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‘A Leader Both in the Pool and on the Deck’: New Canaan and Norwalk High Schools Hold Inaugural ‘Kelly Devine Dual’ Swim Meet
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Something jumped out at Doug Marchetti, athletic director at Norwalk High School, when he reviewed the FCIAC fall schedule on its release this summer. A matchup in girls swimming that would have brought together the two communities most dear to Kelly Devine, and in the sport she loved, was missing: Norwalk versus New Canaan. “We said, ‘Hey, let’s not lose the opportunity to honor Kelly by having a meet among two teams and two communities that she was very close to,’ ” Marchetti recalled Monday afternoon from the deck at the New Canaan YMCA’s competitive pool, flanked by Norwalk coach Pam Raila and NCHS coach David Fine. “Both communities thought the world of her so we said, ‘Hey, let’s put something together’ … Through the generosity of the New Canaan YMCA, we were able to host it here today.”
The inaugural ‘Kelly Devine Dual’ meet drew dozens of friends, colleagues and family members to the Y for a competition that featured a variety of tributes to the beloved, late NCHS and Saxe teacher. The swimmers wore specially made caps that featured ‘Kelly Devine Dual’ in a heart on one side, and a favorite motto of hers—‘Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose’—on the other.