Sports:

• Football
• Track

Curt Brown was an outstanding football and track athlete for SHS. As a senior, he served as captain of the track team and led them to the Eastern Connecticut Con-ference and Connecticut Class M championships. For three seasons he has earned All-ECC honors and was Connecticut Class M, Connecticut State Open, and New England champion in the discus, setting a new record at the 1956 New England Open, and was also Class M champion in the shot put. Fifty years after graduation, he still holds the SHS school records in both events, 169’ 7 1⁄4” in discus and 57’ 6” in shot put. As a member of the football team, he was twice All-ECC and hon-orable mention All-State. In his senior year SHS was given a Merit Award by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference as state champion. That season, he rushed for over 1000 yards on 154 carries, an average of 6.5 yards per carry. After graduating from SHS, Brown received a scholarship to play football at Brigham Young University in Utah, where he also participated in track. He went on to play football professionally in the Canadian Football League for the British Columbia Lions and the Montreal Alouettes.

Sports:

• Football
• Track

David Austin was an outstanding football and track athlete for SHS, serving as co-captain for both teams. As a track performer, he set six school and two Eastern Connecticut Conference records, and in 1936 won two events at the Connecticut state meet and three events at the Rhode Island state meet. In 1937, he won four events at the Connecticut state meet, setting records in the 220-yard dash and the discus. Stonington won the Connecticut Class B championship both years. He held six school records when he graduated. He was also named All-ECC in football as a halfback in 1935 and 1936. He was active in school life at SHS, serving as president of the Student Council and was also elected president of the Eastern Connecticut Chapter of Student Councils. After graduating from SHS, he attended college but World War II caused him to leave school and begin working at Electric Boat, where he played for the E.B. Diesel football team in the Connecticut Semi-Pro League and the New England Professional League.

Sports:

• Football

Ellery Whitford was the first Stonington High School football player to twice be named first team All-State. He also earned All-Eastern Connecticut Conference honors three times, named to the second team in 1940 and first team in 1941 and 1942. He was the mainstay of the defense at his position of tackle. In 1941, the team allowed opponents to score only 35 points and only lost to state champion New London Bulkeley by a score of 7-6. He was co-captain of the 1942 ECC champion-ship team, a team considered by many to be Stonington’s best ever. They were ranked second in Connecticut and only lost to state champion New Britain; that season, the team only gave up 37 points to their opponents and did not give up a single point to a conference opponent. After graduating from SHS, he had the op-portunity to play college football, but chose to serve his country instead, enlisting in the US Navy and serving World War II in the Pacific Theater from 1943-1946 and earning numerous medals.

Sports:

• Track

George Foley taught at Stonington High School from 1934-1941 and from 1945-1970, serving as track coach for the early part of his career. In 1936, his team won the Connecticut Class B Championship. In 1937, the team won the Eastern Con-necticut Conference and Connecticut Class B championships. In 1938, the team earned second in the Connecticut Class B championship and won the Rhode Island Class B championship. Many of his athletes won state championships in individual events. He also served as SHS Athletic Director for twenty years. A very popular teacher who often led annual trips to Washington, D.C., the SHS Pawmystonian yearbook was dedicated to him three times.

Sports:

• Softball
• Basketball
• Volleyball
• Soccer
• Gymnastics

Helen Cruickshank was awarded the SHS Athletic Achievement Cup as the out-standing female athlete of the senior class in 1945. She excelled in softball, basket-ball, volleyball, soccer, and tumbling at a time when opportunities for girls were limited. She was also elected to the National Honor Society. At the University of Rhode Island, Cruickshank participated in five varsity sports and served as captain of both the basketball and softball teams. She also participated in archery, tennis, and skiing. Inducted into the URI Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989, she was the first sophomore to win the Women’s Athletic Association Cup for athletic excellence. After graduation from URI, Cruickshank continued her athletic career while serv-ing in the United States Army, where she attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. She earned distinction in golf, tennis, softball, bowling, and volleyball during her army career and was recognized as one of the greatest female athletes in her era. After retiring from the army she played golf professionally for many years.

Sports:

• Soccer

Joe Ponte was an outstanding soccer player for SHS. He is the SHS soccer career and single-season record holder in both goals and assists. He was named All-Eastern Connecticut Conference in each of his four seasons and was the ECC Player of the Year in 1987 and 1988. In 1987 SHS was ECC Co-Champion, and in 1988 Ponte led the Bears to the ECC championship as well as the Connecticut Class M championship game. He was named All-State in 1986, 1987, and 1988 and All-New England in 1988. After graduation from SHS, he attended the University of Pennsylvania. He was Penn’s Freshman of the Year in 1989 and was named team Most Valuable Player in 1992. He was named All-Ivy League three times and All-Mid Atlantic twice. He participated on a United States National Select team in 1992. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Vermont in 1998.

Sports:

• Fieldhockey
• Basketball
• Softball

Karen Watson earned nine varsity letters while at SHS, participating in field hockey, basketball, and softball. She was team captain and All-Eastern Connecticut Conference in all three sports as a senior. A member of Eastern Connecticut Conference champion basketball teams in 1981 and 1982; she led SHS to the first ever ECC basketball tournament title in 1983 and was named honorable mention All-State that year. The ace of the softball team’s pitching staff, Watson was named All-ECC all three seasons she played at SHS and first team All-State in 1982 and 1983. During her senior season she had a 12-4 record, including seven shutouts, with an ERA of 1.08.

Sports:

• Football
• Basketball
• Golf

Louis Stefanski was a member of the football, basketball and golf teams at SHS. As a member of the football team, he was named the outstanding offensive player in the 1978 Thanksgiving Day game. As a member of the basketball team, he earned both All-Eastern Connecticut Conference and All-State honors.

As a member of the golf team, he was played on three straight ECC champion teams, earning All-ECC status each year. He helped lead SHS to the state championship in 1979. He also won the Eastern Invitational that year by shooting a 71, a record that stood for 20 years. At Temple University, he was a member of the golf team and was twice named to the All East Coast Team in Division 1; he was the Big 5 Champion, an NCAA Division 1 Honorable Mention All-American, and a 3rd Team All-American. After college, he was a Rhode Island Amateur Medalist, a Rhode Island Amateur 4-Ball Finalist, and participated in a number of professional golf tours.</

Sports:

• Football
• Basketball
• Baseball
• Track

Peter Arnold was an outstanding football, basketball, baseball, and track athlete for SHS, earning All-Eastern Connecticut Conference honors in all four sports. As a junior, he was a member of ECC champion basketball and baseball teams. As a senior, he was a member of ECC championship teams in all four sports. In football, he served as captain and earned honorable mention All-State on a team which received a Merit Award by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference as state champion. He was also honorable mention All-State as a member of the 1956 state champion basketball team. He was a captain of the 1956 state champion baseball team. He won first team All-State honors in track as the javelin champion at the Class B Meet, leading SHS to the 1956 Class B state championship. After graduating from SHS, Arnold attended Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, where he played football, basketball, and track.

Sports:

• Football
• Basketball
• Baseball

Randy Wentz was an outstanding football, basketball, and baseball player at SHS. In football, he was a three-year starter and in his senior year earned All-Eastern Connecticut Conference honors and SHS was ECC Co-Champion. He earned All-ECC honors in basketball during his junior and senior seasons. He was also twice All-ECC in baseball, and as co-captain of the baseball team in his senior year, he batted .443 with seven home runs and had a pitching record of 7-2 for the ECC Co-Champions. He was voted the best athlete of the Class of 1965. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, he served in the Vietnam War, winning numerous medals and commendations. He later coached softball at the Pawcatuck Little League, leading Pawcatuck to its first state championship and the New England finals in 1982. He also coached girls’ basketball at Saint Michael School in Pawcatuck.

Sports:

• Football
• Basketball
• Baseball
• Track

Bob Cragan earned twelve varsity letters while at SHS, participating in football, basketball, and baseball, and track. He was all-conference in football and track and honorable mention all-conference in basketball. He served as captain for both bas-ketball and baseball, and in his senior year hit .436 for the baseball team. He was a member of the Eastern Connecticut-Western Rhode Island conference champion teams in 1927 as part of the football squad and in 1927 and 1928 as part of the track team. The track team also won the Rhode Island Class B championship and was runner-up at the Connecticut state meet. He was very active in school life at SHS, serving as president of his class as well as of the “S” Club. After graduating from SHS, Cragan attended Rhode Island State College (the University of Rhode Island) where he was an outstanding athlete, competing in football, basketball, and base-ball. He was inducted into the URI Hall of Fame in 1976. He played football profes-sionally with the Providence Steamrollers and the Providence Huskies. In 1953 he founded the East Greenwich, RI Little League, and the league’s field is named the Bob Cragan Memorial Field.

Sports:

• Basketball
• Softball

Tammy Wentz Parrilla was an outstanding basketball and softball player at SHS. A superb rebounder, she earned four varsity letters in basketball, was twice named to the All-Eastern Connecticut Conference team, and served as captain during her senior year. She is the most dominant player in SHS softball history. She earned four varsity letters and was named All-ECC and All-State in 1985, 1986, and 1987. The team won ECC championships in 1986 and 1987, and went to the state finals in 1987. Team captain that season, she had a 20-2 record with an earned-run average of 1.18 in 112 innings, and also batted .386. Her career pitching record was 55-13 with three no-hitters. She was awarded the SHS Athletic Achievement Cup in 1987 and was awarded a scholarship to the University of Connecticut. She was inducted into the Connecticut Scholastic and Collegiate Softball Hall of Fame in 2004.