-This is the second season that Brattleboro Union High School has had a varsity girls’ gymnastics team, and it is steadily growing in stature. That growth could be seen in a pair of home meets for the Bears at the Gibson-Aiken Center during the holiday break.
Brattleboro welcomed Middlebury on Dec. 27, and won the meet, 126.3-89.7. Lauren Chute led the way with first place performances in the floor (9.25), beam (9.40), and vault (9.10), and a second place on the bars (7.6) to win the individual all-around title with 35.35 points.
Hailey Richards won the bars (8.40), was second in floor (8.90) and vault (8.00) and third on the beam (7.75) to finish second in all-around scoring with 33.05 points. Sadie Cheslawski was second on the beam (9.10) and third on bars (6.75), and Bethany Traudt was third in vault (7.55).
Vault was one of the strongest of the four disciplines for Brattleboro as Chute, Richards, Traudt, and Amara Tuma (7.30) combined to compile 31.95 points. The beam was also a strong area for the Bears as Chute, Cheslawski, Richards, and Cameron Lawrence (7.10) combined for 33.35 points.
Laurence (7.30) and Helen Webb (7.70) added to Chute and Richards’s fine performances in the floor exercises to give the Bears 33.15 points in that event. The Bears did struggle a bit on the bars, as Kiya Elliot (5.1) added to the scores of Cheslawski, Chute, and Richards for 27.85 points.
The Bears hosted St. Johnsbury on New Year’s Eve, and the Hilltoppers came away a very close 138.1-131.1 victory. Chute was again the all around individual winner with a sweep of the four events for a total of 37.65 points. She was first in vault (9.40), bars (9.55), beam (9.20), and floor (9.40), while Richards was second in floor (9.00).
St. Johnsbury won every event, with a 34.45-33.85 edge in beam, a 36.55-33.60 advantage in floor, and a 34.00-30.65 score in bars. The closest the Bears got was in vault, where the Hilltoppers squeeked by with a 33.10-33.00 score.
With seniors Chute and Cheslawski as team captains, and Karen Galivan and Julio Del Sesto as coaches, the Bears have strong leadership and good mix of experience and up-and-comers. Their fans will have another chance to check them out at the Gibson-Aiken when the Bears host Burr & Burton and St. Johnsbury on Jan. 31.
Boys’ basketball
• After a week off, the Brattleboro Bears got back into action on Dec. 30 against Rutland at the BUHS gym. Rutland was playing its first game in 10 days, but showed few signs of rust in a 82-60 win over the Bears.
Cooper Sparks scored 24 points for Rutland, which took a 23-10 lead after the first quarter and led 46-24 by halftime.
Despite the loss, the Bears were encouraged by a breakout game for junior guard Hudson Smith. He scored a career-high 21 points against a team with more size and depth than the Bears, and kept the game from becoming even more of rout.
The Bears then had a perfect opportunity to flush away a tough loss when the Windsor Yellowjackets came to the BUHS gym for a Saturday matinee game Jan. 3. Smith topped his performance against Rutland by scoring 28 points and the Bears cruised to an 83-51 win in a briskly played game.
Smith dominated the Jacks in the first quarter as he scored 15 points as the Bears took a 26-15 lead. Brattleboro then pulled away in the second with a balanced attack. Junior forward Owen Dascomb controlled the boards and scored seven points. Smith and sophomore guard Logan Waite added five points each, and sophomore guard Dawson Wheeler chipped in four points as the Bears built their lead to 50-26 by halftime.
Brattleboro devoted the second half giving everyone some significant playing time. All but one player scored. Dascomb finished with 12 points, Waite had 10 points, sophomore guard Kaden Cole scored nine points. Wheeler and senior forward Alasdair Jenks each had eight points. Windsor was led by Nathan Nissenbaum, who scored 18 points, including four three-pointers.
The Bears played a consistent and fast-paced game against Windsor, and Brattleboro head coach Winston Sailsman Jr. was pleased with the improvement over the Rutland game.
“I constantly tell them that excellence is a habit,” Sailsman said after the game. “We took care of the ball, made the right reads, and made the right passes, If you keep doing the right things, it pays off.”
At press time, the 2-4 Bears were set to play at Rutland on Jan. 6.
• Leland & Gray lost to the Proctor Phantoms, 55-48, in Townshend on Jan. 3. The Rebels kept it close in the first half and trailed 18-16 at the break. The second half belonged to the Phantoms as they outscored the Rebels, 20-8, in the third quarter to pull away for good. At 0-5, the Rebels are still looking for their first win.
• Twin Valley entered the new year with a 3-2 record. At press time, they were set to host Woodstock on Jan. 6.
• Bellows Falls is 2-3 and also had a long layoff during the holiday break. At press time, they were set to play a road game at Thetford Academy on Jan. 6.
Girls’ basketball
• Brattleboro dropped its fourth game in a row on Jan. 3 with a 56-33 loss at St. Johnsbury on Jan. 3. The 2-4 Bears will travel to Rutland on Jan. 8.
• Bellows Falls improved to 4-2 with wins at Mount Anthony (46-26 on Dec. 30) and at home against Burr & Burton (53-42 on Jan. 3). The Terriers will be at Rivendell on Jan. 8.
• Leland & Gray remains winless. The Rebels lost at Arlington, 58-22, on Dec. 30 to fall to 0-7. They’ll be in Whitingham on Jan. 8 to take on Twin Valley.
• After a light December schedule, things will get busier for Twin Valley. At press time, the 1-1 Wildcats were in North Clarendon to face Mill River on Jan. 5.
Ice hockey
• The Brattleboro ice hockey teams had a bad day in Manchester on Dec. 27 as they were swept by the Burr & Burton Bulldogs in a doubleheader at Riley Rink.
In the girls’ game, Brattleboro lost, 9-1. The Bulldogs scored four goals in the opening period, got three more in the second, and two more in the third. Katie Brownlee had three goals, Brooke Brownlee and Mya Duncan each scored a pair of goals, and Charlotte Townsend and Elise Hornby also scored.
The Burr & Burton boys shut out Brattleboro in the nightcap, 4-0. Luke Brownlee and Chase Mears both scored in the first period for the Bulldogs, and Cian Sullivan-Yannone and Brownlee scored in the second period as the Bears were thwarted by the Burr & Burton defense.
• The Brattleboro boys had some better luck in the Philippe H. Bouthiller Holiday Classic at Barwood Area in Hartford. The Bears beat Lebanon, New Hampshire, 4-2, in the tourney opener on Dec. 30. It was the Bears’ first win of the season. The second night of the tourney on New Year’s Eve saw the Bears lose once again to Burr & Burton, 5-2, to fall to 1-2-1 on the season. They’ll be back at Withington Rink on Jan. 10 when they host Stowe.
• With a 9-0 road loss to Missisquoi on Jan. 3, the Brattleboro girls fell to 0-3. They’ll be back in action on Jan. 7 when they host Spaulding at Withington Rink.
‘Snowshoe for Hope’ returns to raise funds for Susan G. Komen
• The annual Snowshoe for Hope event, a fundraiser for Susan G. Komen, the world’s leading breast cancer organization, returns to southern Vermont on Sunday, Feb. 8.
This event will take place at Grafton Trails & Outdoor Center in Grafton, with pre-event activities beginning at 9 a.m. and trail access opening at 10 a.m. Participants can register on-site, pick up T-shirts, drop off donations, rent snowshoes, and enjoy a light breakfast.
“Snowshoe for Hope is meant to be a fun, winter-activity fundraiser, for all ages and abilities,” said Andi Fusco, one of the event organizers, in a news release. “Together, we can ensure that Komen can continue to save lives by meeting the most critical needs of our communities and investing in breakthrough research to prevent and cure breast cancer.”
There is no cost to register for Snowshoe of Hope, but a $20 trail fee will apply. To learn more about Snowshoe for Hope, and to register as an individual, visit info-komen.org/goto/2026SnowshoeforHope.
Participants unable to join in person can register for Snowshoe for Hope, and fundraise and snowshoe any day this winter for the benefit of Susan G. Komen. For more information, contact Fusco at snowshoeforhopevt@gmail.com.
Randolph T. Holhut, deputy editor of this newspaper, has written this column since 2010 and has covered sports in Windham County since the 1980s. Readers can send him sports information at news@commonsnews.org.
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.