The spring high school sports season begins this week and, thanks to a mild winter and a warm March, the ballfields around the county are in pretty good shape. Before the baseball, softball, lacrosse, track and field, and tennis seasons begin, let's look back at some of the all-star honors that local athletes received in the winter sports season just past.
• Brattleboro's Graham Glennon was a first-team selection for the Division I boys on the Vermont high school Nordic Skiing coaches' All-Star Team. Teammate Jacob Ellis received honorable mention.
The Brattleboro girls' Fantastic Four - Haile Lange, Helen Manning, Leah Silverman, and Emma Straus - were all selected to the Division I team, with Lange earning first-honors, and Manning, Silverman, and Straus receiving honorable mention.
Lange, Straus, and Glennon all competed for Team Vermont in the Eastern High School Nordic Championships, held on St. Patrick's Day weekend at Mountain Top Resort in Chittenden. They helped Vermont win its fourth team title in a row.
• Center Emily Wilson and forward Jamie Martell both represented Brattleboro in the Essex Rotary KeyBank All-Star Hockey Classic.
The games feature the top seniors in boys' and girls' hockey around the state, and are used to help select the Vermont roster for the Make-A-Wish Classic against New Hampshire, set for July 14 at the University of Vermont's Gutterson Fieldhouse.
• The Vermont Basketball Coaches Association (VBCA) announced their “Dream Dozen” teams, the top non-senior players in boys' and girls' basketball. Brattleboro and Bellows Falls got shut out on the Division I-II teams, but Twin Valley was represented on the Division III-IV teams by Colin Lozito and Savannah Nesbitt. Ashley Goddard of Leland & Gray was selected to the Division III-IV girls' team.
The VBCA had its annual Senior All-Star games in Windsor on Saturday, and the local squads were well-represented. Point guard Callie Ginter of Leland & Gray played in the Division III-IV girls' game, while Brattleboro's Mary Richardson appeared in the Division I-II girls' game. Brattleboro's Soren Pelz-Walsh, Travis Beeman-Nesbitt, and Tommy Heydinger all played in the Division I-II game, and their coach, Joe Rivers, was honored for joining the 100-win club.
• The Marble Valley League selected its basketball all-stars last week. Richardson was a first-team selection for Brattleboro in the girls' A Division, while freshman Abby Lesure was a second-team selection.
In the girls' C Division, Leland & Gray juniors Alex Morrow and Goddard made the first team, along with Twin Valley's Savannah Nesbitt. Making the second team were Emily Dufault and Enny Mustapha of Bellows Falls, Abbi Molner of Twin Valley, Shannon Lozito of Twin Valley, and Haley Buffum of Leland & Gray.
The boys' C Division had plenty of local representation as Mike Hall of Bellows Falls and Chris Lasch and Brandon Reilly of Leland & Gray all were named to the first team. Leland & Gray's Phil Davis was named the Division C Coach of the Year, while the Rebels' Bobby Culver was a second-team selection. Twin Valley sophomores Colin Lozito and Dal Nesbitt both made the boys' D Division first team.
Save the date of June 7 for Rotary golf tournament
• The Brattleboro Rotary Club is asking golfers to save the date of June 7 for the 37th annual Charity Golf Tournament. Proceeds will benefit the new West River Park on Route 30.
The golf tournament is open to the public and will take place at the Brattleboro Country Club on Upper Dummerston Road. Registration and bag lunch for golfers will begin promptly at 11 a.m., followed by a shotgun start (scramble format) at noon. Dinner, prizes, a silent auction, and a raffle will take place at 6 p.m. Full teams are not required; the cost is $125 for an individual or save $10 per person by registering a foursome for $460.
West River Park, which is being built in phases on nearly 11 acres, will include playing fields for softball, lacrosse, soccer, and Ultimate Frisbee, a concession stand, picnic and play areas, a walking trail, and access to the West River via a beach and a canoe/kayak launch area. Proceeds from the Rotary Golf Tournament will go specifically toward the walking trail and access to the river.
To register for the tournament, contact Cathy Coonan at 802-251-3782 or cathy.coonan@therichardsgrp.com, or visit the club online at www.BrattleboroRotaryClub.org.