CONNECTICUT – Two outstanding collegiate athletes and a pair of state championship high school coaches will be honored with statewide recognition by the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance at the prestigious 82nd Gold Key Dinner.
Record-breaking javelin thrower Jordan Davis of Wallingford and Southern Connecticut State University will be presented the Bill Lee Male Athlete of the Year Award, while standout lacrosse goalkeeper Shea Dolce of Darien, a key member of Boston College’s NCAA national championship team, will receive the Hank O’Donnell Female Athlete of the Year Award. Coaches Rich Bowen of Killingly wrestling and Leigh Barone of Masuk softball will be honored with the Doc McInerney High School Coach of the Year Awards for a male and female sport, respectively.
Davis, an All-American in track and field at Sheehan High School before continuing at SCSU, set an NCAA Div. II record in the javelin in March with a toss of 83.77 meters at the 96th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, ranking him 10th in the world. The junior broke his own mark in late May with a heave of 84.45 meters at the NCAA Div. II Championships in Emporia, Kansas, winning his second national title by outdistancing the runner-up by nearly five and a half meters. At the U.S. Olympic team trials in June, he finished second in the qualifying round, but missed making the squad by placing sixth in the finals.
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Dolce was part of two Class L championship teams at Darien High School prior to enrolling at Boston College in 2022. In her sophomore season with the Eagles, she earned honorable mention All-American accolades, posting a 20-3 record with a .470 save percentage, and ranked sixth in the nation in goals-against average. In the national championship match against Northwestern University on May 26, BC got off to a shaky start, trailing 6-0 in the first half, but rallied for a 14-13 victory and the program’s second NCAA title. Dolce stopped nine shots in the final, including two amazing saves in a three-minute stretch late in the contest.
Bowen, who started coaching at Killingly in 1986, recorded his 700th dual meet victory during the 2023-24 season, the most in Connecticut history. The three-time hall of fame inductee guided the Redmen to the Class S championship, his seventh state crown, and the team is currently on a 60-match dual meet winning streak, fifth longest in state annals.
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In her 10th season at Masuk, Barone directed the Panthers to their sixth straight Class L championship with a 3-0 shutout of Jonathan Law, outscoring four tournament foes by a combined 22-3 differential to end the campaign with a perfect 28-0 record. The team was ranked first in the season-ending GameTime CT poll, and placed 30th in the national rankings.
Gold Key recipients for 2024 are former Daniel Hand High School and Yale University football coach Larry Ciotti, longtime Windham High School wrestling and football coach Brian Crudden, retired Pomperaug High School field hockey coach Linda Dirga, award-winning sportscaster George Grande and Wesleyan University women’s basketball coach Kate Mullen. U.S. Olympic bobsled designer Bob Cuneo will be presented the President’s Award.
Other award winners will be announced shortly, including the Bob Casey Courage, Hal Levy High School Achievement, Art McGinley Media, Bo Kolinsky Special Recognition, Bo Kolinsky Memorial Sports Media Scholarship and John Wentworth Good Sport awards.
The Gold Key Dinner is slated for Sunday, Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington. Tickets are $75, and may be reserved by contacting CSMA president Tim Jensen at 860-394-5091 or tim.jensen@patch.com.
Proceeds support the Bo Kolinsky Memorial Sports Media Scholarship, a $3,000 annual award named in memory of the noted high school sports editor of the Hartford Courant and past CSMA president, who passed away in 2003 at age 49.
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