Stonington — Ben Bowne, who turned Stonington High School into one of the state’s elite boys’ track and field programs, announced his resignation on Friday.

Bowne, who coached the indoor program for 11 seasons and the outdoor program for 10, will step back to spend more time with his family, athletic director Bryan Morrone said.

“I am very proud to have had him as a coach at Stonington High School,” Morrone said in a release, “and wish him all the best as he shifts his attention to his family and his kids' athletic endeavors.”

Bowne built Stonington into an Eastern Connecticut Conference power and one of the state’s most respected programs, culminating with the 2022 CIAC Class M outdoor track and field state championship and back-to-back Class S indoor state titles in 2022 and 2023.

He helped develop a number of current Division I athletes including distance runner Rhys Hammond (Cornell) and hurdler/sprinter Cam Whalen (Central Connecticut), plus two future Division I performers in decathlete Josh Mooney (UConn) and distance runner Ryan Gruczka (Northeastern).

“(Bowne) has done an admirable job (with his staff, as well) in transforming our track and field program from a moderately successful ECC program to a perennial ECC and state power,” Morrone said. “Coach Bowne has always been a dream to have in the SHS Athletic Department ... professional, hard working and dedicated to his craft and more importantly our student-athletes.”

Pro golf

• The Travelers Championship, which will take place June 21-25 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, announced its field for its annual Celebrity Pro-Am on Wednesday, June. 21.

The group of celebrities includes actor/comedian Bill Murray, ESPN broadcasters Chris Berman and Michael Eaves, ex-NFL stars and current WFAN (660-AM) radio hosts Boomer Esiason and Tiki Barker, CBS golf broadcaster Amanda Renner, Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Doug Flutie of Boston College, ex-Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield and 2008 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Andre Tippett of the New England Patriots.

UConn will also be well-represented in the Pro-Am field with current head coaches Geno Auriemma (women’s basketball), Jim Mora (football) and Mike Cavanaugh (men’s hockey) joining retired coaches Jim Calhoun (men’s basketball) and Nancy Stevens (field hockey) along with current women’s assistant Chris Dailey and former quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who now serves as a football analyist at ESPN.

FCBL

• The Norwich Sea Unicorns of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League have been selected to be part of “Futures League Thursdays on NESN” series this summer, one of four games to be televised live on the regional sports network. NESN will visit Dodd Stadium on Thursday, July 27, when the Sea Unicorns host the Westfield Starfires. Other games are July 13 (Vermont at Worcester), July 20 (Brockton at Nashua) and Aug. 3 (Worcester at Vermont). All four games will start at 7 p.m.

NECBL

• The Mystic Schooners scored four runs in the top of the 10th inning and beat the North Adams SteepleCats 8-4 on Thursday night. Mystic (4-4) was losing 4-0 after North Adams scored four in the seventh inning.

Landon Moran (Stetson) hit a two-run double in the eighth for the Schooners and Danny Melnick (Rutgers) hit a two-run homer in the ninth to tie the game at 4-4. Former Wheeler standout Bowen Baker (Fairfield) started for the Schooners and allowed one hit over five innings with four strikeouts. Waterford’s Connor Podeszwa (Tufts) got the win with two hitless innings with three strikeouts.

Zone 6 Legion

• Norwich scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning and beat Danielson 4-3 on Thursday. Randy Jimenez had a double for Norwich (2-0) and Joel Tiburcio got the win in relief, allowing one hits and no runs over 2.1 innings with four strikeouts and one walk.