It shouldn’t be happening. Not like this. Not with a modest student enrollment of 597. But among the region’s best sports stories of the school year comes from Stonington, where individual programs punching above their weight appears to be something annual.

Hum a few bars of “Here’s To Old Stonington” (sung to the melody of “Anchors Aweigh”) in salute of the athletic program with contenders in several sports within the Eastern Connecticut Conference, despite all the hindrances public schools endure.

This year, the Bears have been good to great in field hockey, soccer (boys and girls), girls’ basketball (Div. II tournament champion), indoor and outdoor track, lacrosse (boys and girls), tennis (boys and girls) and softball, among other sports. This on the heels of last season’s boys’ state champions in soccer and track sandwiched around the ECC Division II tournament basketball champion, where the Bears beat eventual state champion Windham.

Stonington has punctuated its success with some notable individuals, including The Day’s 2022 Male Athlete of the Year, state decathlon champ Josh Mooney, goal machine Sam Montalto from boys’ soccer and current lacrosse senior Will French, who appears to have last lost a faceoff sometime around Milli Vanilli’s debut.

Not bad for a public school of 597, competing with kids from one town against East Lyme (1,010), Fitch (982), NFA (2,102), Woodstock (1,043). (Enrollment numbers here come from the latest figures given to publicschoolreview.com.)

Mad props and bon mots to the kids, coaches, athletic director Bryan Morrone, principal Alicia Dawe and the untold and underappreciated efforts of all the youth coaches in Brown Town. Stonington is fortunate to have The Field Hockey Whisperer (coach Jenna Tucchio) and Hall of Famers Paulla Solar (girls’ basketball) and George Crouse (girls’ tennis) among others.

This is significant because athletic success has never required more of a village for modestly sized public schools. Two reasons: 1) their inability to augment enrollment (and rosters) with students from out of district, unlike their school of choice brethren; and 2) the reality that many kids must play multiple sports in smallish public schools to sustain programs. The more sports kids play, the less likely they are to improve specific skills in the offseason, the effects of which will be seen on courts, fields and diamonds.

Here’s an example of public school limitations: Nobody would debate that St. Bernard wasn’t a deserving state basketball champion this past winter. But the Saints were what amounted to a Norwich/New London all-star team with some varsity players who once “reclassified,” or stayed back a year, so that they were in an academic class behind their peers, but a year older.

The previous paragraph was presented without editorial comment only to show two luxuries of which public schools such as Stonington cannot partake. Some of us in the state media have begged for certain rule changes to encourage more equity. None have really happened. Hence, many existing rules make it harder for modestly sized public schools to succeed.

I make it a point to cheerlead for public school success because I’ve learned through talking to coaches how difficult it has become. (Proud moment: When East Lyme girls’ lacrosse beat St. Joseph for the 2019 state title, I might have encouraged the student section to begin a rousing “public school! public school!” chant.) Last season, the state tournament assignment for Waterford boys’ basketball (enrollment: 800) was Enfield (1,500), Staples (1,880) and then Donovan Clingan-led Bristol Central (1,200). Sorry, but Bugsy Siegel’s casinos weren’t that rigged.

But I digress. This is about Stonington and its success. None of it is easy. And in a small town, the next cycle of kids may not be as talented, though they will be well prepared by youth coaches. The point is that with all that can go wrong, pretty much everything is going right these days at 176 South Broad St.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro