On Oct. 11, KO celebrated Hewett Day, an annual event named after former KO headmaster Merritt Hewett. Each year on Hewett Day, every athletic team at KO has a home game and the day is filled with fun and lots of action and the games feature teams from the middle school, junior varsity and varsity level.
Due to Yom Kippur, this year most Hewett Day games took place on Friday instead of over the weekend.
Overall, the 10 Upper School fall athletic teams finished with an outstanding record of 7-1-2. Each team showed up and competed hard until the final whistle.
Starting with football, the Wyverns kicked off Hewett Day festivities at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10 against Capital Prep Harbor, one day before the other Hewett Day competitions. CPH struggled against the stronger, better-coached Wyverns, leading to KO’s 45-6 victory. The game was highlighted by strong plays from senior quarterback Co-captain Stephen Bailey. “This was the one true blowout of a Hewett Day and that attests to the skill level of our football team,” Director of Athletics Josh Balabuch said.
The next day, the rest of KO’s fall sports teams faced off against Pomfret in a series of games and meets. On the soccer fields, the boys varsity team took on a solid Pomfret team. The Wyverns defeated Pomfret 2-1, highlighted by an amazing game in the net by junior goalie Sawyer Burtman and goals from junior defender Pratt Blair and junior midfielder Corey Nyguen. This was a tremendous victory that came down to the wire for the Wyverns on Hewett Day. Unfortunately, the boys junior varsity squad had a tougher time, suffering a 9-0 defeat against Pomfret.
On the other field up by Trout Brook, girls varsity soccer ended with a 1-1 tie against Pomfret in a game that was back and forth. The Wyverns’ lone goal was scored in the first half by senior midfielder Co-captain Liv Schaller. The girls junior varsity soccer team also finished in a tie. Their game was characterized by strong defense, as the game ended in a 0-0 draw.
Back on the Hoffman Turf Field, the field hockey team secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory, highlighted by a shutout in net from senior Co-captain Stella Zimmer and two goals from junior midfielder Kate Dempsey-Weiner. This was one of the field hockey team’s strongest performances this season.
In Hewett Gym, the varsity volleyball team earned a commanding 3-0 victory. The game was filled with strong play from sophomore front lines Lila Klinzman and Chloe Delaire. Junior Co-captain Lola Peck also had an amazing game, serving well numerous times. The JV volleyball team also finished with a tremendous victory, winning 2-0. Both girls volleyball teams won every single set, which was very impressive!
Finally, both the boys and girls varsity cross country teams faced off against Pomfret at the West Hartford Reservoir Park. The boys had a solid victory (23-38) with strong times from junior Co-captain Leo Ladewig and junior Arthur Tittman. The girls also had a dominant win, ending 20-40 with a very strong time from senior Co-captain Claire Palmer.
Overall, the Wyverns dominated on Hewett Day. “It truly emphasized and exemplified the hard work of our teams this year,” Coach Balabuch said. “Our teams are super strong this year, and Hewett Day showed the KO community this.” Although Hewett Day was a bit different this year, as it preceded Yom Kippur and Nicholson Day, it was still a vibrant day at KO and in the end, had extremely positive results for the athletic department at our school.
