september chronicle 2011

runswick ChronicleThe

All The News That Fits We Print Issue 1: September 2011 Page1

What’s InsideHeadlinesBrunswick Opens 109th YearBy Addison Bennett (P. 1, 4)

Blue Notes Trip to EnglandBy Nicole Snyder (P. 1, 3)

Brunswick Mountain LionBy William Fein (P. 1, 11)

Around WickA Message from The PresidentBy Michael Chronert (P. 2)

Interview With New Lan-guage Dean Señor OcañaBy Teddy Cassoli (P. 5)

Brunswick Math PreviewBy Curren Iyer (P. 6)

Hurricane Irene CleanupBy Reed McMurchy (P. 6)

Brunswick Theatre PreviewBy Addison Bennett (P. 7)

Student EditorialsLearning From Louie: Lessons from a War HeroBy Peter Ciporin (P. 8)

NFL UpdateBy John Erdman (P. 9)

MLB Playoffs PreviewBy Kyle Chen (P. 9, 10)

Wick SportsWick Football PreviewBy John Erdman (P. 10)

Crew PreviewBy Graham Miller (P. 11)

Varsity Soccer PreviewBy Peter Khoury (P. 12)

Wick XC PreviewBy Will Peisch (P. 12)

See “Blue Notes” Page 3

By Addison Bennett ‘12Managing Editor

Brunswick opens 109th year

By Nicole Snyder‘12Special Contributor

See “Brunswick Opens” Page 4

Welcome Back!

Something about Brunswick remains so constant that even after leaving it for months at a time, once we return, the

old routine feels familiar, friendly, and even natural. As Dann Gymnasium filled on September 7th for the first time since June and Brunswick prepared to

Blue Notes

Tour UK

Going on a trip to England with twenty-one boys as one of the two girls in the Brunswick Blue Notes, I felt just a bit intimidated. When I reflect back on those eleven days of our tour, however, I cannot think of a better way to have spent part of my summer.

Our tour consisted of numerous performances in venues ranging from the beautiful Victoria Embankment Gardens to Nottingham High School and St. Peter’s Catholic School. At the Victoria Embankment Gardens performance, we

On the evening of Sunday June 5, Bruns-wick School and its fac-ulty became forever linked with what was perhaps the strangest news story of the summer. Teachers in faculty housing on the King Street campus first saw what we now know as the “Green-wich Mountain Lion.” The King Street sightings by Upper School teachers Doug Burdett and Brendan Gilsenan were the last con-firmed sightings of the cat, a member of a species not seen in our state for over a century. Mr. Burdett was sitting in

brunswick Mountain LionBy William Fein‘13Sports Editor

See “Mountain Lion” 1

Seniors Will Peisch and Kevin Barnum walk a first grader to his seat to start the 2011-

2012 Brunswick year.

his living room watching a movie with his family when he received an alarmed text message from his neighbor, friend, and fellow English teacher Mr. Gilsenan. It read, “get in your house. Huge cat coming your way.” Not sure what to expect, Mr. Burdett cautiously ex-amined the wooded area around his home. “I heard crows,” Mr. Burdett told me last week, “like you’ve never heard before . . . scream-ing, cawing like crazy. In the woods in front of our house were all these crows, maybe fifteen feet off the ground. Basically saying—look out!” Emerging from the woods, fulfilling the warnings of

his friend and the crows, stepped a mountain lion. Mountains lions stand at about 2-3 feet tall and weigh between 75 and 120 pounds. Carnivorous cats, mountain lions are strong and typi-cally prey on large mammals such as moose, deer and elk. Also known as a puma, cou-gar, panther or catamount, far from its domesticated brethren, this cat can be very dangerous. Mr. Burdett stared at the creature, noting its size and coiled intensity while under-standing that the animal he was looking at could take down a 1000-pound moose. After a few long seconds

Around Wick

The Brunswick ChronicleSeptember 2011

Editors-in-ChiefJake Matthews ‘12

Matthew Cassoli ‘12

Staff Writers

Faculty AdvisorDr. Brian Freeman

The Brunswick Chronicle

The Brunswick Student’s News Source

Peter Khoury ‘13John Erdman ‘13Curren Iyer ‘13

Parker Odrich ‘13Peter Khoury ‘13Harry Parsons ‘14Peter Ciporin ‘15

Managing EditorAddison Bennett ‘12

A message from The President

Each year the student government at Brunswick performs the role of planning dances and organizing other school-wide events such as BUST. Although it has other functions, Brunswick’s student government usually serves largely as a committee to organize student events. This year, however, the student government is shifting its emphasis. While we will definitely continue to plan events, we will also strive to listen to our constituents. In the past, many students have talked about their great ideas to improve Brunswick, but nothing has ever changed because students don’t think they have the means to act. This year that will change. Look at the example of last year’s junior privileges. The junior grade wanted privileges at the end of the year, and the student government was able to convince the teachers to grant them certain privileges. Unfortunately, instances like this have been all too rare. In my experience, students tend not to go to the Student Government as a first option to begin enacting change. As President, I hope to change that pattern this upcoming

year. I hope to transform the Student Government into a vehicle to help bring students’ ideas to reality. As the Student Government, we don’t want to limit students’ suggestions either. Requests can vary from academic subjects to social events. We cannot guarantee that requests will be acted upon, but we can promise that the student government will always be in the students’ corner and consider their imput.On a side note, the student government has a message that we hope will resonate and stick with all the student body this year: in your classes, seek to understand the material you are studying, do not simply memorize facts for tests. Open yourself up to subjects that may seem daunting. Do more than scratch the surface of challenging material. Take risks. Although failure may seem possible, do not fear failure. Risking failure contributes to your understanding and can make your overall success more rewarding. Ultimately, enjoy each and every day and be thankful for all that you have been given. Have a great year, guys.

Devin Mehra ‘12Sean Forester ‘13Holden Fett ‘13Rohan Das ‘14Kyle Chen ‘14

Teddy Cassoli ‘15Reed McMurchy ‘15

Chronicle.Brunswickschool.org

Check out the Chronicle Online at Chronicle.BrunswickSchool.org

Sports EditorWilliam Fein ‘13

Chief PhotographerMatthew Savitt ‘12

“Every journey begins with but a small step.”

Pick up a pen and start writing for The Brunswick

Chronicle today!

Email Jake Matthews at [email protected] or

Matthew Cassoli at [email protected] to join.

By Michael Chronert ‘12School President

Around Wick


Blue Notes Cont.Continued from Page 1surprised to meet several other female musicians including a trombonist. The concert consisted of switching off between performances by the Blue Notes and the St. Peter’s’ band, which kept the audience engaged and excited. All our

performances in England exposed the Blue Notes to a variety of people and venues.

While the tour mainly centered around performances, we were also given the opportunity to be

tourists and visit some of the amazing sights in England. The first night we attended the legendary Jazz Club, Ronnie Scott’s. We watched Michel Legrand perform an array of music, which left us feeling inspired. To get a fuller view of all of London, we also went on the London Eye, a giant ferris wheel from where we were able to see the whole city at a height over 400 feet. In Oxford, we punted along the river and attended the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of

were welcomed with an encouraging audience of English patrons who cheered us on as we played through our jazz repertoire. Capping off a great performance, the renowned NYJO2 Jazz Band accompanied us in our last song of the concert.

Nottingham High School was an extremely different venue, but equally exciting. We were introduced to young boys whose passion for music was contagious. Although these boys seemed small in stature, their musical talents were hard to miss. The boys performed the classic “New York, New York” with us, which ended the night on a perfect tone.

Our last concert was performed at St Peter’s Catholic School, where I was

Check out the Chronicle Online at Chronicle.BrunswickSchool.orgThe Blue Notes performed in Oxford at Christ Church to benefit Red Cross Japan.

“The Trip meant more than just per-formances... in England, the Blue Notes be-came a cohesive unit.”

The Merchant of Venice. After leaving Oxford, we proceeded to Nottingham where we visited the Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre, which contains some of the oldest trees located in Europe.

The trip meant more than just performances, however, more than the places we saw or the things we did; for in England the Blue Notes became a cohesive unit. We raised money for the “HOPE” organization, Ali Coopersmith ‘13 and Innocent Tswamuno’s ’11 campaign to help overcome poverty in Zimbabwe, and we combined playing jazz with experiencing an incredible culture. What started out as just a school trip turned into one of my most memorable high school experiences.

Around Wick


“Brunswick Opens” Cont.Continued from Page 1

open its 109th school year, that familiar feeling set in once again. Despite the long summer break, the 2011-12 school year welcomed all on their return. Friends, teachers, and new members to the community converged on Sampson Field House to begin the year, bringing with them a palpable—and fairly loud—and excited energy to the room. New sweaters and ties were distributed as the 1st, 5th, 9th, and 12th grades moved up to their new grade levels, and all 12 grades took their seats in different sections of the gym. In a new tradition, the seniors entered the gym hand-in-hand with first graders. After dropping the younger boys off with their teachers, seniors took their own seats at the front of the gym. As Mr. Philip approached the podium to declare the school year officially open, students took that final moment of summer to reflect, clear their heads, and prepare for the next nine months. Maintaining another, older tradition, the representatives from each division then spoke briefly, introducing those new to each division to their new uniform attire:

the brown lower school sweater, the blue middle school tie, the yellow upper school tie, and the red senior tie. At Brunswick students are identifiable by the distinctive uniforms they wear, and with each new change in attire comes a new status; and while the

brown sweaters and red ties certainly indicate a different level of time logged in Brunswick’s hallways, each step up brings with it new responsibility. As he looked at a line of first graders, one senior was overheard saying “I can’t believe those kids will be seniors some day.” Imagining the current first graders someday graduating is difficult. Just as shocking to that senior would be the realization that the current senior class first convened

in the former Pre-School building on Ridgeview Avenue way back in 1998. In his address to the school, Mr. Philip pointed out some salient qualities that set Brunswick apart from other schools. Yes, we have great facilities and are surrounded by a vibrant community,

but he argued Brunswick is unique because of its mission to create not just book-smart young men, but also considerate, passionate, informed, and honorable citizens. Memorizing a concept is one thing, but understanding it enough to be able to apply it correctly on one’s own is a trait Brunswick students learn to strive to achieve. Finally, Mr. Philip concluded his remarks by challenging the community to use

its knowledge and talent for good. An intelligent young man “guided by a strong moral code” can and ought to change the world for the better. The final order of business for the morning ceremony was to announce the twelve seniors selected as Senior

Prefects, who serve as student r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s on the Discipline Committee and serve as leaders in other functions throughout the year. Having presented the Prefects with their gold ties, Mr. Philip dismissed each division so they might continue their hectic first days. Back at the Maher Avenue Campus,

new students oriented themselves to their unfamiliar surroundings, while returning students walked the familiar path for the first of many times this year. Before we knew it, we were sitting in classes, receiving homework, procrastinating during frees, and eating pizza in the same cafeteria as though it was never left empty during the summer. It’s time to settle into another year. Perhaps now we look forward, but soon we will all be looking back, wondering where the time went. Welcome to the 2011-12 school year.


Seniors (left to right) Greg Hascoe, Alex Drakos, Pat-rick Figgie, and John Waddill at the official opening

of the 2011-2012 school year.

Around Wick


Interview with New Language Dean Señor Ocaña

Last year Mr. Hearon departed from Brunswick af-ter serving for several years as the Modern Language De-partment Chair; now a new face has come to the Upper School to take his place. Ja-mie Gonzalez-Ocaña has taught Spanish and Latin in the middle school for many years,in addition to serving as the seventh grade dean for several years. The Chronicle contacted Sr. Ocaña to talk to him about his new role in our Upper School community. Teddy Cassoli: What will you be teaching at Brunswick this year?Sr. Gonzalez-Ocaña: I will be teaching a section of Span-ish II, a section of Latin II, and a section of AP Span-ish Literature. I have an ad-visory, six freshmen – five of them I already knowfrom teaching or coach-ing them previously in the middle school; they are great guys. I will also becoaching JV basket-ball in the winter season. TC: Are you ner-vous at all about work-ing in a new environment and with new people?Sr. Gonzalez-Ocaña: A ques-tion many people have asked me, including my wife. No, I am not nervous. I always remember Mr. Polikoff ’s dictum: “Preparation dic-tates performance.” So Iam just trying to get as pre-

By Teddy Cassoli ‘15Staff Writer

pared as I possibly can. I am very excited about the newchallenges ahead, and hap-py to serve our school in some different new roles. TC: When people think of you what would you like them to think about?Sr. Gonzalez-Ocaña: Funny question – I never thought about it. What do you think of me, Teddy? Spain? Soc-cer? I don’t know. I guess “sense of humor,” “commit-ment to what I do,” “readyto help,” “good guy.” But usually what people think of you does not match your ownperspective, which is OK with me. TC: Mr. Hearon did a great job at this po-sition; which methods of his will you adopt, which will you change?Sr. Gonzalez-Ocaña: Mr. Hearon was a great chair-man. He established a solid foundation for the Modern Language Department, and I count on following his lead in a number of importantissues: promoting our stu-dents’ passion for foreign lan-guages and cultures, creatingopportunities for you guys to study foreign languages overseas, helping our alreadyvery good teachers become even better teachers, syn-chronizing and harmonizingour language programs, etc. TC: How did you become a teacher? Sr. Gonzalez-Ocaña: I started teaching in 1993. At that point I was begin-

ning my doctoral studies inFrance. They offered me a teaching position as Instruc-tor of Foreign Languages asa way to finance my PhD. I really liked teaching from day one, standing in front ofthe classroom and being able to exchange knowledge and experiences. I came toBrunswick with the idea of teaching for one year, and then going back to Europe. YetMr. Pendergast and Mr. Bouffier convinced me to stay for a second year andhere I am now—this is my ninth year at Brunswick—married to a Brunswick facultymember and with two American boys of my own. TC: What are you most looking for-ward to about working in the Upper School?Sr. Gonzalez-Ocaña: I am very happy about be-ing able to see and recon-nect with students whom Itaught or coached in the Mid-dle School. It’s been already great meeting them on thehallways or having them in the classroom. Barnum, Dra-kos, Cobb, Jurado. I taughtthem as 7th graders and it’s so cool to have them now in an AP class five years later,when they are in the upper-echelon of their Brunswick careers. I am excited alsoabout getting to know bet-ter the Upper School facul-ty—many excellent teachers,some intriguing and in-teresting personalities.

TC: What will you miss most about teach-ing in the Middle School?Sr. Gonzalez-Ocaña: Many, many things. I am very happy about landing in the Upper School, but very sad about leaving the Middle School. I will miss for sure the funny silliness of Middle Schoolboys; coaching Middle School soccer; getting to know a whole grade as a dean.Above all, I’ll miss the fac-ulty since I made some good friends over the years there. TC: When you re-tire what would you like to be remembered for?Sr. Gonzalez-Ocaña: An-other funny question. I never think on terms of a “lega-cy,” of “how you will be re-membered,” etc. I prefer to focus on my day-to-day ac-tions. I believe in evaluatingcarefully what you’ve done, at the end of the day. Then I try hard the day after to dobetter, to become a bet-ter all-around person. That was—I think—what Mr. Cosby used to do: he used to shake everybody’shand and treated everybody with respect and warmth—but not for the sake of beingremembered a certain way. Yet his daily actions and his consistent behavior madehim the great exam-ple he became to all of us in our community. TC: Señor, I think you’re a great teacher and a good guy. Thanks for the interview!

Around Wick


Brunswick Math Team Preview

Looking ahead to the upcoming Mathletic season this October, the Brunswick Math Team will face chal-lenges posed by rivals Hop-kins, Hotchkiss, and Green-wich High School. Last season, following its success-es during the monthly com-petitions at Wilton, the ‘Wick Math Team qualified for New Englands, where it placed 3rd in the Small Schools Di-vision, beating Brunswick’s past record of 5th place. Who’s Gone: The

three former captains, Spen-cer Dahl ’11, Andrew Grasso ’11, and Kevin Scanlan ’11, have all graduated and are headed off to Duke, Princ-eton, and UPenn, respec-tively, leaving a gap for a new leadership position. The departures of Peter Brown ’11 and Drew McMahon ’11 will also be heavy losses. Who’s Back: Some of the team’s strongest par-ticipants, Peter Gatto ’12, Brendan Bozorgomir ’12, and Kevin Barnum ’12 are all expected to return this year better than ever. Jack Voigt ’12 and Peter Geithner

’12 may also make an ap-pearance alongside their fel-low seniors, while Willy Fein ’13 and Curren Iyer ’13 will back up the team as the resi-dent juniors. Meanwhile, Kyle Chen ’14, Ashish Ram-achandran ’14, and Jackson Reynolds ’14 will vie for the sophomore spot. Not much is known yet of the rising underclassmen, but new po-tential is always welcomed to Brunswick Math. When The Chronicle inquired about this year’s captains, a reliable source from within the team answered with this math rid-dle: “It is rumored that this

year’s captaincy will be a non-empty subset of {Barnum, Bozorgomir, Gatto}.” Only the most dedicated team of mathletes would be able to incorporate mathematical ex-pertise into any conversation. Overall, the 2011-2012 Brunswick Math Team is looking strong coming into its next year of com-petition. With the new sea-son just around the corner, this formidable team looks to the future optimistically, and hopes for an even bet-ter New England perfor-mance. Gentlemen, start your calculators.

Hurricane Irene CleanupBy Reed McMurchy ‘13Staff Writer

As the first major storm of the 2011 season, Hurricane Irene was built up to be potentially brutal. Born off the coast of Africa, Irene quickly grew to a category three hurricane. She arrived in the Bahamas within a week and soon left a trail of devastation.She continued on a northern track eventually making landfall in the outer banks of North Carolina, after which she was downgraded to a category one hurricane. Moving through New Jersey and into New York, Hurricane Irene surpassed Gloria which hit New York City in 1985, and became the first storm of its caliber to hit the region since the

early twentieth century.Yet, even as the eye of the downgraded tropical storm, approached Fairfield County, Greenwich residents and Brunswick School were fortunate to be extremely well prepared, and very broadly speaking, spared the worst since the winds associated with the hurricane were less destructive than had been at times anticipated. Advanced preparation on the part of state officials led to the early evacuation of local residents in low-lying coastal areas. Significant damage to property as a result of fallen trees and flood waters caused massive power outages affecting over half the homes in the state of Connecticut. The cleanup and repair costs will be in the

tens of millions of dollars. Fortunately, Brunswick escaped with minimal damage and much credit is owed to the hard work of the grounds crews who prepared for the storm in advance and cleaned up the campuses in the aftermath. In response to my questions about their tremendous storm-related cleanup efforts, a senior grounds crew member stated that “it was easily manageable and less than we expected.” Also when questioned, bus driver Gus, who had helped in the cleanup effort, said, “the crews moved some of the benches into safer positions to prevent them from blowing into a building and after the hurricane the campus grounds were cleaned of branches, tree limbs, and leaves which had

fallen during the storm.” He then told me to remind the Brunswick Upper School community that “the bus back to Maher Avenue leaves at 5:30!” I cannot overemphasize the hard work of the maintenance staff in preparing our campus for the start of school. Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene will be long remembered for its high winds, coastal storm surge, heavy rains, flooding, and the destruction that it caused along the eastern seaboard and well into New England. The Brunswick community should feel fortunate that it was spared much of Irene’s wrath; many others in North Carolina, New Jersey, and parts of Connecticut learned just how terrible the forces of Mother Nature can be.

By Curren Iyer ‘13Staff Writer

Around Wick



brunswick Theatre Preview

Only a few days into the new school year, work and rehearsals are already un-derway for this year’s perfor-mances in Brunswick’s Baker Theater. Entering its fourth year of operation, the new performing arts wing once again promises to showcase stellar dramatic, musical, and technical work. Under Mr. Potter’s direction, the school has recently been treated to terrific performances of such works as Les Miserables, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Into the Woods, and the 2011-12 lineup will surely live up to the high expectations set by his and others’ recent efforts. The first chance to experience the incredible tal-ent of the performers and technicians on the Baker Theater stage will come No-vember 3rd with the premier of Peter Shaffer’s Black Com-edy, a one-act farce with a cast of eight. Having stolen his neighbor’s high-end fur-niture to provide a backdrop for his own artwork to show a potential buyer, Brindsley Miller and his fiancée Carol must entertain their guests, appease a suspicious father-in law, deal with some un-expected visitors, and con-ceal the furniture theft from their victim. This is all done in complete darkness after a fuse blows in their London apartment. Aside from being a masterfully written comedy,

Black Comedy presents a tech-nically interesting problem. While during the course of the story the action is under-stood to take place in dark-ness, for the audience the lights remain bright onstage for most of the play, allow-ing the spectators to see all the action while the charac-

ters remain in the “blackout,” oblivious to one another and to the truth of what is actu-ally happening around them. Black Comedy is sure to be a strong start to the 2011-12 theater season. It will run November 3rd, 4th, and 5th at 7pm in the Baker Theater. Almost immediately after the

fall play closes, auditions will begin for the biggest produc-tion at Baker this year, the winter musical, which this year will be Frank Loesser’s Guys and Dolls, a classic mu-sical comedy. While this mu-sical was last performed at GA’s Massey Theater rather recently (in 2005), Mr. Pot-

ter plans to bring a new ap-proach to the work which will be both dramatically and technically advanced, as all of his recent musicals have proven to be. Guys and Dolls calls for a large cast; the date for auditions has not yet been announced. Of course, the large

productions will only make up a part of the performing arts on display at Brunswick and GA this year, as con-certs, smaller productions, and independent study pre-sentations will be put on throughout the year. Mr. Duennebier will be directing the spring play once again, and Ms. Fuller will present at least a few shows of her own at GA. This year’s theater of-ferings will conclude with the bi-annual Edinburgh Fringe Festival production, directed by Ms. Fuller, which will open in Edinburgh, Scotland at the famous festival next Au-gust following rehearsals and previews during the summer. More information on later productions throughout the year at both GA and Bruns-wick will be found in future editions of The Chronicle. Anyone interested in auditioning for any of the productions should contact Mr. Potter, or Ms. Fuller for shows at GA. Likewise, any-one interested in joining the essential tech crew should contact Mr. Kirby-Smith. As always, a Potter performance will involve some ingenious yet extremely challenging technical assignments, and the crew would appreciate the time anyone can give to the project. Whether one au-ditions, works backstage, or sits in the audience, this year’s productions will reward all who contribute to the per-forming arts at Brunswick.

By Addison Bennett ‘12Managing Editor

Director Mr. Potter works with Sammy Mehra ’13 during a rehearsal of the 2010 production of The Odyssey.

Photo: Matthew Savitt 2010

Student Editorials


Learning From Louie: Reflections on a War Hero

By Peter Ciporin ‘15Staff Writer Over the summer, everyone in the Brunswick Upper School read Laura Hil-lenbrand’s Unbroken, the true story of Louis Zamperini’s experiences before, during, and after World War II. The book describes Zamperini’s many hardships after he and his Air Force crew crashed in the Pacific Ocean. These adversities include surviving forty-seven days on a raft; being beaten senseless on an almost daily basis in vari-ous Japanese prisoner of war camps during the course of two years; becoming infected with a variety of diseases in-cluding dysentery; and being relentlessly swarmed by fleas and lice. Zamperini’s hard-ships show how one brave

man made the best out of seemingly hopeless situations and kept his sights set on an ultimate goal. In Zamperini’s case, his goal was survival; as a role model, his experiences can teach us much about hu-man enduring in other ways. This summer, through the program Over-land, I left on a biking trip that began in Williamstown, Massachusetts and continued through the state of Ver-mont to the Canadian bor-der. The journey took about two weeks, and was definitely a challenge because of the Green Mountain state’s roll-ing hills. At times, I felt uncer-tain, exhausted, and not sure if I could make it through the ride. Whenever I reflected on Louie Zamperini’s experi-ences, however, I was able to

push myself to continue the ride until we reached the Ca-nadian border, and I ended up having the time of my life. Reflecting on Zam-perini’s experiences helped me tremendously. Like him, I had an ultimate goal: reach-ing the Canadian border. Whenever I felt unsure of myself, I would think about that goal, and this was more than enough to keep me going. Also, I would look around and see my friends biking the same terrain that I was. They were with me ev-ery part of the way. “If they can do it, so can I,” I remem-ber thinking during difficult stretches. Finally, I used something that Zamperini unfortunately did not have available to him. I was able to compare my challenges to

his own hardships, and when I did, my journey seemed like barely anything compared to his struggles. Thinking how he survived put into perspec-tive my minor challenges and gave me the strength ulti-mately to reach the border. This book made a considerable impression on me. I hope it had a similar ef-fect on others. Remembering how Zamperini survived the raft episode and the POW camps can inspire us to face our own struggles. Perhaps Unbroken’s main lesson is if you feel your goal is worth the challenge, you will succeed. Louis Zamperini wanted to survive more than anything else, and he was able to over-come the challenges he faced, a lesson we should all keep in mind as school begins.

Visit The Chronicle Online!Chronicle.Brunswickschool.org

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Student Editorials


NFL UpdateBy John Erdman ‘13Staff Writer

much of the earlier disagree-ment had been over how to divide the league’s revenue. Previously, the owners had wanted a larger expense cred-it (what they take off the top of the revenue pool) with-out increasing the players’ split. They settled by creat-ing a nearly 50-50 split with no expense credit on top. The owners also had previously demanded a change in the way teams pay rookies. In the previous collective bargaining agree-ment (or CBA), teams had much more free rein to pay highly sought-after rookies large sums of money—much of it guaranteed—without any guarantee these rook-ies would pan out. The last first overall pick of the old CBA—Sam Bradford—re-ceived a 5 year, 86 million dollar contract with 50 mil-lion guaranteed, while this

year’s top pick—Cam New-ton—received a 4 year, 22 million dollar contract, fully guaranteed. These two con-trasting contracts show the difference both in the rook-ie-wage scale and the over-all NFL business. This will also increase the amount of trade activity throughout the draft—more teams will be willing to trade for a top pick, as they will not have to invest as much in what is es-sentially a 50-50 gamble on whether the player turns out. On the field, the NFL has changed as well. Rules about practice have been changed significantly to the players’ advantage;. No two-a-day practices will be al-lowed during training camp, a change players have wanted for years. Furthermore, play-ers will get more rest days in season and during training camps. Teams will be lim-

ited to only 14 padded prac-tices in season. Furthermore, offseason practices will be greatly reduced. Teams will only be allowed 10 OTA’s (or offseason team activities) in an offseason, and these prac-tices may not start until after May 1. While some fans and experts believe that this could damage the on-field product especially with the shortened offseason this year, players are thrilled at the aspect of a shortened offseason and less intense training camps. Some players have gone so far as to state that this could possibly help prolong ca-reers and reduce injuries. The new CBA brings many changes to the way the NFL does business. What is unclear is how these chang-es will affect the product on the field. More impor-tantly, this plan assuredly brings fans the prospect of a 10-year period of unin-terrupted NFL football.

After weeks of tense negotiations, on July 25th the NFL Players’ association and the NFL owners agreed to a labor deal, bringing football back to America. The two sides agreed on a ten-year deal with no opt-out clauses, confirming a 10-year period of labor peace to the NFL. The primary argument over the split of league revenue was settled by differentiat-ing between revenue that is directly related the players’ performance and that which is not. The players got a larg-er share of TV revenues, and the owners received a major-ity of overall revenues from their side of the business. The players are thus given the incentives to create the best possible on-field prod-uct, as that would lead to a higher television and nation-al media revenue. This was a crucial part of the deal, as

MLB Playoffs PreviewNew York Yankees and Bos-ton Red Sox continue to duke it out at the top of the division, with both in com-fortable positions to make the playoffs. For the Yankees, recently called-up catcher Je-sus Montero looks to make an impact with his big bat, and Yankees pitchers not named Sabathia or Nova are attempting to reverse their recent struggles. Meanwhile, Boston will try to overcome some recent injuries affecting key players such as Josh Beck-ett, Erik Bedard, Josh Red-dick, and Jed Lowrie. In the

end, I expect the Yankees to win the division with the Red Sox to settle for the wild card. Over in the AL Cen-tral, the Detroit Tigers have maintained a fairly large lead over the Cleveland Indi-ans, who, until recently, had looked like the surprise favor-ites to win the division. Led by Cy Young favorite and MVP candidate Justin Verlander and breakout outfielder Aus-tin Jackson, the Tigers seem to be headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Finally in the AL West, the Texas Rangers will

have to hold off the surging Los Angeles Angels if they hope to return to the World Series. As long as their po-tent offense continues to produce as it has all season, they should have no prob-lem holding off the Angels, whose lackluster offense has failed to support their league-leading pitching staff. In the National League, the division rac-es aren’t nearly as close. In the NL East, the Phil-lies appear destined for the World Series and the At-

The beginning of the school year marks the beginning of the end for America’s favorite pastime. With less then a month be-fore the MLB playoffs be-gin, the division races will become tighter. Each game, each win, and each loss be-comes more significant as the long season comes to an exciting conclusion. In the American League, things have turned out pretty much as expected. In the AL East, The

By Kyle Chen ‘14Staff Writer

Continued on next page

Wick Sports


MLB Playoffs Preview Cont.

lanta Braves appear to have the wild card spot locked up. In the NL Central, the Mil-waukee Brewers hold a sub-stantial lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, with power hitters Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun leading the way. Centerfielder Nyjer Morgan and his alter ego Tony Plush have been a fantastic addi-tion for the Brewers as well, lighting up the clubhouse with an eccentric personality. The NL West race is the only division with com-petition—if only a little. The Arizona Diamondbacks came out of nowhere late

this season and now sit com-fortably atop the division. In a reversal of last season’s situation, in which the snakes finished last and the Giants won it all, the Giants look unable to catch Arizona this year. With the emergence of Arizona superstar Jus-tin Upton, the Giants seem doomed to fall short of the red hot Diamondbacks. September is one of baseball’s most exciting months, but this year’s di-vision races seem to be all but wrapped up. We wait eagerly for October when the real drama begins.

Continued from previous page

“Our Time” is the motto of the 2011 Bruns-wick Varsity Football Team. These words were chosen because the players under-stand that the whole team must work together to im-prove on last year’s up-and-down 3-5 season their first year in the competitive Erickson League. As head coach Jarrett Shine explains, “The captains chose it to separate this year from last year and previous years, and so we can become a true family from early on. ‘Our Time’ means that this sea-son, practice is devoted to the team, and not any one individual. We can work to-gether to make this season better than previous sea-sons.” Captains Donqutae Robinson, Addison Pierce, Carsen Winn, and Dylan Troy will lead the team against what is another for-midable schedule. Winn will line up at running back and nose tackle, Pierce at tight end and linebacker, and Robinson at wide receiver and safety. Unfortunately, Troy has gone down with a season-ending knee in-jury but will continue to contribute off the field as a captain. The Bruins will travel to Avon, Cushing, and Hopkins, and will face off against Taft, Kent, Berk-

shire, Salisbury, and Trinity Pawling at Cosby Field on King Street. Although the team graduated some key players, many returning starters will once more be asked to lead and contribute this year. Se-niors Joe Beninati, Bradley Seaton, and Eddie DeDo-menico are expected to con-tribute on both sides of the ball. The offensive line will feature juniors at 4 of the 5 positions. Willy Rosato will lead the unit at center, with Justin Cedeno and Sean Forester manning the guard spots, and Nick Ulanoff bookending with Seaton at the tackle spots. At the skill positions, Sam Fraser will play two ways as a wide re-ceiver and safety, and Dylan Wadsworth will start at tight end along with Pierce and will also start at defensive end. Nick Cooney will also contribute at wide receiv-er and cornerback. Lead-ing the offense and special teams will be Punter/Quar-terback Todd Stafford. In his second year, Stafford is coming off a season-ending knee injury but is fully re-covered and has spent the offseason preparing for the season. Sharing the back-field with Stafford, fellow junior Kevin Nathanson will receive the majority of carries this season and will also see time at linebacker. Sophomores Jimmy Knight

and Will O’Brien are ex-pected to back up Stafford at Quarterback, and Henry Taylor and Tom Morrisroe are expected to add depth at the wide receiver position and the secondary. Kevin Downs is expected to add crucial depth at linebacker.Offensively, Coach Shine expects more from the unit than previous years: “We have a lot of skill guys com-ing back. My hope is we can put up a lot of points. On

Defense, coordinator Mike Hannigan is coaching the team to play fundamentally sound football, and expects the defensive unit to create a lot of turnovers this sea-son.” When asked about this season’s expectations, Shine said, “It will definitely be a battle but I feel better about this season than last year’s.” Certainly the Bruins are optimistic that this sea-son is “their time.”

Wick football Preview

By John Erdman ‘13Staff Writer

First day of regular-season football practicePhoto: Matthew Savitt 2011

Wick Sports


Mountain Lion Cont.Continued from Page 1of eye contact, the animal slipped away into the night. Next door, the Gilsenans had been keenly observing the beast for some time. As it walked around their house, they watched intent-ly, separated from the kill-ing machine only by a thin layer of glass and wood. As he saw it walk away toward the Burdetts, Mr. Gilsenan whipped out his phone and took a picture. That picture would soon appear on the pages of the Greenwich Times along with several other newspapers that cov-ered the story. It is of course strange that a mountain lion would be seen in Connecticut after a 100-year absence, but his presence was confirmed by Mr. Gilsenan’s photo and scat left on the Brunswick campus. After DNA tests, the DEP admitted that the cat was, in fact, a Puma Con-color (commonly known as a mountain lion). But the story continues. On Saturday July 11 at around 1:00 AM, a driver struck a large cat on the Mer-ritt Parkway in Milford. The Greenwich Times report-ed that the car was a 2006 Hyundai Tucson and that the driver was Sigred Lac-son. When asked to com-ment, however, the Lacsons responded, “we don’t own a Tucson” compounding the

mystery of the story. After testing, it was revealed that the cat had traveled east from the black hills region of South Da-kota. The journey, accord-ing to DEP commissioner Daniel Esty, was “one of the longest movements ever recorded for a land mam-mal and nearly double the distance ever recorded for a dispersing mountain lion.” The mountain lion ended up dying more than 1,500 miles from its original home. The story does not end there, however; to this date, there has been no con-crete evidence linking the mountain lion killed in Mil-ford with the Greenwich Mountain Lion. While it is more than probable that the two cats are, in fact, one and the same, this the-sis has proven difficult to confirm. The scat left by the Greenwich Mountain Lion contained DNA that was used to confirm that it was a mountain lion. The DNA from the killed lion il-luminated the details of its incredible journey. Yet there has not been a confirmed report matching the two mountain lions. Since June 11, many Greenwich residents have reported sightings of mountain lions. There were two more sightings by June 13, then there were six ad-ditional sightings during the

first week of Brunswick La-crosse Camp, one at a gated community on King Street in August, and one more by Brunswick’s Cross Country team on the first day of pre-season. It is possible that Greenwich residents are overeager to claim sighting of mountain lions after the confirmation of one’s pres-ence. Perhaps, each of the “lions” sighted after June 11 are coyotes or other indige-nous species. Maybe people claim sightings for the sake of excitement or to keep the story alive. These are all possibilities, but none of the sightings can be dismissed outright. This summer an uninvited visitor came to Brunswick School. It is hard to imagine how or why a mountain lion ended up on our campus. The tale of the Greenwich Mountain Lion has been reported by NBC, ABC, Fox News, and CBS, along with local news orga-nizations. It is a tale of sur-vival, close encounters, mys-tery, and a car accident. It is a tale of doubt, fear, and unsure closure. Very few things about the story can be stated with certainty. We can say, however, that a moun-tain lion wandered onto the Brunswick Campus, and I am confident that this tale will remain as unique as it is improbable for years to come.

It goes without say-ing that Brunswick School’s athletic teams are highly respected. From online news articles to newspaper headlines, Brunswick at-tracts much public attention. Crew, however, is one of the few sports that is not often granted the honor of being reported on the front pages. Jack Williams, Caleb Moran and I are currently leading this year’s Brunswick Crew team this fall, and we look forward to fulfilling this ob-ligation with great honor. With the Head of the Riv-erfront and Head of Housa-tonic Regattas approaching, Coach Joe Falco and Assis-tant Coach John Martin seek to extract every bit of poten-tial this rowing team has to offer. Upon our acceptance into the Head of the Charles as an eight-man boat, team unity and individual motiva-tion (on the erg or on the wa-ter) will have to be of utmost importance to each rower. Our new freshman rowers show clear potential, and our sophomores, juniors, and se-niors continue to get stron-ger everyday. Rowing is phys-ically and mentally draining but we (the team) push for success even in the most dif-ficult of situations. We look forward to what this season has to offer, and will contin-ue our rigorous training out on Long Island Sound.

Crew PreviewBy Graham Miller ‘12BSBC Co-Captain


The Brunswick Chronicle

Wick Sports

September 2011

Soccer looks ahead to 2011 Last fall, the Brunswick Varsity Soccer team had one of its most successful seasons in school history. The team finished with seven wins, three losses, and five ties, earning it an invitation to the New England Class A tournament in Novem-ber. In the first round of the New England tournament, the team played #1 ranked Hotch-kiss School and lost a hard-fought game 3-1. Making it to the New England tournament for the first time after playing a grueling WNEPSSA (West-ern New England Prep School Soccer Association) schedule was nevertheless a huge step in the right direction for the Brunswick soccer team. This season the team will seek to build upon its previous success despite losing some key play-ers to graduation last spring. The most notable of the team’s losses are undoubt-edly midfielders Daniel Taylor and Mike Forester, along with defender Jared Nowell. For-ester will be missed mainly be-cause of his speed and cross-ing ability at the wing position. Taylor and Nowell, both cap-tains last year, provided great leadership and skill on the field, and were both selected for the WNEPSSA Class A select team at the end of last season. In addition to those three, the team lost senior tri-captain Mi-chael Errichetti as well as Alex Graf, Mac Morse, David Better, Toshi Terai, and Luca Knupfer. Despite these losses,

there are several rookies this year that are seeking to make an immediate impact. Greenwich High School transfer Frankie Agrest and sophomores Harry Heffernan, Owen Schubert, Mark Errichetti, Trevor Han-son, and Teddy Maynard are seeking to get some experience as members of the team. The rookies of the junior class in-clude C.J Murphy, Rodrigo Ven-tosa, Will Floerisheimer, and Bryan Quackenbush. Each new player brings something dif-ferent to the team this season. Recently, co-captain Cooper Briggs answered a few questions about the upcoming season. Peter Khoury- Tell us a lit-

tle about the defense this year. Who are some of the returners? Starters?Cooper Briggs- Obviously we, as a team, will have to re-shape our defensive stance this year after losing two key shields (Michael Errichetti and Jared Nowell) to graduation. Despite losing two strong defensive cap-tains, we are still very optimis-tic about our potential on the defensive side of the ball for a few reasons, including the good news that Luis Cobb has recov-ered from tearing his ACL last season and that Charlie Castine has really stepped up his level of play this summer. While we are still undecided on whether we

This is going to be a challenging but exciting year for Brunswick Cross Coun-try. Right now the team’s in a state of flux. We have moved up to Division I this year, but graduated 4 out of our top 7 runners (Ryan Hagerbrant, Andrew Grasso, Sam Waters, and Spencer Dahl) last May. We will still race the same teams dur-ing the regular season, but will now face faster com-petition for New Englands. The loss of so many senior leaders on the team has, in many ways, created an evolv-ing team dynamic and defi-nitely left a large hole to fill. We approach this season optimistic about the

will be a stronger force playing 4 across in the back as oppose to our past “stopper-sweeper” style of play, as a team we believe we are prepared to defend against the top teams in WNEPSA.PK- What is your ulti-mate goal for our team to fulfill this season?CB- I think that, as a team, we should shoot for another play-off appearance. I think we have what it takes to get there; now it is just a question of whether all the players on the team will commit themselves to strive for the goal set before them. Let’s hope as well that we’ll all come together to fight for the fu-ture success of the team.

team’s continued success despite the team changes. New to the team Seniors Jack Schneider, Alex Drakos, Rob-bie Rovelli, Teddy Lamont, and Charlie Miller, along with a large freshmen class, all could be the wild cards necessary to make the team successful this year. One no-table entry is our predicted #3 runner, freshman Parker Stitzer. Sophomores (and predicted #5 and #6 run-ners) Kyle Chen and Spen-cer McDonough, in addition to our senior captain and #2 runner Jake Matthews, are also expected to have much lower times thanks to their intense summer train-ing. Juniors Johnny Mills and the Dornier twins are also looking to make an impact.

But the greatest ex-pectations for our team this year rest on our #1 runner Peter Geithner. Geithner had already made a tremen-dous jump last season, run-ning an impressive 17:43 in our New England finals, but this summer he has taken his training to a whole new level logging roughly 700 miles heading into preseason. Just last month he ran in the Sea Girt 5K and received 3rd place with a time of 16:38. He is en route to becoming one of the fastest runners in recent Brunswick history. After running for two weeks with this year’s team, I am ex-cited to see how this season will unfold. We have a highly skilled and colorful team, and I suggest all of you come out and watch our races.

By Peter Khoury ‘13Staff Writer

‘Wick XC PreviewBy Will Peisch ‘12Cross Country Co-Captain


september chronicle 2011

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mountain lions

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blue notes tour ukgoing

greenwich mountain lion

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