On a sunny, windy and cold Saturday morning, the third leg of the inaugural Red Clover Rovers Brattleboro Retreat Trails 5K Trilogy was run at the Retreat Farm.
The Trilogy was dreamed up by Fred Ross of the Red Clover Rovers, who is a big fan of the Retreat Farm's trail network and wanted to create a series of races for trail runners.
“I'm out on the Retreat Trails several times a week,” said Ross. “I think we're so lucky to have this beautiful area right in town for everyone to enjoy.”
While there was no entry fee for the race, Ross asked runners to make a donation to the Retreat Farm as a thank you for maintaining the trails.
Compared to the Red Clover Rovers spring and summer fun runs on Upper Dummerston Road, these trail races have a higher degree of difficulty.
In the first kilometer, there are about 550 feet of ascent, and about the same amount of descent. Most of the trail route has a single lane, so there's not much passing room. And there are no aid stations, so runners have to pack whatever they think they need.
The Trilogy series started in May with Green Street School's Tulip Trot on May 4. Wyatt Chingery won the men's division in a time of 22:01, while Rachel Mangean was the women's winner in 23:08.
It was followed by the Firefighters for Fitness 5k Trail Run on Oct. 5, with Josh Dillingham (24:20) and Amy Calantropio (33:31) as the men's and women's winners.
The chilly Nov. 16 race was won by Torin Kindopp, 15, of West Chesterfield, N.H., who covered the course in 22 minutes, 5 seconds. The top female was Suzy West, 56, of Brattleboro, who finished seventh overall in 29:30.
There were 35 racers in all for the final race. They ranged in age from nine-year-old Molly Storm, who along with 57-year-old Lester Humphreys of Brattleboro were the only two runners who were in all three events, to 68-year-old Steve Pero of Winchester, N.H. Most of the competitors were in their 40s and 50s.
After the race, runners were treated to a table groaning with bagels, muffins, doughnuts, and pizzas, plus a prize raffle. Ross said he was pleased with the turnout, and hopes more people will come out for the second edition of the Trilogy next year.
Turkey Trot is Nov. 28
• The next big event on the Brattleboro running calendar is the annual Turkey Trot on Upper Dummerston Road on Thanksgiving morning.
Check-in and bib number pick up takes place from 8 to 8:45 a.m. at the Brattleboro Country Club. The one-mile kids race starts at 9 a.m., with the 3-mile adult race to follow at 9:15 a.m. Both courses are out-and-back on Upper Dummerston Road.
There is no entry fee this year, but runners are asked to make a small donation to cover race costs - such as bibs, timing chips, and port-a-potty rental.
For the fifth straight year, runners are asked to bring a non-perishable food item and/or cash donations for Groundworks Collaborative's food shelf. Food items will be collected at the bib pickup point and be brought to Groundworks after the race.
For more information, visit runsignup.com/Race/VT/Brattleboro/BrattleboroTurkeyTrot.
Frost, Millerick shine in North-South game
• Brattleboro's dynamic duo of quarterback Tyler Millerick and running back Chris Frost led the South All-Stars to a 47-9 rout of the North squad in the annual North-South game at Castleton University.
This year, the South dominated high school football as Brattleboro (Division II), Burr & Burton (Division I) and Poultney (Division III) all won titles. That domination continued in the annual showcase of Vermont's top seniors.
Brattleboro's Chad Pacheco was the South's head coach, and he had plenty of weapons to choose from on offense. He used Millerick and Burr & Burton's Joey McCoy at quarterback.
Millerick rushed for 85 yards and threw for 95 more, completing 8 of his 14 passes. and accounted for four of the South's touchdowns. McCoy threw for 81 yards, and Frost did his bit on the ground with 127 yards on 15 carries.
Bellows Falls tight end Dylan Clark caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Millerick in the first half. Another long reception by Clark set up a 10-yard touchdown run by Millerick in the second half. Millerick later had a 38-yard touchdown run.
The South also turned in an excellent defensive performance, with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. The win ended a five-year winning streak by the North, which still leads the series 11-8.
Also participating in the game for the South were Brattleboro offensive linemen Jem Cohen and Sammy Fontaine, BF offensive lineman Hunter Smith, BF running back McGregor Vancor, and BF quarterback Griffin Waryas.
Joining Pacheco on the South coaching staff were Brattleboro's Mike Empey and Tanner Luopa and BF's Frank Brown.
Locals dominate VIFL All-Stars
• As you might expect, the two top teams in Division II football - Brattleboro and Bellows Falls - were well represented in the Vermont Interscholastic Football League's All-Star teams.
Seven Brattleboro players and five Bellows Falls players were selected to the Division II First Team.
Brattleboro quarterback Tyler Millerick, who threw 29 touchdown passes and ran for 21 touchdowns to lead the Colonels to their first state title since 1973, led the Division II first-team honorees on offense. Millerick is also a first-teamer on defense, as a defensive back.
At running back, the first-teamers are Brattleboro's Chris Frost and BF's Jed Lober, both of whom ran for more than 1,000 yards this season. Frost, who finished with 1,772 rushing yards, was also a second-team selection at defensive back.
Brattleboro wide receiver Aaron Petrie is a first-team selection on offense and a second-teamer at defensive back.
Bellows Falls tight end Dylan Clark is also a first-team selection on offense as well as a first-teamer on defense at linebacker.
Brattleboro's Sammy Fontaine and Jem Cohen and Hunter Smith of Bellows Falls are all first-team selections as offensive linemen. Smith and Cohen are also first-teamers on defense as linebackers.
Also on the VIFL First-Team Defense are Brattleboro lineman Elijah Isham and Bellows Falls defensive back Jeb Monier. Isham earned honorable mention as an offensive lineman.
On special teams, Brattleboro kicker Reed Sargent and Bellows Falls kick returner Jack Burke are first-team selections.
Brattleboro had three other players on the VIFL Second-Team Offense: wide receiver Gavin Howard, tight end Henry Thurber, and offensive lineman Tyler McNary.
Second-teamers on defense included lineman Timmy Velazquez and linebacker Reed McKay for Brattleboro. McKay earned honorable mention as an offensive lineman. Also earning honorable mention are quarterback Griffin Waryas and running back McGregor Vancor for Bellows Falls and linebacker Alex Kendall for Brattleboro.
All-State girls' soccer teams announced
• Leland & Gray dominated the Division III roster for the Vermont All-State girls' soccer team, with senior midfielder Arin Bates, senior goalkeeper Sydney Hescock, and senior defensive back Bay Holmes all receiving honors.
Twin Valley had two players on the Division IV roster - senior forward Sadie Boyd and junior forward Tiffany Spiegel.
Seven named as SVL field hockey all-stars
• Halle Dickerson, Meagan Kelly, and Taylor Goodell were all named to the Southern Vermont League's A Division First Team after the trio helped Bellows Falls reach the Division I field hockey championship game.
Kelly will also represent Vermont in the annual Twin State game in June.
BF's Maya Waryas earned Honorable Mention.
Brattleboro's Rachael Rooney and Edie Cay each made it on the B Division's First Team. Brattleboro goalie Kaylyn Bailey earned Honorable Mention.
Senior bowling roundup
• Magic in Motion (37-18) had a 4-1 week to increase its lead to three games after week 11 of the fall season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl. Crash & Burn (34-21) moved ahead of Ageless Wonders (33-22) to take over second place.
Whatevers and Trash-O-Matic (both 32-13) are tied for fourth, followed by Us'ns and Stayin' Alive (both 31-24), The Drifters (28-27), One Pointers (27-28), Delayed Reaction (22-33), and Split Ends (16-39).
Sandy Ladd had the women's high handicap game (244) while Lorraine Taylor had the high handicap series (626). Mark Rivers had the men's high handicap game (289) and series (724), and The Drifters had the high team handicap game (906) and series (2,589).
In scratch scoring, Robert Rigby had a 192 as part of his 543 series, while Rivers had a 228 as part of his 541 series and Fred Bump rolled a 188 as part of his 508 series. Gary Montgomery had a 208 game, while Wayne Randall rolled a 182.
No female bowlers had a 200-plus game or a 500-plus series last week. Ladd had a 182 for the women's high scratch game. Nancy Dalzell rolled a 163, Bunny Fogg had a 161, and Beverly Middlestadt had a 160 game.