Continuing my middle relief duties for Randy Holhut with a look at spring sports teams for Bellows Falls, Leland & Gray and Twin Valley high schools. The Commons front office says Randy will be activated off the Disabled List in time for next week's start to the regular season.
Bellows Falls
• It should be another strong year for Terriers Track and Field, with more than 30 athletes on both the boys and girls teams. Ask head coach Tim Eno the key to BF's success and he says it starts with the pipeline of talent coming from Josh Ferenc's middle school program.
“Josh has re-built that program over the past 10 years, which has really increased the numbers I've had and helped athletes be more prepared when they get to high school,” says Eno, who is also happy to dole out credit to longtime assistant Mike Bennett and volunteer “Grump” Haskell for their work with the throwers.
Eno also has former Hanover head coach Tim Clark bringing “a wealth of knowledge” to the team as an assistant.
The boys will be going for their fourth straight Division III state team title. It remains to be seen how much state champion pole vaulter and high jumper Chris Doucet will be slowed by arthroscopic surgery on a torn meniscus, but Eno expects him to make steady progress.
DJ Snide also returns following a state championship in the Triple Jump and second-place finish in the 100 meters during his sophomore campaign. Eno also says former baseball player Shane Clark has looked “absolutely phenomenal” in practice in his first year doing track.
Eno says the incoming crop of freshman girls is as strong as it's ever been, citing Michelle Marchica as a jumper and hurdler, and Brigid Hodsden as a hurdler and sprinter. They'll join state champion javelin thrower Keri Gicino and Reaghan Baldasaro, who finished third in the 400 meters on a girls team that looks to improve on last year's third-place finish.
“We have that ultimate goal on June 4,” says Eno. “I'm not going to say we'll win the state title again. But we'll be tough.”
• Both the baseball and softball teams registered double-digit win totals last year. Athletic Director Ian Fraunfelder says the new division alignment has BF facing bigger schools like Hartford, Mount Anthony, and Rutland this season. The Lady Terriers will need good production from underclassmen to replace five graduated seniors from last year's 13-win squad.
Coach Bob Lockerby's boys hope to get back to the state Division II baseball championship game, where they lost a 2-1 nail-biter to second-seeded Lamoille.
The girls tennis team has a good group of participants, says Fraunfelder, but the boys will be one player short all season long, meaning they'll have to forfeit a match to each opponent even before the first serve.
Leland & Gray
• Coach Tammy Claussen's softballers probably won't be sneaking up on anyone like last postseason, when the ninth-seeded Lady Rebels upset top-ranked Oxbow, 6-1, in the quarterfinals and went to the state championship game, where they lost 4-1 to Richford.
A re-alignment in the Marble Valley League comes with an emphasis on schools playing schools of similar sizes across the state, which means Leland & Gray can't schedule as many games against bigger schools with presumably deeper talent.
“I was happy with last year's schedule because I felt it really prepared us for the postseason,” says Claussen, noting that all these new opponents will present their own set of challenges. “I don't know what to expect because we haven't played these teams in a while. But I'm pretty comfortable where I'm at with our team.”
Five of the starting nine return for the Lady Rebels, anchored by Jordan Gouger, who is entering her fourth year as the starting shortstop. Claussen expects the team to have good power again with the bats of Gabby Donna, MacKenzie Boyle, and Rachel Borgeson, and she likes what she's seen so far in newcomers Caroline Tietz and Jessica Madore.
Claussen is also looking forward to a full season of Keltsey Rushton and Jessalyn Stockwell working together as the battery.
“We moved [Stockwell] from third base to catcher around mid-season last year, and it made us a much better team in the second half,” said Claussen, adding that she expects Rushton to be one of the leaders of the team. “Keltsey has the perfect mannerism for a pitcher: You can't see any emotion on her face when she's on the mound. She's a hard worker and it's really fun to watch her take on the batters.”
• On the baseball diamond, Leland & Gray posted a 13-3 regular season record, then cruised through the first two rounds of the playoffs before being shut down, 5-0, by the eventual Division III state champion, BFA-Fairfax.
The Rebels won't have to worry about BFA-Fairfax again this year, as they moved up a division. But coach Eric Durocher says the regular season schedule will be a little more challenging with most of their non-conference games taking place on the road.
“Last year, it was their turn to come to us,” says Durocher. “We like to be at home. We have a good fan base that comes out and supports us.”
The Rebels will also have to find ways to replace the production of graduating seniors, including co-captains Corey Nystrom and Ryan Borgeson, as well as the big bat of Josh Donna.
Durocher says they'll have to rely more on pitching and manufacturing runs than last season, but cites first baseman Nick Morrow, outfielder Josh Bovat, and pitcher Max Cramp as three players he sees making big strides this spring.
“Nick's bat is really coming around and Jeremy has always been a great athlete,” Durocher says. “I've been coaching Max since he was a 13-year-old in Babe Ruth. He's always had a solid arm.”
Twin Valley
• There will be new faces in the dugouts for both of Twin Valley's ball clubs. Baseball coach Brian Monroe is a newcomer to the area as well, having recently moved to Vermont from Staunton, Va., with his wife and young family.
He'll be working with an experienced squad to build on last year's campaign that saw the Wildcats win five of their past six regular season games, then notch an opening round win against Proctor before succumbing to third-seeded Concord in the Division III quarterfinals.
“We've got some great leaders,” Monroe says of the four returning seniors: Justin Hicks, Kyle Murdock, Baylee Crawford, and Chris Robinson. “They're able to pick things up really quickly and we're able to get a lot of work done in practices.”
Monroe hopes Murdock can take over the bulk of the pitching from last year's main starter, Chris Molner, who graduated. He says sophomore Joey Rafus shows a lot of promise as well, and credits assistant coach Tyson Kinney for working on mechanics with the pitching staff.
“You're always looking for arms that can throw strikes. As the season progresses, the experience factor is going to help the young pitchers,” says Monroe.
Offensively, Monroe says, the team's talents lend themselves more to the small ball game.
“We've got a lot of speed, and everyone can put the ball in play, one through nine,” says Monroe. “If we can make the other teams make plays, we'll score some runs.”
• The Lady Wildcats softball team had much greater roster turnover than the baseball team, graduating five seniors from the group that went 8-8 and lost their quarterfinal game against Blue Mountain in 10 innings.
Tri-captains Brianna Rafus, Kaylea Niles and Kassidy Walkowiak provide the bulk of experience on a squad that will rely on several newcomers to produce for first-year head coach Jeff Putnam.
Putnam knows the players well after spending several years coaching the middle-schoolers and the past three years as assistant varsity coach. He likes the talent he has at the plate and in the field, and hopes sophomore Callie Dix can fill the pitching void left by Colton Butler, who pitched the majority of the Lady Wildcat games the past three seasons.
Dix was one of four sophomores Putnam says should be big contributors, along with Jordyn Bolognani, Leah Putnam, and Colleen Smart.
Twin Valley held Hinsdale's varsity team to just two runs over four innings in a scrimmage last week, leaving Putnam impressed with what he's got to work with.
“We're going to have a solid defense. If we can make teams put the bat on the ball, I think we'll do well,” Putnam says. “Offensively, we've got a fair combination of power and speed. We're not going to hit a ton of home runs but we're going to put the bat on the ball and steal bases to manufacture some runs.”
• The golf team did not qualify for the state tournament last year, but Coach John Keegan is optimistic about the young players he has on the team.
Junior Tom Marchionna has been the team's most consistent player, having been part of the team all three years. Nick Nilsen returns after taking a year off. Sophomore Joy Kondracki is the lone female on the squad, and then there are three freshmen: Chase Spiegel, Willie Queenie, and Trevor Berry.
“I just think it's great that a small school offers these kids a chance to play,” says Keegan, who wanted to acknowledge the Mount Snow Golf Course for allowing the team to train at their facilities, and the Hermitage Golf Course for hosting their home tournaments.
• Athletic Director Buddy Hayford coaches the Track and Field team. He expects the 13 athletes to be in good shape following the fall and winter sports seasons. “Most of the kids on the track team play two sports. Some of them play three,” Hayford says.
Hayford says he's got some kids “who can really fly,” which he'll need to revamp the boys 4x100 group that finished second in last year's Division III state meet. Three of those four athletes graduated. Junior Skyler Boyd looks to build on a third-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles, a fourth place finish in the triple jump and sixth place in the long jump. Dylan Florence placed fourth in shotput.
The girls' contingent remains small, but the 4x100 groups that placed fourth last year returns Rayvenne Duncan and Grace Rizzio. Caitlin Hunt will be a strong competitor in the 100- and 200-meter races as well as the long jump.
“Everyone's a year older, a year wiser, and a year faster, hopefully,” Hayford says.