2011

Alvin Mawson

Class of 1916

Alvin Mawson earned varsity letters in football and baseball at Stonington High School.

As a member of the football team, he started at tackle as a sophomore, and as a junior captained the team, starting at fullback and handling the kicking duties as the team went 7-1-1 and won its first Eastern Connecticut Conference championship. He also served as co-captain as a senior.

He had a 6-0 record as a pitcher for the baseball team as a sophomore, and went 9-1 as a junior, batting .388, as the Bears won their first ECC championship with a 11-3 overall record. As senior captain, he batted .386 and was 5-2 on the mound. During a game against Norwich Free Academy in his senior season, he pitched 16 innings, striking out 16 batters, though the Bears fell by a 2-1 score.

After graduating from SHS, he played in local baseball leagues, then enlisted in the United States Navy, and served his country during World War I. Although a war injury prevented him from resuming his baseball career, he served as Vice President of the Westerly Twilight League, and also worked at the Adams Express Company.

Anthony Pupillo

Class of 1924

Anthony Pupillo participated in football, basketball, track, and baseball at Stonington High School. He was Class President as a senior, and Secretary-Treasurer of the “S” Club. After graduating from SHS in 1924, He attended Green Mountain College, and later graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan College, where he was a member of the basketball team.

He taught at West Broad Street School and Stonington High School, also coaching baseball and football, eventually serving as assistant principal and then principal of Stonington High School. He later became a principal, then superintendent, in Plainville.

Upon retirement, he taught at Briarwood Junior College and briefly served as interim president in 1982.

Jack Gatchek

Class of 1939

Jack Gatchek participated in football, baseball, and track at Stonington High School.

He was co-captain of the 1938 football team, which was Eastern Connecticut Conference co-champion and also ranked fourth in the State of Connecticut. He was named All-Eastern Connecticut by The Day in 1937, and earned All-ECC honors at tackle as a junior and senior.

He played varsity baseball for three seasons, contributing as a pitcher, catcher, and outfielder. He batted over .400 as a junior, and as a senior batted over .300 and served as co-captain.

He also participated in track in the spring as a junior and senior, earning Connecticut Class B All-State honors in the shotput in both years; he won the shot and discus events at the 1939 UConn Relays.

After graduating from SHS, he was awarded a baseball scholarship to Elon College in North Carolina. He later worked at Electric Boat, where he played both football and baseball. He was a member of the Electric Boat team that participated in the National Baseball Congress Tournament in Wichita, Kansas, in 1941.

He served in the United States Army during World War II.

Dennis Dwyer

Class of 1961

Dennis Dwyer graduated from Stonington High School in 1961, and earned letters in football, basketball, baseball and track. He played on two Eastern Connecticut Conference championship teams, the 1959-60 basketball team and the 1960 football team.

As a member of the football team, he earned All-ECC First Team honors as a junior and senior. His 98-yard run from scrimmage against Plainville is the longest in school history. He was selected by the Stonington Police Association as the outstanding player for SHS in the 1959 Armistice Day and the 1960 Thanksgiving Day football games against Westerly. For his many accomplishments in football, he received votes as one of the best athletes in Southeastern Connecticut, competing against athletes in all sports at the high school, college and semi-professional levels.

As a member of the track team, he served as captain as a senior as the Bears finished second at the ECC conference championships. He participated in the 100- and 220-yard dashes, and the 440-, and 880-yard relay races as well as the shot-put. He was undefeated in the shot-put as a senior, including at the ECC Championship, earning All-ECC First Team honors. In the state relays he was part of the third-place 880-yard relay team.

He received a full scholarship to Staunton Military Academy in Virginia, leading the team to the Military Conference Championship in football and track. He transferred to the University of Rhode Island and continued playing football and track, and also attended Thames Valley College. He retired from the United States Army as a Lieutenant Colonel after 42 years of both active and reservist duties. He is currently employed at Electric Boat.

Pete Stefanski

Class of 1974

Pete Stefanski participated in basketball and golf at Stonington High School and lettered in each sport during each of his three years at SHS. He served as captain in both sports during his senior year.

He excelled in golf, earning All-Eastern Connecticut Conference honors as a sophomore, junior, and senior, with the Bears winning the ECC title and qualifying for the state tournament in each of those years. In 1973 SHS won the inaugural Eastern Invitational, and he was medalist for the event.

A graduate of Central Connecticut State University, he lettered in golf for four years, participating in three NCAA tournaments. As a senior, he was team captain and earned All-America honors.

He held or tied the course record at five area courses over the years, and won club championships at Pequot, Shennecossett, and Elmridge. An employee of Electric Boat, he was been received the O.P. Robinson Award as the Electric Boat athlete of the year, and has won the Electric Boat Athletic Club Golf Championship a record seven times.

He also holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of New Haven.

Matt Deary

Class of 1989

Matt Deary participated in soccer, basketball, and baseball at Stonington High School.

A key member of the defense, he helped SHS win two Eastern Connecticut Conference soccer championships; the Bears were co-champions in 1987 and outright champions in 1988. In his junior year, the Bears advanced to the state semi-finals, and in his senior year, in which he served as captain and earned All-ECC and All-State honors, the Bears were state finalists with a 19-1 record.

He also earned All-ECC and All-State honors in baseball as a senior, playing center field and leading the Bears with a .410 batting average.

He was a four-year starter in soccer at Eastern Connecticut State University, serving as captain in his junior year when ECSU were Little East Conference co-champions, and earned Honorable Mention All-Little East honors as a senior, when ECSU won the conference championship.

He is a Social Work Supervisor with the State of Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families.

Heidi Wentz Drake

Class of 1994

Heidi Wentz Drake was a three-year varsity starter in field hockey, basketball, and softball at Stonington High School. She was awarded the 1994 Athletic Achievement Cup as the top female athlete in her graduating class and served as co-captain of all three sports as a senior.

As a member of the field hockey team, she was a part of SHS’s continuing dominance of the Eastern Connecticut Conference, and twice earned All-ECC First Team honors. She was also named All-State Second Team as a senior, when she led the team in scoring. She was a starter on the 1993-1994 Connecticut Class M championship basketball team.

She was a dominant pitcher for the softball team, earning both All-ECC and All-State First Team honors twice, and led the Bears to the Class M state final in 1993.

She pitched at Central Connecticut State University, earning All-Mid-Atlantic Conference honors as a freshman.

Alex Jensen

Class of 2000

Alex Jensen is Stonington High School’s all-time leading scorer in boys’ basketball, and also participated in football and baseball during his years at SHS.

He played football as a freshman, starting at varsity quarterback in the only year that he participated in the sport, and was named the Thanksgiving Day Offensive Player of the Game. As a member of the baseball team, he earned All-Eastern Connecticut Conference second-team honors as a senior.

He excelled in basketball, and was named All-ECC during each of his four seasons. He also earned Class M All-State honors twice, with Second Team honors as a junior and First Team honors as a senior. He started all 92 games that SHS played during his four years at the high school, and scored a record 2,359 points, averaging 25.6 points a game. He holds the record for career 3-point baskets with 207.

He was a two-year starter at Lehigh University, where he earned Patriot League All-Rookie honors as a freshman. He later played for two seasons at the University of Vermont, and was part of a Catamount team that participated in the NCAA tournament in 2005

He is Assistant Vice President and Senior Financial Analyst for Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Jean Kenney Daly

Coach

Jean Kenney Daly was instrumental in moving girls’ athletics forward at Stonington High School and throughout Connecticut.

She was the first coach for SHS girls’ basketball under full-court rules, and started the SHS softball program.

She coached until entering administration, and was the principal of Stonington High School from 1973 until 1992. While principal, she was actively involved with the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC). She served on the CIAC Girls Basketball Committee for many years, and was the Class M representative on the CIAC Board of Control. She was Secretary of the CIAC Board of Control in 1980-81, and President from 1981-1985. She became a member of the CAS-CIAC Board of Directors, serving as the Class M representative, Secretary, and Vice-President, and served as CAS-CIAC President from 1987-1989. She was named Connecticut High School Principal of the Year in 1986-87.

She also served on the National Federation of High School Sports Associations, the national governing body for high school athletics. She was a member of the Executive Committee in 1980-81 as a representative of Section I (New England, New York, New Jersey) schools.