Page 71 - WHS FH 2014 Memory Book - Megan Cunningham

The Two Delaneys: Wilton Field Hockey Players

Share Name and Quest for Success

By John Nash
Saturday, September 27, 2014 .

WILTON -- To understand the
story of "The Two Delaneys" one
must first know the stories of the
two other Delaneys.

For Delaney Baxendale, the story
begins with a mother and her
daughter; only in this case, it's the
story of her grandmother and her
mother.

For Delaney Chase, the story
begins with a couple of Parrot
heads and a musician whose own
daughter would talk to inanimate
objects.

It's two stories and two paths that
ran parallel to each other for
years, until the last couple of falls
when they have merged together
as one. Delaney Baxendale and
Delaney Chase are both members
of the Wilton High School field hockey team. Baxendale is a senior captain and midfielder for the three-time
defending state champs while Chase is a sophomore forward, who usually plays on the wing. Both are key
players on a squad, currently undefeated, and seeking its fourth straight Class M championship.

"Both are unique in their own ways, both on and off the field," said Wilton head coach Deirdre Hynes. "They're
both kind of soft-spoken and a little quiet in their own ways, but both can come out of their shells." How both
Delaneys arrived as Wilton field hockey players is also unique, yet a little bit poetically lyrical in their own
respective ways.

Once upon a time, Constance Freeman was a field hockey player, but the sport was never passed down to her
daughter, Tracey. Rather, it skipped a generation to Delaney Baxendale. But it wasn't just the sport that
Freeman handed down to the granddaughter she would never get to know. "They're very similar," said Tracey
Baxendale, Delaney's mom and Constance's daughter, referring to her own mother and daughter and their
similarities.

Freeman passed away before Baxendale was born, but Tracey wanted to honor her mother in some way. One of
her favorite memories was the music she and her mother would often listen to one summer -- an album