By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The Bristol boys lacrosse coop has continued to make gains throughout the 2023 campaign, making a little history along the way.
The combined efforts from Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern, under the guidance of coach Eric Bell – who was here, there and everywhere this past spring – helped the program establish a new record for wins in a season with 14.
That 14-win mark tied Fairfield Prep for the most victories by a Class L program this spring.
Both the Kingstreeters and Prep went 14-2 in regular season battles this year.
And give the squad credit because the only teams that were able to hang regular season losses against Bristol were Lewis Mills (9-8 on April 17) and Wethersfield (18-0 on April 24).
Otherwise, the squad defeated everything in its path.
The postseason was a bit trickier, however.
But the Bristol team qualified for the CCC Tournament, dropping a tough 11-4 decision to Mills and then fell to No. 10 Fairfield Ludlowe 20-3 in the CIAC Class L’s qualifying round.
But at 14-4, who can complain about the final results by the coop program?
And off that outstanding campaign, three players from the Bristol program earned All-Conference honors from the CCC South.
The sophomore, junior and seniors classes were represented on the All-Conference squad.
Sophomore Ian Reardon, junior Dylan Brown and senior Jakub Warszawik all earned postseason honors.
Warszawik, a senior defender, usually was in the top one or two in ground balls and helped senior keeper Max Stavens keep the opposing offenses in check.
He was certainly one of the top defenders in all of the CCC.
And speaking of ground balls, Brown typically led the team in that category (he had 11 alone in the 14-6 victory over Enfield on April 20) and also put in the work offensively.
Brown could be good for a couple goals a game and every team needs a multi-talented athlete like Brown running up and down the turf with supreme effort.
Reardon was another offensive star for the program, one of the leaders in goals.
Usually scoring a couple goals every match, he scored three goals in the 16-3 victory over Windsor back on April 27 and usually garnered a couple ground balls every match.
All three athletes deserved the in-season accolades and expect more of the same from Brown and Reardon as Bristol lacrosse continues to improve and grow as a sport next year.
Here’s the entire 2023 roster for the Bristol Lacrosse Coop:
*Jack Hartley, Sophomore
*Chase Dauphinee, Sophomore
*Connor Akerly, Sophomore
*Tyghe Collins, Freshman
*Matteo DiMarco, Sophomore
*Ian Reardon, Sophomore (All-Conference)
*Dylan Brown, Junior (All-Conference)
*Brady Bell, Sophomore
*Gavin Damboise, Sophomore
*Zachery Harmon, Senior
*Jayden Glasper, Freshman
*Ryan Spina, Senior
*Jakub Warszawik, Senior (All-Conference)
*Braydan Dwyer, Sophomore
*Max Stavens, Senior
*Vincent Howley, Junior
*Tyler Montanez, Freshman
*Nathan Duval, Freshman
*Nicholas Martino, Sophomore
*Rider Fellows, Freshman
*Aiden Collins, Junior
*Ryan Conklin, Sophomore
*Hayden Tichy, Freshman
*Thomas Stout, Freshman
