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Signs
Marianapolis senior Mary Watkins signed with Union College. Back row, left to right: Associate Head of School Karen Tata, Athletic Director Lauren Moore, girls’ varsity soccer head coach Esad Darman, Assistant Athletic Director Andrew Vitale. Front: Watkins, center, with parents Laura and John Watkins. Courtesy photo.

THOMPSON — Mary Watkins ’18 of Sterling, Mass., signed to play soccer for Union College on May 17.  
Watkins has been a member of the Marianapolis girls’ varsity soccer team since her freshman year, serving as captain this year. In addition, Watkins is also a captain of the indoor track team and a member of the varsity lacrosse team.
Watkins has been playing soccer for as long as she can remember. She is a utility player, mostly playing midfield and defense. She chose Union because “It was the school that gave the best fit overall. I was given a scholarship, I am able to play soccer, it is close to home, and I am in the honors program.” She is undecided on a major, but is interested in going to law school.
Marianapolis girls’ varsity soccer head coach Esad Darman said that Watkins is a player that every coach hopes to have, “She is an excellent player and hard worker. She is an unbelievable teammate and captain, never missing practice and sometimes I realized she tried to hide injuries to not disappoint her teammates. She always gives 100 percent. She is an amazing player that I am never going to forget.” In addition to being captain this year, she has been a league All-Star three times, an All-New England Junior Team selection and played in the All-Connecticut All-star game as a senior. Union College, located in Schenectady, N.Y., is a Division III school, playing in the Liberty League.

Winner
At the recent Connecticut State Tang Soo Do championships several representatives from Quest Martial Arts in Putnam took home prizes. Master Duethorn won two Golds (7 weeks after knee surgery); Mathew Card won Gold in Weapons and the opportunity to compete in a grand champion event; Alishia Thompson won Bronze in Weapons and Sparring; Ricky Grendell III (pictured) won Gold in Weapons, Silver in Forms and Sparring; Morgan Potter won Silver in Weapons, Bronze in Forms and Silver in Sparring; Chimairan Rochette won Bronze in Forms; Brian Card won First in Weapons, Forms, and Sparring. Courtesy photo.

THOMPSON — With only seven races on the oval track schedule for the 2018 season, consistency matters if you want to be part of the championship discussion.
For Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park Sunoco Modified driver Marcello Rufrano, the start to this season has put him in striking distance of the top in the title chase.
Rufrano, a native of North Haven, finished 13th in the Icebreaker, but since then, has two consecutive runs up front. He finished fourth in the feature on June 7, and in the 30-lap feature as part of the Thompson 125 — Rufrano finished sixth.
“We’ve been doing pretty good the last couple of races, we started to hit on some different things with the setup,” Rufrano said. “We just built a whole new car over the winter – we started fresh with a whole new setup, a whole new everything. We came out at the Icebreaker and we were really fast and I’ve had a lot of confidence in it. We started this season with a whole new mindset.”
This season, he has watched one of his closest teammates – defending Thompson Sunoco Modified champion Keith Rocco – win the first three races in the competitive class. However, the guidance from Rocco off the track has helped Rufrano craft himself into a better driver.
“Just watching him on the track is all I would need, but between him giving me some advice and having him to lean on, it’s great to be able to work with someone like him,” Rufrano said. “I help him with his cars, I even did that when I was a kid.”
In the most recent 30-lap feature as part of the Thompson 125, Rufrano found himself chasing Ryan Preece for the lead in the early laps. The opportunity to race with Rocco, a former NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Champion – and Preece – a two-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – has also helped Rufrano grow as a driver behind the wheel.
“I think it’s pretty cool, it must make them feel pretty old since I was watching them battle when I was young up in the stands,” Rufrano said of racing the two veterans. “I idolized them when I was a kid.”
Right now, Rufrano sits sits fifth in the championship standings, 43 points off the top with four races remaining. What is the goal for the rest of the year? Consistency.
Finish the feature events as close to the front as possible, in one piece, and hopefully sneak his first win in the middle.
Without sponsors like Wheelers Auto Service, Dunleavy’s Truck and Trailer Repair, Liguari Plumbing and many, many more supporters, Rufrano wouldn’t be able to hit the 0.625-mile oval.
“The more consistent we are the better off we will be. It would be cool to get that win, there is nothing more I look forward to having. Once you get the first, I hear the rest come a lot easier. We just need to keep the consistency going.”
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park returns to the high-banked oval for racing on Saturday, July 14 with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series Throwback 100. The Sunoco Modifieds will run another 30-lap feature on that night, along with the Late Models, Limited Sportsman and Mini Stocks as part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

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