the Lady Knights. She leads a wave of girls eager to prove themselves on the links. 

“Lily is very excited that we’re going to be a legit program representing Southington High School and competing in our own conference,” McAloon said. “She is all-in on golf and I know that she and several other girls are already putting in the offseason work to better themselves and get ready for the spring, which is really cool.” 

Girls Golf Shows Potential With Club Season

During the spring 2025 season, Southington girls golf competed as a club team, setting up matches through the CCC. Although their opponents didn’t get credit towards their state tournament qualification based on the results, McAloon said those teams were more than willing to accept Southington’s challenge. They knew the Lady Knights would be coming to the table sooner rather than later.

“We had to show that interest was sustainable through the season. We ended up with 15 girls making it through the whole process,” McAloon said. “I have 16 guys on the boys roster, so 15 is a strong showing.”

McAloon was joined on the coaching staff by Murphy, a former basketball and field hockey coach, Yanosy, a long-time soccer coach and assistant boys golf coach, and Kathleen Reynolds, current freshman administrator and avid golfer. That group worked to keep the team committed and competitive throughout the season.

As they watched the Lady Knights play, they saw the squad improve. The team was determined to keep growing, dedicating themselves to the sport.

“It was incredible,” McAloon said. “I looked at the girls who were out there on a daily basis and admired how tough they were. The conditions in the spring can be challenging. They showed up every day - fifteen girls, all showing up religiously to try and get better, to learn the game, to grow from the game. It was awesome to see their growth from the beginning to the end of the season.”

With the club season a success, Southington applied to join the CCC and represent the Class LL division in the CIAC. The athletic department supported the team throughout the filing; Risser played a key role in getting the application in.

It didn’t take long for Southington to get approved. McAloon called it a no-brainer from the CIAC’s standpoint. Once the decision was made, the high school officially added another varsity sport to their docket.

In 2026, Southington’s results will all count towards CCC and Class LL State Tournament contention. The club season helped the Lady Knights get their footing. They're now prepared for live competition.

“We laid a lot of the groundwork last year,” McAloon said. “We had to show them everything from golf course etiquette to the rules, as well as certain approaches to chipping and putting, swing mechanics. We put in a lot of that groundwork knowing this was a possibility and that this would pay off for us going into the spring of 2026.”

Boosters Step Up

For a time it was touch-and-go whether Southington would have a club team. Funding for the team failed to make it into last year’s school budget, which meant the Lady Knights needed to raise funds to get the program off the ground. That’s when the community stepped up.

Shane Zajac and Bill Stiendl helped create a booster club for the team, reaching out to local businesses and organizations for support. They created different categories for donations based on golf terms such as 'ace' or 'eagle'.

McAloon provided a list to the Outsider of over 20 local organizations that helped support the effort. Their contributions provided the foundations for Lady Knights Golf. Those entities will be forever associated with the creation of Southington’s girls team.

“If they didn’t come through and provide the funds, I don’t know if we would’ve had a club team, and I’m not sure if we would’ve been able to get this team off the ground,” McAloon said. “The community support has been incredible.”

Zajac had firsthand experience with girls golf when her oldest daughter Brooke had to play on the boys team in high school. Brooke went on to play at the collegiate level at York College. Thanks to the community, all Southington girls will now have the opportunity that Zajac and many others weren’t afforded. 

“It speaks to the type of community that we live in,” McAloon said. “I’m from Southington, born and raised. I’m raising my own family here now. I’m teaching and coaching in Southington. I couldn’t be more proud to be a community member after seeing the show of support from local businesses and organizations, people who were looking for something special like this to happen.”

As for the girls preparing to join Southington’s inaugural golf team, the community’s support won’t soon be forgotten. Everyone had a common goal of building a program from the ground up. Along the way they never faltered, and the Lady Knights were born.

“The girls who are now a part of this golf program are never going to forget that,” McAloon said. “They’re going to know what it was like for a community to step up and help them in something they wanted to do. I’m willing to bet that’s going to stay with them for the rest of their lives. They’ll be willing to do the same thing for the community they’ll be living in then.

“After this experience, I’m more than willing to bet that it will be the town of Southington,” he predicted.

Lady Knights Ready For Competition

When Southington begins their spring season, they will be playing their home matches at Hawk’s Landing. The coaching staff knows of at least 10 returning members, and is currently trying to gauge how many other players may be interested. McAloon has spoken to students at the middle schools about the new program. One way or another, the Lady Knights’ initial roster will be finalized by the end of March.

In the CCC, Southington will have fierce competition from the likes of Berlin, Glastonbury and Simsbury. Other squads may have more experience competing at the high school level, but McAloon isn’t expecting the Lady Knights to back down. He knows the caliber and talent of girls on the roster, and is sure Southington will have their foot on the gas from their very first match.

“We’re going to try and compete for a conference championship,” McAloon said. “Our goal is to go out there and give our best every match. I know there’s some heavy hitters in the CCC. But we had competitive matches with those teams and we look forward to the challenge. Our goal is to go out there, score our best every week, see if we can compete for a conference championship and qualify for the state tournament.”

In the five decades since Southington High School’s building was completed, there has never been a girls golf program. Through their efforts Coleman and many others have ensured that that will change in 2026.

“It is an opportunity that is going to last a lifetime for these girls,” McAloon said. “Creating friendships and bonds through the game of golf. I’m very grateful that we got the support from the school and community to get this done. Girls golf will be here for years to come.”

“I have been a part of a lot of fun, competitive programs and I’ve been a part of a lot of teams that have competed for state championships. Those are things I’m very proud of. But I’m not sure that I’m more proud of any accomplishment than what we just got done with the girls golf team.”

Beavers’ Return Brings Delight And Challenges

A beaver couple in the Eight Mile River KEVIN AND RENEE HASTINGS PHOTOS & VIDEOS

It was in the summer of 2024, on a quiet stretch of the Eight Mile River off Churchill Street in Southington, that the first dam was spotted. There was no doubt about its origins – only beavers would have taken the trouble to weave branches into a water-tight barrier there. On occasion locals would hear the thwack beavers make when they slap their tails on water.

During their first year of residence, the beavers kept a low profile. That changed this past summer when they began constructing a dam up against the roadway. Kevin and Renee Hastings were among those who would come out to watch the animals. At the start of the summer they saw two beavers, dubbed ‘Bucky’ and ‘Penny’ by their daughter. The two were not always visible, but when they were, they put on a show for onlookers as they collected branches for their dam or played in the stream.

Their return was not just a source of delight for nature-watchers; it also marked a historical turning-point. There is, at the moment, a healthy population of beavers in Connecticut. Yet for many years, our state had no beavers at all. In the case of Southington, none have lived here for a very long time – certainly for decades, quite possibly for over two hundred years.

A Long Absence

When European settlers first reached this part of the world in the 1600’s, they were eager to find things they could ship home for profit. One of the most abundant and valuable products they identified were furs – the pelts of bears, foxes, deer, muskrats, beavers, and other mammals. The colonists relied on Native Americans to do most of the trapping, exchanging wampum, metal, and other goods for furs. Four centuries ago, cities like Hartford and Springfield were basically trading posts that received thousands of pelts each year and sent them down the Connecticut river to be shipped abroad for sale.

The trade in beaver furs was not destined to last long. European demand was insatiable; meanwhile, beavers reproduce slowly, and they are easy to catch. Before long, the species had been completely eliminated from our area. In his classic history of the New England landscape, Changes in the Land, William Cronon cites a Connecticut historian, Benjamin Trumbull, who wrote in 1797 that otters, foxes, martens, raccoons, minks, muskrats, and beavers could no longer be found in the state.

The end of the fur trade gave the mammals a chance to recover, but deforestation, hunting, and development hampered their return. It was only in the last century that deer, foxes, bears, and raccoons came back to Connecticut in significant numbers, spreading from the northern parts of New England.

The year beavers officially returned to Connecticut was 1914, when a breeding pair was released in the town of Union. Very slowly, they spread. The animal is now fairly common in the wetlands of eastern and western Connecticut, with a population estimated at around 6,000.

In the more densely populated center of the state, however, beavers are still relatively rare. Val Guarino of the Southington Conservation Land Trust recalled seeing a pond a few years ago in Berlin that had a beaver dam. But Guarino could not recall any sightings of beavers or dams in Southington prior to 2024. David Lapreay, the Town’s Superintendent of Highway, Parks, and Recreation, offered a similar assessment; he and his co-workers, who keep a close watch on Southington’s streams and roads, had not encountered any beaver dams in town before last year.

If these assessments are accurate, it would appear that Bucky and Penny are the first beavers to visit Southington in a very long time – possibly more than two centuries.

A Struggle To Co-exist

When beavers dam up a stream, a pond can quickly form where none had been before. In the summer of 2024, a neighbor whose property borders the Eight Mile River was alarmed to find such a pond forming near his house. According to his post on Facebook, he brought in a backhoe to remove the dam twice; twice, the beavers rebuilt.

This summer the beavers were back at work. Churchill Street crosses the Eight Mile on a short causeway that has a culvert in the middle to let the water through. Jeff O’Donnell and Jan Gatzuras, who live down the street, described how, in early summer, the beavers constructed a dam that blocked the upstream mouth of the culvert and caused the water behind it to rise to a point that the road would sometimes flood during a downpour.

Jeff O'Donnell pointing to mouth of culvert dammed by beavers PHILIP THIBODEAU PHOTO

After a crew from the Town cleared the dam, the animals started building another one just south of the road:

Remnants of downstream dam KEVIN AND RENEE HASTINGS PHOTO

But then the beavers abruptly abandoned that effort in order to take a different approach. This time they plugged up the culvert from the inside, in effect turning the entire causeway into a dam. Once again a pond formed, and once again the Highway Department, concerned that nearby residents might be stranded by floodwaters during a storm, dispatched a team to clear out the pipe.

Beavers, though, are persistent; it is only a matter of time before they come back. So the question arose: what is the most effective way to deal with an animal that can change the landscape in a way that humans may find inconvenient?

The “Beaver Deceiver”

Like birds, bees, and other creatures that construct nests, beavers work primarily by instinct. They collect woody material by habit, and follow clues in the environment to determine where they should stack it. One of the strongest triggers for their building response is the sound of running water. Even a small leak in a dam will set them working until the leak is fixed. And despite the expression 'busy beaver,' beavers try to do as little work as they can get away with, in order to conserve energy.

In the 1990’s a Vermont native named Skip Lisle was brought on by the Penobscot Nation in Maine to solve the problem of beavers blocking up culverts on their land. Lisle figured out how the beaver’s instincts could be used against them. The device he patented is a large trapezoidal fence anchored to the stream bed that surrounds the upstream mouth of a culvert. He named his invention the Beaver Deceiver.

Lisle's Deceiver uses three tricks to discourage the animals from blocking a stream. First, its long perimeter presents beavers with a high-effort task. Second, beavers who are attempting to cover the mouth of the culvert will find themselves building away from rather than towards it, so they give up in frustration. Third, even if they do persist in building along the device’s flanks, the sound of rushing water grows fainter as the intake gets wider, which deactivatives their instinct. When properly installed and maintained, Beaver Deceivers have a near-perfect record of keeping the mouths of culverts clear.

At its meeting of November 6, the seven members of Southington’s Conservation Commission approved the purchase of a “Keystone fence sytem" for the Churchill Street culvert. The vendor, Beaver Solutions of Southampton, Massachusetts, promptly fulfilled the order, installing the system on November 18.

Installation of the fencing JAN GATZURAS PHOTO 

The 'Deceiver' at the mouth of the culvert PHILIP THIBODEAU PHOTO

It remains to be seen what the beavers will do next – whether they will stay in the same area, or move upstream or downstream, to a site with less human interference. O’Donnell thought he had seen signs of new construction upstream in early November. “It wouldn’t surprise me,” he said, “if the beavers were smart enough to realize they’re better off building a dam well into the woods, away from where humans travel. That would be great; it wouldn’t affect the road, and it wouldn’t be a safety problem.”

With winter fast approaching, the beavers may not have time to construct a full dam. Whether they make it to next spring depends on the amount of food that they were able to store away this fall. Bucky and Penny may come back next year, or they may not; no one knows for sure.

There is only one thing we do know for certain beavers have finally returned to Southington, a piece of land that their species once called home for many thousands of years.

KEVIN AND RENEE HASTINGS VIDEO

Southington Town Council Hopes For New Era Of Cooperation

Standing, left to right: Councilors Dave Zoni, Chris Palmieri, Kristen Guida, Tony Morrison, Joshua Serafino, Jim Morelli; Town Clerk Kathy Larkin, Town Manager Alex Ricciardone, Town Attorney Lou Martocchio, Jr., Asst. Attorney Lou Martocchio III; seated: Councilors Jennifer Clock, Paul Chaplinsky, Jr., and Mike DelSanto PETER PROHASKA PHOTOS

Transparency and collaboration were the key words of the first meeting of the newly-elected Southington Town Council. While these ideals were not fully realized, the group did take several important preliminary steps toward accomplishing the tasks they were elected to execute.

Meeting officially for the first time on the evening of November 24, the Council took a collective oath of office administered by Town Clerk Kathy Larkin and then joined in prayer, seeking divine aid in putting the interests of the town before any partisan concerns.

Following the swearing-in, Paul Chaplinsky, Jr. was re-elected unanimously to his former role as Chairman. Chaplinsky’s opening remarks invoked “collaboration and transparency and continuing to move the needle forward for the town.”

A motion by Dave Zoni to nominate fellow Democrat Chris Palmieri, the Council’s top vote-getter, as Vice-Chair was not successful, despite a call for cross-party collaboration. Instead Republican Jennifer Clock was elected to serve in that role, saying, “Those who have worked with me know I absolutely am collaborative, and work towards transparency and the good of the town.”

After that, the Council unanimously voted to appoint Lou Martocchio, Jr. as Town Attorney and his son, Lou Martocchio III, as Assistant Town Attorney.

The meeting broke down along party lines when new procedural rules were introduced for approval by the majority leader.

These proposed changes included the elimination of the Self-Insurance Committee; a clearer procedure for nominating a Minority Leader; a notice period for absences; a new restriction on the use of official Town letterhead that would limit it to the Council as a whole; and new protocols for Council member communications with the Town Attorney designed to limit legal expenses incurred by the Town.

Palmieri and Zoni objected to the proposed changes, saying that their caucus had received notice of the proposals only late that afternoon, and that they had not been properly vetted by the Town Attorney.

Council member Tony Morrison argued that the Self-Insurance Committee was essentially redundant, since its reports already must go to the Board of Finance for study and approval. Getting enough members for a regular quorum was difficult as well, Morrison suggested, and thus the body was not optimally efficient.

After discussion, a new set of changes was put forward that included the elimination of the Self-Insurance Committee, the establishment of a procedure for nominating a Minority Leader, and a notice period for absences, but with the letterhead and Town Attorney provisions left out. This proposal passed on a 6-3, party-line vote.

With that framework in place, Palmieri was named Minority Leader by a unanimous vote.

When Clock brought forth a possible nomination for an empty seat on the Police Commission, Palmieri objected, saying that Democrats had previously agreed to vote on an empty seat on the Board of Fire Commissioners as the search for a new Fire Chief gets underway. He objected that any additional nominations had not been previously agreed to, and did not appear on the original agenda.

“It’s not really a collaborative effort when we agreed to something different,” Palmieri said.

Chaplinsky countered that before the Council is officially sworn in, the agenda is made by the Town Clerk and Town Manager, but it can be amended according to Robert’s Rules of Order once the Council is official.

Despite those procedural concerns, the Republicans voted to add the nomination to the Police Commission and three people to the Library Board to the agenda. All of the nominations, including the one for the Fire Commission, passed.

Chaplinsky thanked the Council for their willingness to work together on appointments, since the Council meeting had been delayed due to the recount.

During the public comment section of the agenda, Milldale resident Dr. Laura Triano spoke before the Council, making a case for additional sidewalks and crosswalks on Clark Street. She pointed to the dangers of an increased volume of traffic, including expected trips to the Stonebridge Crossing shopping area just over the border in Cheshire, as well as more bicycle users on the Farmington Canal Linear Trail. Currently, only one stretch of sidewalk exists on Clark, in front of Southington Fire Station No. 3.

As the work involves a state road, any such improvements would likely have to be done with the cooperation of the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Triano also reported that Representative Chris Poulos had expressed willingness to work with the Town on improving safety in the area.

The next meeting of the Town Council is scheduled for December 8.

Returning Council Member Dave Zoni receives his official Town of Southington pin from Town Manager Ricciardone as Joshua Serafino looks on.