The 44th annual Jerry Jasinski Vermont State Decathlon was held on June 17 and 18 at the University of Vermont in Burlington.
Brattleboro's Evan Koch finished fifth in the men's competition with 5,184 points. On Day 1, Koch ran the 100 meter dash in 12.15 seconds and had a leap of 17 feet, 10.75 inches in the long jump. In the shot put, he has a heave of 29 feet, 2 inches. He cleared 5 feet, 7 inches in the high jump, and ran the 400 meter dash in 54.26 seconds.
Koch was in fourth place as the second day events began. He ran his best event, the 110 meter hurdles, in 15.83, finishing third. His top discus throw was 78 feet, 1 inch, and he cleared 10 feet in the pole vault. He tossed the javelin 123 feet, 5 inches, and ran the 1,500 in 4:48.83.
Wyatt Lamell of Essex was the men's winner, with 5,639 points. Ryan Kelly and Gabe Hakimoglu of Bellows Falls were 22nd and 23rd, respectively, while Brattleboro's Max King and Declyn Tourville were 28th and 32nd, respectively.
BF's Tyler Stanley came in 34th, Leland & Gray's Jaden Bloom was 46th, and BF's Hunter Smith was 47th. Brattleboro's Ben Brady was 57th, and Leland & Gray's Jairen Sanderson was 65th. In the team rankings, Brattleboro was fourth and Bellows Falls came in fifth.
In the women's event, BF's Jaden Luebbert, Maya Waryas, and Ashlynn Boucher finished 17th, 20th, and 23rd, respectively, which was good enough for fifth place in the team scoring.
Brattleboro's Sylvie Normandeau was 22nd and Leland & Gray's Kate Petty was 46th.
Luebbert tied the women's overall champion, St. Johnsbury's Lia Rotta, in the pole vault as both cleared 9 feet, 4.25 inches.
Legion roundup
• Brattleboro Post 5 started the week off with another close game with Rutland Post 31 on June 18 at St. Peter's Field. This time, it was Rutland that pulled out a 6-5 win in eight innings - the third straight game between these two teams that was decided by one run.
Rutland's Ethan Coarse hit a two-run walk-off double in the bottom of the eighth off losing pitcher Forrester Avard.
Brattleboro twice rallied back from deficits, as Chris Frost, Dan Petrie, and Hunter Beebe each had two hits for Post 5. Christian Thomsen was the starter and threw four strong innings before Avard took over in the fifth inning.
Post 5 closed out the week with its annual appearance in the Gubby Underwood Tournament in Keene, N.H. They will get back into the Southern Division schedule when they host White River Junction Post 84 on June 26, and then travel to Hadley Field to take on Bellows Falls Post 37 on June 26.
• Bellows Falls Post 37 started its season with three straight losses, all at the hands of Bennington Post 13.
In Post 37's home opener on June 18 at Hadley Field, Bennington cruised to an 8-3 victory. Post 13 scored early and often, getting a run in the first inning and adding three runs in both the second and third innings.
Bellows Falls broke up the shutout with a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh, while Post 13 added another run in the seventh.
Bennington kept up their winning ways against Post 37 with a doubleheader sweep at Spinelli Field on June 23.
In the first game, Post 13's Jack Lane threw a complete game three-hitter in a 10-1 win. Lane struck out 10 Post 37 batters and walked no one. The only BF run came in the second inning, when Griffin Waryas scored on a wild pitch.
Post 13 completed the sweep with a 7-3 win in the second game.
Twin State roundup
• The annual Twin State Field Hockey Game was played June 21 at St. Anselm College's Grappone Stadium in Goffstown, N.H., and Vermont took a 3-0 win in this showcase of the top recent high school graduates of Vermont and New Hampshire.
The Vermont squad had the three top scorers from the Division I champs, Bellows Falls - Abbe Cravinho (32 goals), Molly Kelly (19 goals), and Madison Streeter (18 goals) - and BF head coach Bethany Coursen. Another BF player, Madison Joy, was selected as an alternate.
After a scoreless first half, Cravinho, who will be playing field hockey in the fall at Clark University in Worcester, Mass, scored Vermont's first goal in the second half with an unassisted tally.
Burr & Burton's Brianna Mayne followed with another goal, assisted by Bellows Falls' Molly Kelly. Rice's Lisa McNamara completed the scoring for Vermont.
It was the second straight win for the Vermonters, but the Granite Staters have a 23–11-3 record in this series that dates back to 1984.
• Brattleboro junior Tobin Lonergan and senior Liz Day were each selected for the girls' lacrosse First Team of the Marble Valley League. Brattleboro junior Olivia Romo earned honorable mention.
Day, who had 87 goals and 53 assists this season and finished her varsity career with a total of 232 goals and 74 assists, played in the annual Twin State Classic girls' lacrosse game on June 23 in Lebanon, N.H.
She scored two goals, but New Hampshire came away with a 23-8 win. Day is headed to American International College in Springfield, Mass., this fall.
Romo and Lonergan were selected to play in the Rising Stars girls' lacrosse game on June 16 in Middlebury, an annual showcase for the top underclasswomen in Vermont.
• Brattleboro senior Liam McNeil, a defender who is headed to Clarkson University this fall, played in the Twin State Classic boys' lacrosse game on June 23 in Lebanon. Vermont won the game, 21-5.
• The annual Twin State All-Star Game was played on June 22 at the Maxfield Sports Complex in White River Junction. In a pair of seven-inning games, New Hampshire won the opener, 4-1, and Vermont took the nightcap, 11-3.
Brattleboro's Adam Newton played for the Vermont team. He doubled and scored Vermont's only run in the first game.
Little League rosters announced
• The Brattleboro Little League just announced their All-Star rosters for the upcoming tournament season.
• Ages 11-12: Coaches - Jolene Paquette, Lance Cutler, Ryan Satterfield. Players - Alex McClelland, Chase Austin, Riley Morse, Hayden Avard, Mason North, Sam Bogart, Derek Sage, Harper Cutler, John Satterfield, Jayke Glidden, Lucas Stolpp, Asher Jackson, and Evan Wright.
The District 2 tournament for the 11-12 All Stars starts with a three-team round robin between Brattleboro, Bennington, and Rutland. Play begins on June 29 at 2 p.m. when Brattleboro travels to Rutland. Brattleboro hosts Bennington on June 30 at 2 p.m., while Rutland is at Bennington for a night game at 5:30 p.m. on July 1.
After a break for the July 4 holiday, play resumes with Brattleboro at Bennnington on July 5 at 5:30 p.m. Bennington plays at Rutland at 5 p.m. on July 6 and Rutland is at Brattleboro at 5 p.m. on July 7.
The teams will then be seeded according to their records after the first round of games. Seed 2 hosts Seed 3 in a win-or-go-home game on July 9. The winner of that game travels to face Seed 1 in a best-of-3 series starting on July 11. The same two teams will play again on July 13 and, if a third game is needed, it will be played July 14.
The winner goes on to play in the state tournament starting on July 19. The Vermont 11-12 state champions then will play in the New England Regionals in Bristol, Conn., on Aug. 4-10, with a trip to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., awaiting the winner of that tourney.
• Ages 9-10: Coaches - Chad Gundry, Steven Kunkle, and Charlie O'Connell. Players - Lucas LaMorder, Logan Casey, Bowen Kunkle, Briar Cutting, Charlie O'Connell, Eason DeMarsico, Conner Emery, Matthew Satterfield, Silas Golding, Carlos Torres, Kason Gundry, and Landon Zinn.
The 9-10 All Stars will play a best-of-5 series for the District 2 championship against Bennington. Game 1 is in Bennington on July 6, while Game 2 is in Brattleboro on July 7. Both games start at 11 a.m. Brattleboro travels to Bennington for Game 3 at 5:30 p.m. on July 10, while Brattleboro is the host for Game 4 on July 13 at 11 a.m.
If a Game 5 is needed, it will be played on July 14 at 11 a.m.; the site is to be determined. The winner advances to the state tournament, which begins on July 20.
• Ages 10-11: Coaches - Sean Cozza, Tucker Leary, and Trey Sparks. Players - Gabe Alexander, Sean Cozza, Ryder Leary, Mark Richards, Nick Fortier, Noah Gagne, Henry Schwartz, Brady Sparks, Donnevhan Hall, Kymarion Hall, Lucas Speno, and Gordie Kalill.
I don't have any tournament information from this group. If anyone knows, please pass the info along to news@commonsnews.org.
Senior bowling roundup
• The Great Lakes (30-10) remain in first place after Week 8 of the spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl. Team DDL (28-12) is still in second, and Team BDR (27-13) took sole possession of third place. All three teams had 4-1 weeks.
Team MNR (23-17) fell to fourth place, followed by Team 5 (22-18), Team JKL and 3 Stooges (both 19-21), Stayin' Alive (17-23), The Dentists (16-24), Stars & Strikes and Tres Amigos (both 14-26), and Tornadoes (11-29).
Pamela Greenblott had the women's high handicap game (257), while Arlene Blum had the high handicap series (682). Howard Manley had the men's high handicap game (245), while Gary Montgomery had the high handicap series (676). Tres Amigos had the high team handicap game (675), and 3 Stooges had the high handicap series (1,941).
In scratch scoring, Warren Corriveau Sr. rolled games of 223 and 193 as part of his 595 series. Montgomery had a 193 and a 191 as part of his 571 series, and Fred Ashworth had a 204 and 202 game as part of his 565 series. Marty Adams rolled a 202 game and Duane Schillemat had a 192.
Greenblott (520) had the women's high series. Blum had the women's high game (169), Pat Bentrup rolled a 167, and Greenblott a 166.