West Hartford Athletes on Campus: Preston Wins Diving Competition at UNH Meet

Another great week for West Hartford athletes, leading off with Maggie Preston (Conard High '12), a sophomore on the University of Vermont women’s swimming and diving team, who won the diving event at a meet at the University of New Hampshire on Oct. 19. Teammate Sarah Mantz (Hall High '13), a freshman, also swam well for UVm, placing third in the 50-freestyle with a time of 24.76. Mantz was also a member of the 400-freestyle relay team that won with a time of 3:31.97. Unfortunately, Preston’s and Mantz’s efforts weren’t enough, as the Catamounts fell 171-129. Both Preston and Mantz are enjoying successful seasons. Mantz was part of a team that set a Wagner pool record in the 200-free relay on Oct. 12. … Zachary Becker (Hall High ‘12), a sophomore defender on the Hamilton College men’s soccer team, has played in 10 games for the 3-5-3 Continentals. … Dominique Spaulding (Conard High ‘12), a sophomore defensive lineman on the Mount Ida College football team, had a great game against Anna Maria on Oct. 19. Spaulding recorded 2 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss and 5 total tackles in a 56-34 victory. Spaulding leads the team with 3.5 sacks on the year. … West Hartford resident Allie Gurney (St. Paul School ‘10), a senior on the Hamilton College women’s cross country team, placed 13th at the Hamilton College Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 12. Gurney finished the 5K course with a time of 19:02. … Emily Wieczorek (Hall High ‘12), a sophomore on the Fairfield University women’s soccer team, logged an assist in a 4-0 victory over Niagara on Oct. 19. She has appeared in 10 matches for the Stags, who improved to 10-5-1 on the year. Teammate Megan O’Brien (Hall High ‘11) is a defender who has started 12 games for Fairfield and has logged a goal and an assist. … Rachel Cudo’s (Hall High ‘12) Southern Vermont College women’s soccer team improved to 6-6-1 on the year and secured an NECC playoff spot with an 8-0 victory over Wheelock College. Cudo has appeared in 8 games, starting in five of them. … Steven Hild (Kingswood Oxford ‘11), a junior linebacker on the Bates College football team, ranks fourth on the Bobcats with 32 tackles in five games this year. He has also recovered one fumble and broken up one pass. … Michaela Celella (Conard High ‘12), a sophomore on the Wesleyan University field hockey team, has appeared in 10 matches for the Cardinals, who are 5-6 on the year. She has scored one goal. … Claire O’Brien (Hall High ‘13), a freshman defender on the Stonehill College women’s soccer team, has started all 14 games for the 4-8-2 Skyhawks. … Becca Scalise (Hall High ‘12), a sophomore defender on the Southern Connecticut State University women’s soccer team, has played in 12 of the Owls’ (5-7-1) 13 matches this year. … Christian Bohn (Hall High ‘12), a sophomore on the Endicott College football team, has appeared in all five of the Gulls’ games, recording two tackles.

West Hartford Athletes on Campus is a (hopefully) weekly feature that summarizes the best of what's going on with former Chieftains and Warriors in college athletics. If you know of a former West Hartford scholastic athlete who is now competing at the collegiate level, please let me know at ted.glanzer@patch.com.