Seven seniors from West Hartford’s Conard High School officially committed to playing college sports on Wednesday during the early signing period.

By Ronni Newton

Seven members of the Conard High School Class of 2018 who have committed to participating in sports at the Division I or II level formalized their commitments Wednesday during the National Letter of Intent early signing period.

The following students officially signed their letters at the ceremony, which was attended by families, friends, high school coaches, and teammates.

Abigail Capone – Crew, UConn

Luke Carroll – Golf, Bryant University

Alex Chernysh – Swimming, UConn

Delaney Connors – Basketball, Mount St. Mary’s University (Emmitsburg, MD)

Gillian Haverty – Lacrosse, UConn

Nick Gaglioti – Baseball, Assumption College

Aiden O’Brien – Soccer, Central Connecticut State University

Many of the students are multi-sport athletes at Conard, and had to make the difficult decision about which sport to pursue at the collegiate level.

Conard girls basketball coach Mike D’Angelo congratulated Connors, a cornerstone of his team for the past several years who plans to play basketball at Mount St. Mary’s University, but noted that Capone and Haverty are also key players in his program. Capone had several opportunities to play Division III basketball, but instead chose Division I crew at UConn.

“I’m very proud of him,” Conard golf coach Brett Franklin said of Carroll. He said that O’Brien, who will pursue soccer at Central Connecticut State University, has also been an integral part of the golf team.

Conard soccer coach Adam Linker said that O’Brien “eats, sleeps, and drinks soccer,” and is part of a dedicated soccer family. “He’s a tremendous natural player,” said Linker, who “scored the game-winning goal in about 90 percent of the wins this season.”

Lacrosse coach Megan Cersosimo said that Haverty has been an “absolute pleasure” to coach. She’s not only a great athlete, but also a true-student athlete with a 4.1 GPA, and a true multi-sport athlete who has excelled at soccer and basketball in addition to lacrosse.

Boys swimming and diving coach Jen Pollard told Chernysh that “UConn is so lucky to have you.” Chernysh has been named a Connecticut Swimming Scholar-Athlete in the 200 back, as well as an age group winner.

Baseball coach Sanjay Rambhia could not attend the ceremony, but Athletic Director Jason Siegal congratulated Gaglioti on his behalf.

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Conard seniors sign their National Letters of Intent Wednesday (from left): Abigail Capone, Alex Chernysh, Luke Carroll, Nick Gaglioti, Aidan O’Brien, Gillian Haverty, and Delaney Connors. Photo credit: Ronni Newton