United States’ coach Jillian Ellis, right, celebrates with goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher at the end of a semifinal match against England on July 2.
Philippe Desmazes / AFP / Getty Images
The Fairfield County Sports Commission announced its 2019 Sports Persons of the Year in each of the 16 communities the Commission directly serves. The local sports honorees will be recognized at the 15th anniversary Sports Night awards dinner on Oct. 21 at the Stamford Marriott at 6 p.m.
In each of the 16 towns, a committee headed by a local town representative of the Commission, selected a Sports Person of the Year. Each winner was deemed to have had the most positive impact in their sports community from Aug. 2018-Aug. 2019.
The honorees are as follows:
Bridgeport: Sal Hanaif, Bassick boys’ soccer coach
Darien: Darien Little League All-Stars, District 1 champions
Easton: Joel Barlow girls’ volleyball team, Class L state champions
Fairfield: Kristen Santos, U.S. National Champion Short Track speed skater
Greenwich: Greenwich High School football team, undefeated Class LL state and FCIAC champions
Monroe: Samantha Schiebe, Masuk girls’ softball
New Canaan: Danny Melzer, New Canaan boys’ basketball coach, Division IV state champions
Newtown: Todd Petersen, Newtown baseball/basketball standout
Norwalk: Justin Forde, McMahon, triple/long jumper, Gatorade’s Connecticut Track Athlete of Year
Shelton: Matt Batten, Triple-A pro baseball player
Stamford: Trinity Catholic girls’ basketball team, Class S state champions
Stratford: Alyssa Naeher, U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team goalie, World Cup champion
Trumbull: Andrew Ilie, Trumbull High School tennis player, Class LL and State Open champion
Weston: Rich Fanning, Weston High School boys’ and girls’ ski teams coach
Westport: Staples boys’ and girls’ tennis teams, both state champions
Wilton: Wilton boys’ lacrosse team, FCIAC and state Class L runners-up
With this year’s 16 honorees, the FCSC has honored 231 local sports persons.
The Fairfield County Sports Commission is a 501c (3) non-profit, charitable and educational organization dedicated to promoting youth fitness and an active, healthy lifestyle, as well as personal development through sports. The Commission, which is an all-volunteer organization except for the executive director position, is the one-stop resource for the sports communities in the county. The focus of the Commission is creating and supporting programs for fitness and nutrition awareness education.
For more information concerning tickets and sponsorship opportunities for Sports Night, visit www.fairfieldcountysports.com or call Tom Chiappetta at 203-984-4806.
