A large majority of all athletes go through the overuse syndrome of injury during their career. The most common areas are the front and inside muscles of the leg, tendon (tendonitis) or bone covering the lower leg (periostis), where the muscle attaches to the bone. An inflammation of the large tendon in the back of the lower leg. Most common location of pain is under the head of the second metatarsal bone behind the second toe area and under the first metatarsal head (sesamoid or accessory bone area) just behind the bottom surface of the big toe. Hammertoes, contracted or claw-like toes, usually occur as a result of imbalances of bone structures or muscles making the toe stick up higher than normal.

The Bike Ride is the largest annual fundraiser for the CT Challenge and the engine that powers its mission to help cancer survivors live healthier, happier, and longer lives. Thankfully, more than 67 percent of those diagnosed with cancer will survive, but most don't realize that managing what comes after cancer treatment can often be just as difficult, including a lifetime of late effects of treatment, risk of recurrence and other diseases, said Jeff Keith, founder of the CT Challenge and a cancer survivor himself. [...] the CT Challenge Survivorship Network of 19 hospitals and cancer centers throughout Connecticut and community organizations like the Susan Fund that provides scholarships to help young cancer survivors attend college. The CT Challenge is 501(C) 3 charity founded in 2005 to support survivorship programs throughout Connecticut and the CT Challenge Center for Survivorship, located in Southport, where cancer survivors are empowered through programs in exercise, nutrition and psychosocial support.

The Darien boys golf team won the FCIAC East Division Championship with a regular season record of 17-1. After eight holes, Greenwich held a slim two-shot lead with one hole to play in the battle of the FCIACs last two undefeated teams. Greenwich showed its talent and experience, as its top four players played the final hole in a collective one under par to Darien's five over and the Cardinals pulled away for an eight-shot victory. "Though disappointed with not taking advantage of the opportunity to pull off the upset, we gained some confidence from going toe-to-toe with the league's most experienced and talented team and an increased appreciation for the challenges of finishing strong that we hope will serve our young squad well in the postseason," Darien coach Tom O'Donnell said.

Darien girls and boys track teams take second and fourth at FCIAC championships Impressive victories by senior Henry Wynne in the 800- and 1,600-meter races helped lead the Wrecker boys to their second consecutive conference title, while record-setting victories by freshman Hanna Debalsi in the 1,600 and 3,200 helped the Wrecker girls edge defending champion Darien by four points for the title. The Staples boys won with 128 points, followed by Danbury with 97 and Ridgefield with 90. Jack Scott, Tucker Rizzi and Walker Marsh ran the other three legs on that relay, which finished in 3:22.91. [...] for the Staples boys, Rizzi won the javelin with a throw of 163-1. Darien's Nicholas Lombardo swept the jumping events, winning the high jump by clearing 6-2, the long jump with a jump of 22-3.25 and the triple jump with a jump of 45-1.75. Danbury's Micaiah Hill won the 100 meters in 11.05 seconds and finished a close second to McMahon's Shnyden Pierre in the 200. Devan Bovell of New Canaan won the 110 hurdles in 15.01, Norwalk's Hopeton Chambers won the 300 hurdles in 38.89, Norwalk's Evan Adams won the shot put with a throw of 49-5 and Stamford's Drevaun Bailey won the discus, under the lights after the sun had long since set, with a throw of 131-3. Westhill's Billy Thibault tied the FCIAC pole vault record by clearing 15-0 to win the event. Danbury's Leland Roberts set his school's record by clearing 14-6 to take second. On the girls side, Debalsi ruled the distance events, winning the 1,600 in an FCIAC meet-record time of 4:54.59 and the 3,200 in another FCIAC meet-record time of 10:25.18. Westhill's Claire Howlett placed second in both events. [...] for Staples, Elizabeth Knoll cleared 5-4 to win the high jump. McMahon's Sarah Boyd swept the hurdles events, winning the 100 in 15.42 and the 300 in 45.92. Crystle Hill of Norwalk won the 100 in 12.47, Anna Sulger of Darien won the 400 in 56.49, Cate Allen of Fairfield Warde won the 800 in 2:15.07, Sarah Cicchetti of Greenwich won the discus with a throw of 100-7, St. Joseph freshman Jada Harris won the triple jump with a jump of 34-6 and Maddie Schneider of Darien cleared 11-0 to win the pole vault. FCIAC TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS Norwalk 50; 7. (tie) McMahon and New Canaan 34; 9. Fairfield Ludlowe 16; 14. (tie) Fairfield Warde and Stamford 11; 16. Discus: 1. Triple jump: 1. Danbury 53; 6. (tie) Fairfield Ludlowe and Westhill 40; 8. Leah Hotchkiss, Darien 5-2; 3. (tie) Katie Ward, Wilton; Ellen Hebrand, Greenwich; and Catherine Lacy, Darien, 4-9; 6. (tie) Lily Twomey, Fairfield Warde; Blossom Jean Jocques, Fairfield Warde; Emily O'Keefe, Fairfield Ludlowe; and Bridget Van Dorsten, Staples, 4-9. Catherine Lacy, Darien, 17-9.5; 2. (tie) Naomi Lowry, Danbury; and Crystle Hill, Norwalk, 16-2; 4. Triple jump: 1. Pole vault: 1. Colleen Gruendel, Ridgefield, 8-6; 5. (tie) Beth Kelley, New Canaan; and Erica Leppla, Fairfield Warde, 7-9. ($) denotes state record.

"The seniors have been part of a state title, and we have been to the FCIAC semifinals twice before, but never got to the final game or won the championship," said Vazquez, the star catcher for St. Joseph High School. In an outcome stunning both in its decisiveness and given the quality of the competition, the St. Joseph seniors will get the chance to play in their first conference final following a convincing 13-0 win over Darien at Sacred Heart University. St. Joseph's offensive dominance overshadowed an outstanding effort by freshman pitcher Nicole Williams, who scattered four singles. Erika Osherow, the Darien pitcher who had been dominating the league during the second half of the regular season, retired the first six batters she faced, striking out the side in the second inning. [...] a leadoff walk, a sacrifice bunt and an error following a single by Gardella opened the way for a five-run third inning that broke the game open. Mallozzi had an RBI single and Amy Chacho a two-run base hit. The Cadets added four runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, providing for one of the most anticlimactic semifinal finishes in league history. Fourth-seeded Darien, the two-time defending champion, will take a 17-5 record into next week's state tournament.

On Thursday, just three days after his team edged Darien 4-3, Staples girls tennis coach Paco Fabian admitted that the Blue Wave was the last team he wanted to face again to start the playoffs. Thanks to success at the singles spots, the third-seeded Wreckers calmed their coach's nerves early. Staples won three of the four singles matches against Darien and went on to top the Blue Wave 4-1 at home on Thursday in the FCIAC quarterfinals. No. 2 and No. 3 doubles -- were called early once the Wreckers clinched the match. The Wreckers had good fortune at the singles positions against Darien, beginning at the No. 4 spot where Julia Bartimer defeated Katie Lashendock 6-1, 6-1. The Wreckers pushed their lead to 2-0 when Melissa Beretta topped the Blue Wave's Jenna Murray 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. The lone three-set match on Thursday was played at No. 2 singles, where Staples' Gabi Titlebaum edged Pia Teschner 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. With the Wreckers having clinched, ahead 4-1 overall, the final two doubles matches were called early.

With both goaltenders putting on nothing short of a keeping clinic, scoring plays were at premium when long-time rivals New Canaan and Darien met in the semifinals of the FCIAC tournament at Brien McMahon High School on Tuesday. [...] the No. 2 Rams turned away the third-seeded Blue Wave for the second time this season, this time by a 5-3 margin in a game featuring just a pair of second half goals, one by each team. With the victory, the Rams advanced to Friday's FCIAC title game, also at McMahon High School at 7 p.m., against No. 4 Greenwich, a 6-5 upset winner over top-ranked Ridgefield Tuesday night. The Rams, the defending conference champions, now stand one victory away from back-to-back titles for the fist time since 1987-88. After being robbed by Darien goalie Phil Huffard on his bid to get the lead back, Stanton scored on a wraparound goal with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter to give the Rams a 2-1 lead heading into the second. Two minutes into the second quarter, New Canaan doubled its lead when Michael Kraus found Pete Johnson, but Darien countered with a goal of its own just a minute-and-a-half later when Reed scored unassisted, cutting the Rams lead to 3-2. With 1:51 remaining in the first half, New Canaan extended its lead back to two on an assisted marker by Bossidy, making the scored 4-2 in favor of the Rams at the break. After more than 14 minutes of scoreless play, Stanton notched the hat trick for an all-important insurance goal with the Rams operating on man-up advantage.

Darien and New Canaan won't meet in the state tournament this year since the Blue Wave moved from Class M to Class L, but that doesn't mean the Rams and Blue Wave's long-standing postseason rivalry has ended. Last year's state quarterfinal matchup is this year's FCIAC final, as the Rams and Blue Wave each advanced to the championship game of the conference tournament. In the first semifinal, senior Olivia Hompe scored four goals, sophomore Elizabeth Miller recorded a hat trick and Kathleen DeMarino and Brianna McEwan each tallied twice for New Canaan (17-1). Behind Kelly Armstrong, the Rams consistently controlled the draw, ran their offense and drew numerous fouls on Greenwich, resulting in free position attempts. Jena Fritts (four goals, one assist), Taylor Hardison (one goal, six assists), Kristen Gilbert (two goals, three assists) and Lexi Perticone (two goals, one assist) also paced the defending FCIAC champions.

Queens of the diamond for two years running, the Blue Wave took a big step toward an FCIAC three-peat Monday afternoon with a 6-1 victory over Greenwich in a quarterfinal round matchup that featured two of the league's hottest teams. Sophomore Erika Osherow tossed a three-hitter with seven strikeouts for the fourth-seeded Blue Wave (17-4), who will face top-seeded St. Joseph -- a quarterfinal winner over Danbury -- in the semis on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield. The opportunistic Blue Wave took advantage of three errors by the Cardinals (15-6), plating single runs in each of the first three innings to take the early lead. Senior left-hander Allison Kach held her own against Darien's formidable lineup, yielding just three hits in six innings. Senior outfielder Emma Hamilton had two of those hits, and broke the game open with a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth to score Keli Reyes and Kelly Vidola. Greenwich trimmed the lead in the fifth, but Darien responded in the home half of the inning as Hamilton doubled with one out and eventually scored on a passed ball.

On April 3, the opening day of the season, St. Joseph was considered the favorite to win the FCIAC softball title. On April 29, Stamford shot out to a 12-4 lead in the middle of the 3rd inning at Fairfield Ludlowe. Sure enough, the Falcons scored five times in the bottom of the inning, though Stamford held on for a 13-10 win. Coach Jeff Babineau can keep opponents -- and his two starters -- guessing until game time whether Tori Ceballos or Nicole Williams will get the nod on the mound. Considering the pick should be a lower seed, the Rams, out of the No. 6 spot, have a veteran team and solid pitchers in Ali Reilly and Cydney Ventura, who is part of a senior-laden roster that includes Jordan Ventura, Courtney Rogers and Marlee Ready. If you believe the most valuable player is the one whose absence would most adversely impact her team, the hard-throwing Osherow is a leading candidate. Since a 5-1 loss to St. Joseph that left the Blue Wave 2-3, the sophomore has allowed just six runs in 12 games, the lone loss 2-1 to Stamford.