It seems a fairly easy task: Figure out everywhere we went as a staff last year and everything we covered, ranking the top 10 stories.

But coaches and athletes are accomplishing more than ever in this region, leaving the staff with some difficult choices.

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

They go in descending order.

No. 10: UConn’t be serious

It was almost as though they couldn’t have a Final Four anymore without the UConn women. But that was until last season, when an injury to Paige Bueckers (among others) left the Huskies thin and eventually out of the NCAA tournament.

UConn fell in the Sweet 16 to Ohio State, marking the seventh straight season the Huskies would not win the national championship. UConn had reached an unprecedented 14 straight Final Fours.

No. 9: Renown for The Brown

With a team configured differently than Stonington boys’ tennis coach John Adriano originally thought it would be, including a switch for previous No. 1 singles player Tucker Callahan to doubles to accommodate an injury, the seventh-seeded Bears turned their lineup into a state championship roster.

Stonington defeated No. 4 Nonnewaug 6-1 in early June to capture the Class S state championship, the Bears’ first state title in program history.

“It’s been something I’ve been looking forward to winning ever since I started playing tennis in seventh grade,” said Stonington senior Jackson Conlon, the Bears’ No. 4 singles player. “We work hard but we don’t take it too seriously. We’re really close together as a team and I think our team chemistry is what makes us really good. It’s going to be sad to see this team leave, to leave this team.”

No. 8: Peaks for Viking Valley

East Lyme’s boys’ indoor track and cross country teams captured state championships in 2023. Sean McCauley, a junior, named The Day’s All-Area Boys’ Cross Country Runner of the Year, helped the Vikings to a sixth straight ECC championship, a Class MM title, a fifth-place finish in the State Open and sixth in the New England championship.

Earlier in the year as a sophomore, McCauley finished second in the 3,200 at the Class M state indoor track finals. A second-place finish by the 4x400 team of Shawn Henning, Lucas DeNucci, Kai Ritz and Brendan Fant, gave the Vikings the winning margin.

No. 7: Hear Those Wildcats Roar with Rahr

Senior Sam Tan and the top-seeded Old Lyme girls’ tennis team won its third straight Class S state championship in June at Wesleyan University, beating No. 4 Westbrook 7-0.

It was Old Lyme’s 18th 7-0 victory of the season and its 66th consecutive win overall. That’s three straight unbeaten seasons for third-year head coach Lauren Rahr.

“They do have that natural tennis ability but what we’ve really worked hard on is to make them smart tennis players and mentally tough, which is really hard for any athlete to accomplish,” Rahr said.

No. 6: Heavenly Feeling For The Saints

After trips to the quarterfinals and semifinals in two previous seasons, St. Bernard’s boys’ basketball team won the school’s first state title since the early ’80s, dispatching Staples in the Division II finals at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The program sent notable seniors Tyson Wheeler and Cedrick Similien out as champions (and 1,000-point scorers.) St. Bernard finished the season in the top five of the state media poll.

No. 5: ‘Chop’ Retires

Craig “Chop” Parker retired as head coach of the New London boys’ basketball team.

Parker coached the Whalers for 29 years, leading the green and gold through 515 victories and four state championships. Parker entered the 500-win club this past season, during a career that produced 13 seasons with at least 20 wins and 11 trips to the state semifinals.

No. 4: Wally And His Boys

East Lyme completed the best boys’ soccer season in school history, winning the Class L state title in a thriller over Notre Dame of West Haven.

Robert Stoddard scored two goals in the state championship game, following two goals in the state semifinals. Coach Paul “Wally” Christensen, who won his 400th career game in the ECC finals, hoisted his second state title trophy.

No. 3: NL Girls: Depth Is Overrated

New London High’s girls’ basketball team won the Class MM state title at Mohegan Sun with a 10-point victory over Mercy.

New London coach Tammy Millsaps deftly orchestrated a program with just seven overall players. Happily, two of them were all-staters Nalyce Dudley (earned a Division I scholarship to Sacred Heart) and Serenity Lancaster, now back for her junior season.

No. 2: Good Gosh, It’s Still Josh

Josh Mooney, who completed his high school career at Stonington by winning a national championship in the 110-meter high hurdles, was named The Day’s Overall Male Athlete of the Year and earned the Bill Lee Male Athlete of the Year award from the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance.

Mooney, now at UConn, also won the New England championship in the 110 hurdles after winning the CIAC decathlon title for the second straight year. He also won the State Open titles in the 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and javelin.

No. 1: The Blue Bloods Get Another

There was serious pressure on the UConn men’s basketball team heading to the NCAA tournament, what with the Huskies not having won a tournament game as yet under coach Dan Hurley.

What followed was historic. The Huskies didn’t merely win the program’s fifth national title, but did so dominantly. Every margin of victory came by double digits, including the national championship game against San Diego State.

• Also receiving votes: Bacon Academy’s state championship in girls’ soccer, and the Connecticut Sun’s successful first season under new coach Stephanie White.

m.dimauro@theday.com