The Vermont spring high school sports season begins on Monday, April 8, and not a moment too soon. After a dreary February and a drearier March, everybody wants to get outside and play in the sun.
Weather permitting, the baseball season begins on April 8 with Bellows Falls at Leland & Gray at 4:30 p.m., and Burr & Burton at Brattleboro at 5 p.m. Twin Valley opens its season on Friday, April 12, with a 4:30 game at West Rutland.
The BF-Leland & Gray game is worth marking on your calendar as it features two of last year's top teams in their respective divisions.
Twin Valley gets the softball season started on April 8 with a 4:30 game at Arlington. The Wildcats play their first six games on the road.
Leland & Gray has a home opener against Mill River on Wednesday, April 10, at 4:30 p.m., while Brattleboro and BF open their season on the road on Thursday, April 11. The Terriers travel to Woodstock for a 4:30 p.m. game, and the Colonels go to Hartford at 5.
Boys' tennis opens April 8 with Burr & Burton at BF for a 4:30 p.m. match, and Brattleboro at Hartford for a 5 p.m. match.
Girls' tennis begins on Tuesday, April 9, as BF takes on Brattleboro at the BUHS courts at 4:30 p.m.
Brattleboro lacrosse begins April 8 as the Colonel girls travel to Amherst, Mass., for a 4 p.m. game. The Colonel boys also open on the road with a game in Rutland on April 9 at 4:30 p.m.
Bellows Falls has the first track meet of the season at Hadley Field on April 8. The Terriers then travel to Brattleboro for a meet on April 11 at 4 p.m.
North teams dominate VBCA All-Star games
• Northern teams dominated the recently completed high school basketball playoffs, and that dominance continued at the annual Vermont Basketball Coaches Association (VBCA) All-Star games at Windsor High School on March 23.
Local seniors were well represented on the South's Division III-IV girls' team, coached by Leland & Gray's Gregg Morrow and featuring Rebels standouts Ashley Goddard and Alexandra Morrow, and Twin Valley's Abbi Molner and Lexi Reinertson. Despite eight points from Goddard, the North rolled to a 89-57 win.
Leland & Gray's Michael Bergeron and Drew Barnum both were named to the South's Division III-IV boys' team, which lost to the North, 94-80. The North also won the Division I-II girls' game, 72-59.
Only the South's Division I-II boys' squad kept the North from a sweep, as Mount Anthony's Aaryngston Bibens scored 12 points to lead the South boys to victory, 87-84.
The North also dominated most of the spots in the VBCA's “Dream Dozen,” the state's top high school underclassmen. Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, and Leland & Gray were all shut out. Twin Valley's Colin Lozito was named to the Division III-IV boys' team, and Green Mountain's Madi Huntley was picked for the Division III-IV girls' team.
Podlaski shines in Rotary game
• Brattleboro's Jimmy Podlaski was one of the stars for the Austin Conference in a 6-3 win in the boys' game of the Rotary Key Bank All-Star Hockey Classic in Essex on March 23. Podlaski, a forward, scored a goal in the victory, and his Brattleboro teammates Andy Harris and Nik Rancourt also saw action as forwards.
Forward Maddie Rollins, who recently joined the 100-point club for her career, was Brattleboro's lone representative in the girls' game, which the Harris Conference won, 4-3.
The games featured the top seniors in Vermont taking to the ice for one last time before graduation.
Still time to sign up for Bowl for Kids' Sake
• Families, friends and teams from work are invited to celebrate the 32nd Annual Bowl for Kids' Sake to benefit Youth Services' Big Brothers Big Sisters program on Saturday, April 6. The fundraising event will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with teams signing up for a one-hour time slot at Brattleboro Bowl on Putney Road.
The event aims to raise $50,000 in pledges to help cover the cost of running the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, which benefits nearly 200 children in Windham County and nearby New Hampshire each year.
For pledge sheets and to reserve a lane, or for more information about becoming involved, call Youth Services at 802-257-0361.
Registration open for GCH race
• Registration is now open so that you can run, jog, walk, roll, or stroll in the fourth annual “Spring Into Health” 5K on Saturday, May 11. The event is sponsored by Grace Cottage Hospital.
The event is open to all, whether you stroll with family or friends, or run to train for another race. All participants will be timed. The run starts at 8:30 a.m. on the Townshend Common (rain or shine), goes up Route 35 and back, and ends at the Townshend Common. Healthful snacks and water will be available.
Runners/walkers/strollers and wheelchair participants can register at www.gracecottage.org/events or by calling 802-365-9109. The registration fee is $15 for adults; $10 for 13 and under. The first 100 entrants receive a free t-shirt. Parking is available across the street at Leland & Gray High School.