By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT – A tradition of excellence on the Staples field hockey playing surface goes all the way back to 1974, the second year Connecticut crowned state champions in the sport. It was Staples’ first appearance in the pinnacle game.

Field hockey players representing the Class of 1975 (who played on that ’74 state finalist squad) celebrated their 50th anniversary with a visit to this year’s Wreckers, the defending Class L State Champions, who went on to reach the decisive game again this fall, losing 1-0 to Darien in the Class L title matchup.

The 1970s stars, including Nancy Kobdub-Harris got in touch with Wrecker Coach Ian Tapsall and parents of the current Wreckers to coordinate a visit with the current team at practice earlier this fall. 

That 1974 squad won the FCIAC’s Eastern Division — there was no conference tourney at the time but local newspaper accounts indicated the Wreckers were FCIAC Champs, Kondub-Harris said. The team went on to reach the state title game, falling 1-0 to Simsbury; still a great season with a 13-2 record.

An interesting side note: Class of 1975 Staples teammates Louise Ikeda and Kondub-Harris played at UConn and in their sophomore year Kim Longo, a freshman from Simsbury, joined the UConn team.

“She scored the goal to beat us! And she is one of my best friends, though has denied she scored the goal,” said Harris-Kondub, adding that Longo claimed a different player had the decisive goal.

Some of the facts, stats and memories may be a bit in question but there is no debate that when the past met the present they shared a bond of field hockey success separated by a generation.

Staples went many years until getting back to the state final. In fact, it was not until 2016 when the Wreckers earned a co-championship after finishing in a championship game tie with Darien. Staples won its first state title in 2017 and, until this year’s big game, had come out on top in all of its Class L pinnacle contests since, winning it all in 2018, ’19, ’23 and ’24 — beating Darien in four of those.

While Connecticut state playoffs go back a half-century worth of years the sport has a significantly longer history at Staples.

“Field hockey has been there a long time. My Aunt Katherine Kondub played at Staples ’43 as did my sister Patty Staples ‘81,” Kobdub-Harris said.

Alumni visit attendees from that 1974 team included Carol Backer (Mount Holyoke), Ann Calby (Duke), Peggy Fry, Louise Ikeda (UConn) and Nancy Kondub-Harris (UConn)

Among the players from the Class of 1975 who did not attend: Nancy Lyons, who went on to win a national softball title at Michigan State and become a Michigan State Hall of Fame inductee in 2023. The softball title was the AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) championship, the precursor to NCAA.

Others from the class: Karla Krassner (Bowdoin), Liz Fay, Melissa Williams, Keah Evans (Staples co-captain with Ikeda), Heidi Nolte and Janet Lane (Staples Football HC emeritus Paul Lane’s daughter).

The Staples booster club set up refreshments and snacks in the bleachers for this special visit. From there, Coach Tapsall had players demonstrate some of their skills and then the 1974 team members went onto the field to meet the team.

“We asked a lot of questions and so did they. It was like time stood still. For our reunion we had rope bracelets from Sportybella that had crossed field hockey sticks attached — we decided to give the seniors each one as a show of Staples field hockey sisterhood,” said Kondub-Harris, who is still a part of Staples athletics as a track and field coach.

The current players got to hear about Jinny Parker (legendary coach from the 1970s squads; and after whom the Staples field is named), as well as changes to the game.

After the visit, the 2025 Wrecker players talked about what a great experience it was and how it humbled them to know that they are representing all the women who came before them on Jinny Parker Field.

The current Wreckers have also made their own significant marks on the program with back-to-back state triumphs and three consecutive appearances in the title game.