The Red Clover Rovers Turkey Trot has grown into a great Thanksgiving tradition in Brattleboro.
The 5-kilometer road race attracted 199 runners this year, and the men's winner was none other than Jacob Ellis, the top runner this year for the Brattleboro Colonels' cross-country team.
A knee injury at the Thetford Invitational in early October cost him a shot at contending for a state title. Instead, Ellis earned bragging rights by winning his first Turkey Trot.
Ellis held off Frankie Adkins, of Asheville, N.C., to win the 36th annual race on Upper Dummerston Road in 16:07. Adkins was right on his heels in 16:08.
Two weeks earlier, Ellis ended his high school cross country career with a 37th place finish at the New England Cross Country Championshps in North Scituate, R.I., on Nov. 12.
His time of 16:36 was a personal best at five kilometers, and he was just 11 seconds away from finishing in the top 25, which would have given him a spot on the All-New England team. It was the fourth time that Ellis had run in this event.
In the women's race, Heather Conarroe of Davidson, N.C., who also won the Red Clover Rovers' Firecracker 5-K on the Fourth of July, finished first in 19:04.
Bourne, Cansler play in North-South game
• Two of the speediest kick returners in southern Vermont - Brattleboro's Hassan Cansler and Bellows Falls' Will Bourne - played for the South squad in the 11th annual North-South All-Star Game at Middlebury College on Nov. 19.
After a scoreless first half, the South scored 28 unanswered points in rolling to a 35-8 victory. As seniors, Cansler and Bourne are now in the running for a spot on the Vermont Shrine team next summer.
Olson honored with Wayne Colburn Award
• At its end-of-season banquet, Brattleboro boys' soccer coach Paul Sather presented senior Sawyer Olson with the Wayne Colburn Award, which recognizes the player who supports soccer, his teammates, and his community.
Senior Travis Beeman-Nesbitt was named to the Marble Valley League A Division All-Star team. Teammates Jackson Batchelder and Colby Hescock were honorable mention honorees.
Colonels recognized at football banquet
• The Brattleboro Colonels celebrated its first winning season in several years at its end-of-season banquet.
Cansler was awarded the Most Outstanding Player award, while junior quarterback Tyler Higley was Offensive Player of the Year and senior Trevor Gundry earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Senior Ben Dandrea won the Lou Turner Award, senior Andy Hale received the Gray Goddard Award, seniors Soren Pelz-Walsh and Aaron Prue got the Coach's Awards, and senior Mac Paige was presented with the Charlie Sparks Award.
Winchester, Coursen earn MVL field hockey honors
• Brattleboro's Lyndsey Winchester and Bellows Falls' Kya Coursen were selected to the Marble Valley League All-Star team. Winchester, a senior, was a first-team selection in Division A. Junior Kylie Lafantano received honorable mention.
Coursen, a sophomore, was a first-team selection in Division B.
BF puts five runners on MVL cross country team
• Four members of the Bellows Falls Division III state boys' cross country champions were selected to the Marble Valley League All Star team. Senior John Punger, junior Collin Johnson, sophomore Jamie Moore, and freshman Willie Moore earned the honors. Punger finished second in the Division III race, while Johnson came in eighth.
BF only had one girl running cross country, freshman Anna Moore, but she too earned MVL All-Star honors. She finished seventh overall in Division III and finished first, second or third in every other race she was in this season.
Sox give Carr a promotion
• The Boston Red Sox did some reshuffling of their management team last week, and as a result, Walpole, N.H., native Galen Carr earned a promotion.
ESPNBoston.com reported that Carr was promoted to special assignment scout. Carr is entering his 13th season with the Red Sox, and has served as a major league scout for the last five seasons.