-Cross-country has been an off-and-on fall sport at Leland & Gray over the years, but no one can remember the last time the school has hosted a varsity race at the school.
That changed on Sept. 25 when the school hosted a meet that drew Brattleboro, Burr & Burton, Springfield, and Bellows Falls to Townshend to run a new course that was laid out by Athletic Director Tammy Claussen and her husband, and Rebels cross-country coach Al Claussen.
The course started and finished on the town athletic field that sits next to Oakwood Cemetery. Unlike many of the courses that high school athletes run on in Vermont, it was mostly flat as it followed the West River and looped through the cemetery.
“If you’re a runner in Vermont, you run hills every day,” said Bellows Falls coach Rose Monahan. “It’s nice to switch it up a bit.”
Without leg-sapping hills to worry about, there were some fast times turned in on the 5K course, with many runners logging personal best times.
Burr & Burton’s Sebastian Traver Adolphus finished first in the boys’ race in 16 minutes, 47 seconds. Brattleboro’s Liam Conathan-Leach and Jackson Ferreira placed second and third with times of 16:53 and 16:54, respectively. The rest of the Brattleboro runners in the top 10 included Jack Schibley (sixth, 18:37), Conor McColgan (seventh, 18:38), and Walker Korb (ninth, 18:45). Brattleboro’s performance gave them a narrow 27-31 win over Burr & Burton in the team scoring.
The Bellows Falls boys, who finished third with 80 points, were led by Fabian Patterson, who finished 10th in 18:54, while Louis Sunflower and Joel Robertson placed 31st and 32nd, respectively, in 21:53 and 22:09. Leland & Gray had only two runners, with Jeddon Berger and Max Albin finishing 34th and 36th, respectively, in 22:18 and 23:57.
In the girls’ race, Burr & Burton swept five of the top six spots to beat Brattleboro, 18-42. They were the only two schools with enough runners for a team score.
Burr & Burton’s Evelyne Martin was first in 21 minutes, two seconds, with Brattleboro’s Grace Rosa as the top finisher for the Bears with a third place time of 22:55. Brattleboro’s scoring was rounded out by Maayan Coleman (ninth, 24:15), Louisa Eichalberger (10th, 24:24), Nya Lawson-Westfall (11th, 24:30), Victoria Douglas (18th, 26:23), and Luca Barkow (20th, 27:56).
Kalia Webb led Leland & Gray as their only girls’ participant with a seventh place finish in 23:50. Annabell Bazin was the lone Bellows Falls runner, finishing in 14th in 25:04.
Coaches and runners alike were impressed by the course, and by how well the meet was run by the Leland & Gray athletics staff and volunteers. Likewise, the Claussens said they were gratified by how the local teams embraced the opportunity to run on a new course for the first time. There were 108 middle-school and varsity runners who came for the inaugural race, setting the precedent for what is hoped to be more cross-country meets in Townshend in the coming years.
Football
• Brattleboro couldn’t end its losing streak, but they managed to score their first touchdown of the season in a 21-6 loss to the Hartford Hurricanes in White River Junction on Sept. 25.
Hartford won their first game of the season thanks to strong performances by multi-purpose back Rex Banning (134 yards rushing, 79 yards receiving, two touchdowns) and quarterback Joey Gardner (54 yards rushing, one touchdown, 116 yards passing).
Banning opened the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown run on the Canes’ first possession of the game in the opening quarter. Trailing 7-0 late in the second quarter, Brattleboro looked like it had a chance to turn the tide when defensive back Kymarion Hall intercepted Gardner at the goal line with 2:03 left in the first half.
However, on the first play on offense for the Bears, Hall took a handoff and was tackled in the end zone to give Hartford a safety and a 9-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, the Canes quickly moved down the field and Gardner scored on a 4-yard run with 41.6 seconds left in the half. The point after was no good, but Hartford had a 15-0 lead at the break.
Banning made it 21-0 with a 22-yard touchdown catch with 6:51 left in the third quarter. Brattleboro then put together its first scoring drive of the season as quarterback Logan Casey completed five passes, culminating in a 9-yard catch in the end zone by Lucas DiZolglio. The point-after kick failed, but the Bears finally scored a touchdown.
Now 0-4, Brattleboro will host Burr & Burton this Friday night at 7 p.m. at Natowich Field.
• Bellows Falls rolled to a 44-14 win over U-32 on Sept. 24 in East Montpelier. The Terriers had 508 yards of rushing as Jaden Bazin ran for 198 yards on just six carries, including touchdown runs of 53 and 74 yards on BF’s first two possessions. Bryar Barnett carried the ball 14 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Cooper Lovell and Thomas Nowers each ran for 49 yards and Jacob Kissell and Carter Harper each ran for touchdowns.
The Terriers led 23-0 at the half, and added two more touchdowns in the third quarter and another in the fourth quarter. U-32 ended the shutout bid when Cormiac Farrell and Anthony Cerminara connected for a 43-yard scoring pass. The other U-32 touchdown came on an 82-yard kickoff return by Eyarhi Armbrister.
Now 3-1, Bellows Falls will host Saranac Lake, New York for a 7 p.m. game this Friday at Hadley Field.
Boys’ soccer
• Twin Valley improved to 9-0 with a 9-0 win over Otter Valley in their homecoming game on Sept. 26 at Hayford Field.Nico Gerding scored three goals, and Alex Sullivan, Brayden Brown and Gabe Walling each added two goals for Twin Valley. The Wildcats raced to 7-0 halftime lead, and goalkeeper Davis Cole faced only two shots to earn another shutout victory.
The Wildcats had a tougher time of it on Sept. 22 in a 2-0 win over Springfield at Hayford Field. Twin Valley outshot the Cosmos, 18-4, with Brayden Brown scoring both goals from long distance goals in the first and second halves.
• After playing Fair Haven to a scoreless tie, Brattleboro got a pair of goals in the second half to beat the Slaters, 2-1, on Sept 23 at Natowich Field. Oscar Dawson scored one of the goals, and assisted on the game-winner by Sajjad Ahmadi as the Bears improved to 6–1-1.
• Spencer Clausen scored the game-winner in overtime as Leland & Gray beat Green Mountain, 3-2, on Sept. 21 in Chester.
Girls’ soccer
• After years of struggle, Twin Valley is now one of the top teams in Division IV. They have a 7-1 record so far this season and showed they are a team to be reckoned with a 2-1 overtime win at Poultney, the defending champs, on Sept. 21.
Eighth-grader Avery Brown scored the game-winner with 2:28 left in the first overtime. Despite trailing 1-0 and being one player down for about half of the second half after a red card was issued to a Poultney player, the Blue Devils forced overtime when Rowan Trigg scored on a penalty kick with 20 seconds left in regulation time. Junior captain Scarlett Cimino scored Twin Valley’s other goal in the first half, assisted by Joslyn Codogni. Wildcats goalkeeper Kate Oyer made 10 saves.
Brown continued her heroics the next day at West Rutland as she scored with 5:17 left in regulation for a dramatic 4-3 win over the Golden Horde for the Wildcats’ third win in a row.
• Gracie Patterson scored a pair of goals in the second half as Bellows Falls shut out Long Trail School, 2-0, on Sept 22 in Westminster. Grace Hayes, subbing for injured Chase Stockwell, earned the shutout win in goal. Abby Nystrom assisted on both BF goals. It was the first home game for the 4-4 Terriers since their opener on Aug. 29.
• Brattleboro rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force overtime, but lost to Hartford, 3-2, on Sept. 24 at Natowich Field.
Leanna Rago-Marker scored twice for the Bears to tie the game. Hartford would get the game-winner with about two minutes left in the first overtime when a Bears player got called for a foul in the Hartford goal box, and Lucy Crowley converted the penalty kick to hand Brattleboro the loss.
On Sept. 26, the Bears lost to Springfield, 2-0, to drop their season record to 2-6-1.
• Addie Snide scored twice in the second half and Adela Fuentes added another goal and an assist as undefeated Springfield shut out Leland & Gray, 3-0, under the lights at Springfield’s Brown Field on Sept. 23.The Cosmos led 1-0 at the half, and the Rebels kept it close before Snide scored her goals in the 65th and 74th minute to ensure the win.
With a 4-0 loss to Windsor on Sept. 26, the Rebels finished the week at 3-6.
Field hockey
• Bellows Falls and Rutland played to a scoreless tie on Sept. 22. BF goalie Brooke Parker made 11 saves, while Rutland goalie Sammy Cacace made 13 saves.
The Terriers then beat Fair Haven, 4-1, in Westminster on Sept. 26 to end the week with a 5-1-1 record.
• Betta Cirovic scored two goals and assisted on another goal as Woodstock defeated Brattleboro, 3-2, at Sawyer Field on Sept. 23. The Bears are 0-5-3 on the season.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 4 of the fall/winter season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League on Sept. 24 at Brattleboro Bowl saw In the Worx and Assisted Living (both 15-5) tied for first place, followed by Gutt-ER-Done (13-7), SDWM andRolos (both 11-9), Girls & Boys and Stuff Happens (both 8-12), Slow Moves and Four On The Floor (both 7-13), and Single Pin (5-15).
Debbie Rittenhour had the women’s high handicap game (224) and Diane Miller had the high handicap series (629). Pete Cross had the men’s high handicap game (263) and series (687). Stuff Happens had the team high handicap game (876) and series (2,517).
Kevin Napaver had the men’s high scratch series (665), with games of 245, 214, and 206, while Peter Deyo had a 640 series with games of 215, 220, and 205. Mike Pavlovich had a 593 series with games of 212, 191, and 190, Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 556 series with a 235 game, Robert Rigby had a 550 series with games of 204 and 192, Rick Westcott had a 525 series with a 210 game, Gary Montgomery had a 514 series with a 186 game, and John Walker had a 502 series with a 189 game. Notable games included Pete Cross (193), Eric Brown (191), and Stan Kolpa (185).
Miller had the women’s high scratch series (428) and Darlene Ladabouche had the high scratch game (155).
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.