Happily, compiling a list of The Day’s Top 10 local sports stories returned to a basic undertaking once again: Figure out everywhere we went and everything we covered in the last year and rank the top stories.

It wasn’t so easy last year, what with the COVID-ruined sports calendar of 2020 and into 2021. But the menu returned to normalcy again, leaving us with plenty of nominees.

Here are the top 10 local stories of 2022 as voted by the staff: Chuck Banning, Dave Davis, Vickie Fulkerson, Gavin Keefe, Ned Griffen and yours truly.

They go in descending order.

No. 10: Chasing Chase Gilbert

Few other freshmen had a bigger impact on a state high school sport than Old Lyme’s Chase Gilbert, who was the Shoreline Conference and Class S state girls’ cross country champion, later named The Day’s 2022 All-Area Girls’ Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Gilbert finished third in the State Open and 13th in New England, earning second team All-New England honors.

No. 9: Omaha! Omaha! (Almost)

UConn’s record-setting baseball season came to an end a win short of making the College World Series in Omaha. It would have been the program’s first Series berth since 1979.

UConn finished 50-16, finally falling to Stanford in the Super Regionals in Palo Alto.

No. 8: Eastern driven by Alexis

Former Montville High School great Alexis Michon was named the Division III National Pitcher of the Year at Eastern Connecticut, leading her team to Division III World Series.

Michon, later named the Hank O’Donnell Female Athlete of the Year by the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance, went 24-1 with a 1.07 earned run average. She struck out 204 batters in 157.2 innings, walked 37 and held opponents to a .154 batting average as Eastern finished 44-7.

In the team’s 13 postseason games, Michon pitched in all but one, going 7-0 with a save and a 0.91 ERA with three complete-game shutouts.

No. 7: Doormats no Mora

UConn football completed a landmark season by going to the Myrtle Beach Bowl, the first bowl berth for the program since 2015.

Coach Jim Mora revived the program, leading the Huskies to notable wins over Fresno State, Boston College and then-No. 19 Liberty.

No. 6: A Rally For Viking Valley

The East Lyme High boys’ basketball team made a memorable run through the Eastern Connecticut Conference tournament, culminating with a 2022 title after a win over blood rival Waterford at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The sixth-seeded Vikings defeated No. 3 Norwich Free Academy, No. 2 New London and No. 4 Waterford to send coach Jeff Bernardi out with his greatest victory. Bernardi left in the offseason to coach at 11-time state champion St. Joseph.

No. 5: Miller Time Ends At Mohegan

The Sun lost in the WNBA Finals and then lost their head coach, Curt Miller, to Los Angeles.

Connecticut hired Miller in Dec. 2015 and, over seven seasons, helped rebuild the franchise. He had a regular season record of 140-86 over seven seasons, the fifth winningest coach in WNBA history by winning percentage and coached the Sun to six straight playoff appearances as well as berths in the 2019 and 2022 WNBA Finals.

Miller took over as general manager in 2016. He is a two-time WNBA Coach of the Year winner (2017, 2021) and was the 2017 Executive of the Year.

The Sun named Stephanie White the new head coach in December.

No. 4: (UConn) Men on a Mission

UConn men’s basketball made its second straight NCAA Tournament under coach Dan Hurley, albeit a disappointing loss to New Mexico State in the first round.

However, the Huskies have risen to No. 2 in the polls this season and started the 2022-23 season 14-0 before Saturday’s loss at Xavier. UConn was picked to finish fourth in the Big East, but has emerged as a national title contender.

No. 3: They Are The Champions

Both the Stonington and Old Lyme girls’ tennis programs won state titles in June.

The Bears, who defeated longstanding state tournament nemesis Weston in the semifinals, won the Class M state championship the next day over Hand, 6-1, at Wesleyan University. Maddie Hamm, Grace Duggan, Maddie Gonzalez and Mia Lewandowski, all won singles in straight sets, while Marcella Hamm/Lauren Buckley and Katie Johnstone/Katya Snegovskikh also added wins in doubles. It was Stonington's first championship since 2013.

Old Lyme, meanwhile, won its second straight Class S title, 4-3 over Shoreline Conference rival Westbrook. It was Old Lyme's second straight title under coach Lauren Rahr as its overall winning streak soared to 43 straight.

Old Lyme (23-0) got wins from Sam Tan at No. 2 singles and Elaina Morosky at No. 4. The No. 1 doubles team of Livie Bass and Alexis Fenton won, as did the No. 2 team of Aggie Hunt and Beatrice Hunt. Morosky was first off the court with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Ava Ciarcia and Tan clinched the championship, earning the Wildcats their fourth point, with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Gianna Salisbury.

No. 2: Undefeated (in national title games) no longer

The UConn women’s remarkable run of 11 straight wins in national championship games ended with a loss to South Carolina in the title game.

Destanni Henderson led South Carolina to a 64-49 win and the title.

"I think they deserved it 100 percent," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said of South Carolina, which led by as many as 18 points early in the second quarter. "They were the best team all year. The first five minutes I thought they came out and set the tone right then and there for how the game was going to be played.

"We gave ourselves a chance. We just didn't have enough. I'm proud of our guys just to get here, just to be in this situation. It's just tonight we just didn't have enough. They were just too good for us."

No. 1: To The Mooney And Back

Stonington High School’s Josh Mooney, named The Day’s 2022 All Area Athlete of the Year, helped the Bears win state championships in indoor and outdoor track during the 2021-22 school year.

Mooney won the ECC Division II 55 meters and 55-meter hurdle titles in a four-minute span during indoor track season. He went on to win the Class S title in the hurdles, place second in the dash and finish fifth in the 300. He finished the indoor season with a second-place finish in the emerging elite division of the 60-meter hurdles at the Nike National Championship in Staten Island.

During the outdoor season, Mooney won the ECC Division III-IV championship in the 110 hurdles and the javelin. The Bears won the Class M state championship for the first time since 1999, with Mooney first in the javelin and second in the 110 hurdles, and Mooney followed that with a State Open championship in the 110 hurdles in a personal-best 14.37 seconds. He was second in New England in 14.28.

A grueling two days followed as Mooney won the decathlon that same week at New Britain's Willow Brook Park, capturing the title with a school record 6,331 points. He is the 11th-ranked high school decathlete in the nation, and was a prime Division I recruiting talent entering his senior year before committing to UConn.

"For him, (the All-Area Athlete of the Year honor) is validating for all the work he puts in, for all the respect he gives," Stonington boys' track coach Ben Bowne said. "He doesn't think he's too big for anybody. He's a great teammate. He's a great reflection of our best, the best of the best.”

Also receiving votes: Villanova-bound Maddie Burrows led Waterford to the state softball championship game in Class L; Mitchell applied and was accepted to the Greater New England Athletic Conference; Boys’ cross country teams from East Lyme and Griswold won state titles; East Lyme graduate Eric Thibault will take over the Washington Mystics for his dad, Mike, who was the first coach of the Connecticut Sun.

m.dimauro@theday.com