-High school athletes around Vermont began practicing for the upcoming fall season last week.
The first athletes to report in were the football players in Brattleboro and Bellows Falls, who began practicing on Aug. 12. They'll be the first on the field for the fall season as Brattleboro opens its season against the Burr & Burton Bulldogs on Friday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m., at Natowich Field.
Bellows Falls opens its football season on Saturday Aug. 31, at 1 p.m., against the Lyndon Vikings at Hadley Field.
Brattleboro will be playing in Division I for the second straight year. The Bears were 3-4-1 last year in their return to Vermont's top football division and earned the No. 7 seed in the Division I playoffs. The Bears lost to the eventual state champions, Burr & Burton, 41-0, in the quarterfinals.
As for the rest of the Bears' 2024 regular season schedule, they will be at Rutland on Sept. 6 and at Hartford on Sept. 13 before returning to Natowich Field on Sept. 20 to host St. Johnsbury. The Bears travel to Middlebury on Sept. 27; host Keene, New Hampshire, on Oct. 4; head north to face Burlington/Colchester on Oct. 11; and will wrap up the regular season with a Thursday night game at Natowich Field on Oct. 17 against Mount Anthony.
Despite a host of injuries, Bellows Falls was 4-4 during the 2023 regular season and reached the Division II semifinals, where the Terriers lost 21-20 in overtime to the champions, North Country.
BF will be on the road after the opener with Lyndon, facing U-32 on Sept. 6, before returning to Hadley Field to take on North Country on Sept. 13. The Terriers will then play four straight road games - at Mount Mansfield on Sept. 21, at Fair Haven on Sept. 27, at Hartford on Oct. 3, and at Springfield on Oct. 11, before ending the regular season at Hadley Field against Sanborn, New Hampshire, on Oct. 18.
As for the football playoffs, the quarterfinals are scheduled for Oct. 25 and 26. The semifinals will be held on Nov. 1 and 2, with the finalists in Divisions I, II, and III playing for their respective championships in a daylong tripleheader on Saturday, Nov. 9, at St. Johnsbury.
VPA announces several changes for 2024–25 school year
• The Vermont Principals' Association (VPA), the governing body for interscholastic sports in Vermont, held its annual media day on Aug. 8 to announce several changes for middle and high school athletics for the 2024–25 school year.
The biggest change came in track and field, as the VPA decided to switch from four divisions to three, starting with the spring 2025 season. With declining school enrollments around Vermont, the VPA decided to go back to the three division format. This will leave Twin Valley and Leland & Gray, which are currently in Division IV, likely having to move up to Division III and compete against larger schools. Realignment of the three remaining divisions will take place in the coming weeks.
The girls' and boys' high school basketball tournament for Divisions II, III, and IV at the Barre Auditorium will also see changes. Beginning with the 2025 tournament, each division will have a dedicated semifinal night,with games at 5:30 and 7:45 p.m.
Previously, the Division II and IV games were split up during the week, leading into the traditional Saturday championship tripleheader. Now, the Division IV semis will be on Monday, with the Division II semis on Wednesday, and the Division III semis on Thursday. The championship games will be played in the same order on Saturday.
Also, the Aud will now be cleared of spectators between each tournament game, so fans will have ample access to seating.
The Division I championships will continue on their current schedule at the University of Vermont's Patrick Gymnasium.
As for the dates of the fall championships, the state cross country meet will be at Thetford Academy on Oct. 26. Girls' and boys' soccer will have its championship weekend on Nov. 1–3, with locations based on proximity to the teams that reach the finals. Field hockey will also have its tournaments that weekend. Sites for the soccer and field hockey finals are still to be determined.
There are also new options for middle schoolers interested in playing football. Middle schools will now have the option to play traditional tackle football or low-contact flag football, or play a hybrid schedule that incorporates both versions. The VPA is also exploring having schools offer either all-girls or co-ed flag football during the spring season in the near future, depending on interest.
Promoting good sportsmanship will continue to be a point of emphasis for the VPA during the coming school year, especially at the elementary and middle school levels. The idea is that by the time student-athletes reach the varsity level in high school, they will know and live up to the values of playing fair and by the rules, respecting your opponent, and generally not acting like a jerk.
Tyrrell, Evans win Southern Vermont Decathlon
• The 14th annual Southern Vermont Decathlon was held in Weathersfield on Aug. 10 and 11, with Green Mountain Union High School alum Grace Tyrrell setting a new scoring record with 6,237 points to win the women's event. Abby Otterbein was second with 5,484 points and Springfield's Jess Curtis, a three-time champion, finished third with 4,233 points.
Tyrrell, who currently competes in track & field for Stonehill College, set event records with wins in the 100-meter dash (11.75 seconds), 400-meter dash (1 minute, 1.60 seconds), 110-meter low hurdles (17.22 seconds), long jump (15 feet, 4 inches), and vertical jump (24 inches). Tyrell was also first in the mile run (6 minutes, 52.32 seconds) and the Vortex football throw (116 feet).
Otterbein was runner-up in eight events to capture second place, while Curtis was the winner in the shot put (30 feet, 2 inches), keg toss (13 feet, 8 inches), and discus (89 feet, 8 inches).
In the men's event, Brattleboro Union High School and Bates College alum Evan Koch, the defending champion, and Liam Evans, last year's runner-up, staged another battle for the top spot. It would be Evans's turn to shine, finishing second in nine events and third in another on his way to recording 9,051 points to win. Koch finished second with 8,948 points.
Koch was spectacular on the track and in the jumps, winning the 100 (11.75 seconds), 110 hurdles (14:45), 400 (55.02 seconds), the mile run (5:20.91), long jump (19 feet, 11 inches), and vertical jump (31.75 inches), but it was Evans's prowess in the throwing events that helped clinch the win.
Garrett Evans was third with 8,239 points. While he finished fourth with 8,047 points, Liam Byrne shattered the event records in winning in the keg toss (41 feet, 8 inches), the Vortex football throw (234 feet, 3 inches), shot put (62 feet, 2.5 inches), and discus (186 feet, 6 inches).
Tenney Field project now in progress
• Instead of the crack of the bat, passers-by heard the sounds of excavating equipment this summer at Tenney Field at Brattleboro Union High School.
Evans Construction of East Dummerston and Valley Turf Surfaces of White River Junction have been handling the first phase of the reconfiguration and renovation of the historic field - redoing the baseball infield. That is nearing completion, but not in time for Tenney Field to be available for use by BUHS boys' and girls' soccer this fall. The second phase of the project, renovating the 77-year-old concrete and steel grandstand, may take much longer to complete.
The school is due to receive $100,000 in Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds from the Vermont Agency of Education for the project, since BUHS wants to use the grandstand as an outdoor learning space in the fall and spring months. The cost of renovating the grandstand to make it safe and be in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act will likely be a lot more than that figure.
It's still very much a work in progress, and we hope to hear more about it - including efforts to supplement the cost of the project with private donations - in the coming months.
Senior bowling roundup
• With one week left in the spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl, Misguided (54.5-25.5) remains in first place. Slo Movers (48.5-31.5) is in second place, followed by Half Normal (45-35), Spare Change (42.5-37.5), Fab 4 (42-38), Stayin' Alive and Split Happens (both 40-40), Three Musketeers (32-48), High Rollers (23-57), and Incredibowls (26.5-28.5).
Carol Gloski had the women's high handicap game (230), while Kathy Wehner had the high handicap series (644). John Walker had the men's high handicap game (243), while Robert Rigby had the high handicap series (670). Misguided had the high team handicap game (878) and Stayin' Alive had the high handicap series (2,511).
Rigby had the men's high scratch series (652), with games of 236 and 230, while Walker had a 615 series with games of 231 and 214. Mike Pavlovich had a 527 series with a 199 game, Jerry Dunham had a 527 series with a 197 game, and Chuck Adams had a 519 series with a 196 game.
Carol Gloski had the women's high scratch series (461) and game (185). Shirley Aiken had games of 158 and 157, and Pat Bentrup had a 156 game.
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 [email protected].
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.