The next event in the Connecticut Challenge Speaker Series features a talk by Sean Swarner, a two-time cancer survivor, mountain climber, and author of Keep Climbing: How I Beat Cancer and Reached the Top of the World. Swarner shares his inspirational life story Thursday, April 12 at Roger Ludlowe Middle School at 7:30 PM. The event is free to the public and made possible in part with support from People’s United Bank.  Registration is required at www.CTChallenge.org/keepclimbing. Swarner, who was named the 2007 Jimmy V Foundation’s Don’t Ever Give Up Award winner for his courage, will take …

The next event in the Connecticut Challenge Speaker Series features a talk by Sean Swarner, a two-time cancer survivor, mountain climber, and author of Keep Climbing: How I Beat Cancer and Reached the Top of the World. Swarner shares his inspirational life story Thursday, April 12 at Roger Ludlowe Middle School at 7:30 PM. The event is free to the public and made possible in part with support from People’s United Bank.  Registration is required at www.CTChallenge.org/keepclimbing. Swarner, who was named the 2007 Jimmy V Foundation’s Don’t Ever Give Up Award winner for his courage, will take …

Seeking an 11th state title in school history and second straight, the St. Joseph boys basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the Class LL state tournament on Monday with a 56-37 victory over Ridgefield. While the Cadets earned the right to play at home as the top-ranked seed, the contest was moved to Fairfield Warde to accommodate a larger crowd. Ridgefield, which reached the semifinals last season for the first time in school history, finished the year at 18-6. St. Joseph, which improved to 23-1, will face No. 5 New London in the semifinals on Wednesday at a site and time to be …

Seeking an 11th state title in school history and second straight, the St. Joseph boys basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the Class LL state tournament on Monday with a 56-37 victory over Ridgefield. While the Cadets earned the right to play at home as the top-ranked seed, the contest was moved to Fairfield Warde to accommodate a larger crowd. Ridgefield, which reached the semifinals last season for the first time in school history, finished the year at 18-6. St. Joseph, which improved to 23-1, will face No. 5 New London in the semifinals on Wednesday at a site and time to be …

After a banner season, the Ridgefield High School boys hockey team suffered a 4-1 loss to No. 6 seed West Haven in the semifinals of the Division I state tournament on Saturday at the Webster Bank Arena. Third-seeded Ridgefield, which defeated Darien 3-2 to win the FCIAC tier one title last weekend, finished the season 21-3. It marked the second straight season in which the Tigers were eliminated in the quarterfinals as they were ousted by St. Joseph last year in the round of eight. Ridgefield fell despite finishing with a 38-20 edge in shots. West Haven (15-7) will take on Notre Dame of West…

The Ridgefield High School boys basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class LL state tournament Thursday with a 58-54 win over No. 25 Simsbury. The Tigers, who improved to 18-6 with play at top seed St. Joseph in the quarterfinls on Monday. The Cadets (22-1) advanced with a77-59 victory over No. 16 Cheshire in a second-round contest. *** Press release from Connecticut Sportswriters Alliance: Dave Balfore, who overcame Bell’s palsy and then leukemia to return to playing competitive sports at Berlin High School, has been selected as this year’s recipient of the Bob Casey Courage …

The third-seeded Ridgefield High School boys hockey team advanced to the quarterfinals of the Division I state tournament with an 11-0 drubbing of Trinity Catholic on Wednesday. The reigning FCIAC champions improved to 21-2 and will take on No. 6 seed Glastonbury in the quarterfinals on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.  West Haven, which did not face Ridgefield during the regular season, advanced with a 5-3 win over East Haven. Last season, the Tigers lost to eventual state finalist St. Joseph 3-2 in the quarterfinals. WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS Boys hockey Ridgefield 11, Trinity …

The Ridgefield High School boys basketball team posted a 51-33 victory over No. 24 seed Bulkeley in the first round of the Class LL state tournament. Kurt Steidl scored 20 points for the ninth-seeded Tigers, who rebounded from a loss to Trinity Catholic in the semifinals of the FCIAC playoffs to improve to 17-6. Jeff Racy and Seth von Kuhn, each added nine points for the Tigers, who face No. 25 seed Simsbury in the second round on Thursday. Simsbury advanced after upsetting No. 8 Amity 48-46 on Tuesday. TUESDAY'S RESULTS Boys basketball Ridgefield 51, Bulkeley 33, Class LL, first round …

After a 15-5 regular season, the Ridgefield High School boys basketball team is seeded ninth in the Class LL state tournament and will host No. 24 Bulkeley (11-9) in the first round on Tuesday (7 p.m.) The Tigers (16-6 overall) are coming off a 52-44 loss to Trinity Catholic in the semifinals of the FCIAC playoffs last Tuesday after defeating Stamford in the quarterfinals. If Ridgefield advances, it would take on either No. 8 Amity or No. 25 Simsbury in the second round on Thursday. A possible matchup with top seed St. Joseph is looming in the quarterfinals. Last year, Ridgefield reached the …

Editor's Note: Send any write-ups on youth or recreational games in your town to michaeld+sports@patch.com The Ridgefield High School boys hockey team seeded is seeded third in the Divison I state tournanent and host the Windsor-Farmington-Avon/Trinity Catholic Winner in the first round on Wednesday. Of the Tigers, who finished 18-2 in the regular advance, they would face either No. 6 West Haven or No. 11 East Haven in the quarterfinals on March 10. Possibly awaiting Ridgefield in the semfinals is No. 2 seed Notre Dame of West Haven. Last season, Ridgefield was eliminated in the quarterfinals…

Editor's Note: Send any write-ups on youth or recreational games in your town to michaeld+sports@patch.com The New Canaan girls hockey team is on a mission to win another state championship. Olivia Hompe scored four goals Thursday as the Rams charged into the state final with a 6-1 victory over FCIAC rival Ridgefield at the Terry Conners Rink. New Canaan, which is seeking a third consecutive state title improved to 23-1 and will face either Simsbury or Hall-Conard in the final on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Yale's Ingalls Rink. Simsbury did hand New Canaan its only loss of the season, 4-3 on Feb…

Editor's Note: Send any write-ups on youth or recreational games in your town to michaeld+sports@patch.com The New Canaan and Ridgefield High School girls hockey teams will clash on Thursday at the Terry Conners Rink in Stamford for a berth in the finals of the state tournament. Faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m. New Canaan, which is seeking a third consecutive state title, has been like a steam roller. After defeating Greenwich 8-0 in the FCIAC finals on Saturday, the Rams downed Guilford 8-2 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday to improve to 22-1. Ridgefield (15-6-1) advanced with a dramatic 5-4 …

Editor's Note: Send any write-ups on youth or recreational games in your town to michaeld+sports@patch.com The Trinity Catholic boys basketball team rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat Ridgefield High School 52-44 in the FCIAC semifinals Tuesday at Fairfield Warde. The Crusaders (17-5) overcame a cold-shooting first half in which they scored just nine points to reach their ninth FCIAC championship game since 2001. Allowing just 23 points in the second half and overtime, Trinity Catholic turned around the game by outscoring Ridgefield 21-8 in the third quarter to take a 30-29 …

Editor's Note: Send any write-ups on youth or recreational games in your town to michaeld+sports@patch.com The Ridgefield High School boys basketball team will look to advance to the FCIAC championship game for the first time in school history when the third-seeded Tigers take on No. 2 Trinity Catholic in the semifinals on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Fairfield Warde. Ridgefield advanced with a 50-46 win over No. 6 seed Stamford while Trinity Catholic got past No. 7 Danbury 62-56 in quarterfinal games on Saturday. The Crusaders (16-5) handed the Tigers their first loss of the season 48-44 back on …

Editor's Note: Send any write-ups on youth or recreational games in your town to michaeld+sports@patch.com The Ridgefield High School boys basketball team avenged a loss to Stamford in last year's FCIAC quarterfinals by defeating the sixth-seeded Black Knights 50-46 Saturday afternoon in the first of four quarterfinal games at Fairfield Ludlowe. Kurt Steidl scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the third-seeded Tigers, who lost lost to Stamford 39-31 in last year's playoff meetin. Ridgefield improved 16-5 and will take on No. 2 seed Trinity Catholic at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Fairfied …

Editor's Note: Send any write-ups on youth or recreational games in your town to michaeld+sports@patch.com Ridgefield's Matthew Philbin is the 13th seed in the 126-pound weight class in this weekend's state Open wrestling championships in New Haven. The competition is set for Friday and Saturday at the Floyd Little Athletic Center. First- and second-round matches will be contested on Friday starting at 4 p.m. After they have been completed, the consolation bouts get under way around 8 p.m. On Saturday, the quarterfinal and second-round consolation matches begin at 10:15 a.m. They will be …

The Ridgefield High School boys basketball team showed that it might still be a force in the FCIAC playoffs. Kurt Steidl scored 21 points and Jeff Racy added 16 Wednesday as the Tigers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 54-46 victory over Westhill in Stamford. Other than St. Joseph, Westhill had been the hottest team in the FCIAC, winning 10 of its previous 11 games. Ridgefield, which opened a 27-19 lead at the half, finished the regular season at 15-5 and 13-5. The Tigers grabbed the No. 3 seed for the FCIAC playoffs and will face Stamford in the quarterfinals on Saturday at Fairfield…

The Ridgefield High School boys basketball team concludes the regular season on Wednesday at Westhill (7 p.m.). Other than St. Joseph, Westhill is the hottest team in the league, winning four straight and 10 if its last 11 games, includung Monday's 62-54 victory over Wilton. Westhill (14-5, 13-4) can clinch the No. 2 seed for the FCIAC playoffs with a win over Ridgefield. The Vikings are tied for second with Trinity Catholic but hold the tiebreaker advantage over the Crusaders. The Tigers (14-5, 12-5), who are coming off a 57-47 loss to. St. Joseph, have slipped from second to a tie for …

Editor's Note: Send any write-ups on youth or recreational games in your town to michaeld+sports@patch.com The St. Joseph boys basketball team moved within one game of an undefeated regular season with a 57-47 victory over Ridgefield High School on Monday. Quincy McKnight and Tamajh Parker each scored 15 points for the Cadets, who improved to 17-0 and 19-0. Ridgefield managed to slow down St. Joseph's high-powered offense and kept the game close early. The Tigers led 11-9 after the first quarter and only trailed 24-23 at the intermission. The Cadets only held a 37-36 lead after three quarters…

Editor's Note: Send any write-ups on youth or recreational games in your town to michaeld+sports@patch. The Ridgefield High School boys hockey team defeated Staples-Weston-Shelton 6-3 Saturday night at the Milford Ice Pavilion. Timmy Kelly had two goals for the Tigers, who improved to 16-2 overall and 10-1 in the FCIAC. Ridgefield officially clinched a spot in the FCIAC's tier one playoffs and remained tied with Darien for first place, although the Blue Wave have the tiebreaker edge based on their 4-2 win over the Tigers last week. Johnny Richards, Sean Wilkinson. Jack Christensen and Danny …