One of the most prolific athletes in New Canaan High School history, Cari Hills was a three-sport star in field hockey, lacrosse and basketball. A 1994 NCHS graduate, she received the both the Bob’s Sports Award for outstanding female athlete and the Master of Sports Award.
In field hockey, Hills was recognized with All-State honors scoring 45 career goals with 20 assists. In lacrosse, she helped the team win the first and only FCIAC championship in 1993. She scored six of the eight goals in the championship-winning game against Greenwich and posted 97 career goals as a tri-captain in her senior year. In basketball, she played in every game (60) during her sophomore, junior and senior years, scoring 644 points with 145 assists, 322 steals and 422 rebounds. Hills had a personal best scoring 27 out of team’s 33 points, contributing nine steals and seven rebounds against Greenwich. As a senior co-captain, she finished 8th in the FCIAC conference with 215 points (15.3 avg per game).
At Cornell, Hills was inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008, her first year of eligibility. She was named All-American in both field hockey and lacrosse and graduated as the school’s career leader in scoring in both sports. Hills was a two-time All-American in lacrosse and was Cornell’s first-ever All-American in field hockey and she was named field hockey Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 1994. Hills was the Cornell Sun Athlete of the Year in 1998 and was the Richie Moran Award Winner in 1997. In lacrosse, Hills earned All-Ivy honors sophomore, junior and senior years. She graduated as the school’s career leader in points (180), goals (131), ground balls (154) and draw controls (110). Hills also scored a goal in a school-record 31 consecutive games, while her 57 points in 1996 and her 47 goals in 1998 were single-season records.
In field hockey, Hills was a three time All-Ivy pick and was a first-team regional All-American in 1995 and a second-team pick in 1997. She was team co-captain as a senior. At the time of her induction, Hills held records for season (36 in 1995) and career points (93), and season (11 in 1997) and career (33) assists. Hills also ranked second on the school’s career goal scoring list (30). Cari was President of Cornell’s Red Key Athlete Honor Society and President of Quill & Dagger, a senior honor society founded in 1893. She sits on the Cornell University Council, is a member of the Athletic Advisory Committee, and is a founding board member of the Cornell Varsity Club which aims to build alumni associations for all 31 sports at Cornell. She is also the founder of the Cornell Field Hockey Association.
After graduation in 1998, Hills joined Accenture and then worked at JP Morgan Chase and spent nearly a decade in the nonprofit sector including the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, Newman’s Own Foundation, and the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. She is currently an executive at Accenture. Cari is a founding board member of the Friends of New Canaan Lacrosse, a nonprofit founded to organize, inform, and strengthen New Canaan Lacrosse by building an engaged community of alumni and friends. Cari loves being a New Canaan youth lacrosse and field hockey coach and lives in New Canaan, CT with daughters Polly and Lucy and is thankful for her parents Ralph and Dorcas Hills who unconditionally supported her throughout her sports career.
The New Canaan Alumni Athletic Association/New Canaan Old Timers Association will hold its annual picnic on Sunday, September 18 at Waveny House.
This year’s event will feature eight honorees: Bill Brown, Kara Devlin Yonker, Paul Devlin, Cari Hills, Mario Lopez, Jeff Mellick, Bob Schott and Andy Towers.
The celebration runs from 10am to 3pm and includes a continental breakfast, beverages and lunch. The cost is $50 for adults, $20 for students. Children under 14 are admitted for free.
Checks may be made payable to New Canaan Old Timers and mailed to P.O. Box 1642, New Canaan, CT 06840.
Proceeds from the event go toward the Vin Iovino Scholarship, named for the former NCHS athletic director and presented to selected senior athletes at the annual sports picnic and award ceremony held at the end of every school year.