-With a big winter storm bearing down on Brattleboro on Feb. 16, the folks who run the Harris Hill Ski Jump decided to combine the U.S. Cup and the Fred Harris Memorial Tournament events into one day of competition on Feb. 15.
Uhr Rosar of Slovenia won the Open Men's division for the second straight year. His two jumps of 101 and 99.5 meters gave him 257.5 points, Norway took the next two spots as Ole Gravermoen had jumps of 93.5 and 88.5 meters to finish second with 232 points and Sander Bakken had jumps of 89 and 89.5 meters to finish third with 225 points.
Rosar, who also won in the Open division of the U.S., now is now on the cusp of doing what had been done only six times in the century of competition at Harris Hill - retire the Winged Ski Trophy with a third victory.
Slovenian jumpers also took the top two spots in the Open Women's division. Nejka Zupancic had two jumps of 91 meters to win with 230 points, while teammate Lara Logar had jumps of 88.5 and 92.5 to finish second with 217 points. Norway's Nora Midtsundstad was third with 76.5 points.
Norwegian jumpers swept the top four spots in the Masters division, which was won by Espen Olsby with jumps of 89 and 96 meters for a total of 216.2 points. David Bienek was second with with 208 points, Ronny Andreassen was third with 192.5, points and Ole Holt with fourth with 175.5 points. Spencer Knickerbocker of the Marlboro Nordic Club finished fifth with jumps of 74 and 75 meters for 152.5 points.
Mckenzie Maines of the Steamboat (Colo.) Nordic Council won the U16 women's event with jumps of 64 and 71 meters for a total of 127.5 points. Caroline Chor of the Ford Sayre Ski Club of Hanover, New Hampshire was second with 116 points, and Islay Scheil of the Salisbury (Conn.) Winter Sport Association was third with 39 points.
The U16 men's competition was swept by the Steamboat jumpers as Miles Warnlke won with jumps of 84 and 81meters for a total of 219.3 points. Kaden Graham was second with 202 points and Nico Bowdre was third with 193.5 points. Spencer Jones of the Harris Hill Nordic team was seventh with jumps of 65 and 75.5 meters for a total of 139.5 points.
Other U.S. Cup winners included Logar in the Open Women's division, Bienek in the Masters division, Maxim Glyvka of the Norge Ski Club in the Men's Division, and Chor in the Women's division.
Gymnastics
• Brattleboro finished fourth in the state championship meet on Feb. 15 at Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg. Essex repeated as the state champion, and had an extra incentive for winning another title. Their head coach, Mary Savage, gave birth to her first child earlier in that morning.
Savage had been coaching the team all season, including during the week leading up to the state meet. Even though she couldn't be there, her gymnasts were ready.
Lauren Chute led the Bears with a second place finish in All-Around with 36.650 points. Chure was first in Vault (9.00), third in Bars (8.950), and tied for seventh in Floor (9.30).
Teammate Sadie Cheslawski was seventh in All-Around with 34.525 points. She tied for fourth in Vault (8.80), fourth in Beam (9.275), and tied for sixth in Floor (9.350).
St. Johnsbury's Lydia Ruggles was the All-Around champion for the second straight year with a score of 37.125. She and Chute are both juniors and are expected to battle it out again for a state title.
Nordic skiing
• The Southern Vermont League (SVL) Championships concluded on Feb. 11 with a team relay event at Mountain Top Nordic Center in Chittenden.
The Brattleboro boys' relay team of Willow Sharma, Adam Solar, Desmond Longsmith, and Nico Conathan-Leach, won the event, covering the hilly course in 29 minutes, 28 seconds. Mount Anthony was second in 30:07, while Woodstock was third in 30:24.
Woodstock was the overall SVL boys' winner, with a combined score of 76 in the three events that comprise the Championships. Mount Anthony was second with 89 points and Brattleboro was third with 102 points.
The venues for the Vermont state Nordic championship will be at opposite ends of the state. The Skate race will be on Feb. 20 at Craftsbury Outdoor Center, while the Classic competition takes place on Feb. 25 at Prospect Mountain in Woodford.
Boys' basketball
• In the perennial battle of youth versus experience, chalk one up for youth as freshmen Jaden Bazin and Saul James led the Bellows Falls Terriers to a 66-58 win over the Brattleboro Bears at the BUHS gym on Feb. 11.
Bazin scored 22 points and James had 22 points to counter the scoring the Bears got from seniors Oscar Korson (23 points) and John Satterfield (17 points).
The BF seniors also had an impact on the outcome. Senior Carson Clark sank a pair of three-pointers as part of an 8-0 run in the first three minutes of the game. After a Bears' timeout, they went on a 6-0 spurt before back-to-back layups from James and senior Eli Allbee left the Terriers with a 12-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
James and Korson traded baskets throughout the second quarter as the Bears tried to chip away at BF's lead, but James finished the quarter with five points in the final minute for a 30-17 Terriers lead at the half.
"Every single time that [Brattleboro] went on a run it seemed like Saul got a big bucket for us," said BF head coach Evan Chadwick. "Just the growth that Saul has had from the beginning of the year to now … he's fearless."
Brattleboro rallied once again in the third quarter with a 12-0 run that featured a pair of threes by Korson and back-to-back layups from Cody and Satterfield to cut the BF lead to 35-29 with 4:09 left in the third. After a BF timeout, the Terriers started to pull away again and had a 47-39 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Bears then rallied again in the fourth with a 7-0 run that cut the BF lead to 51-49 midway through the quarter. And, once again, James and Bazin responded with some big baskets down the stretch to give the Division III Terriers their second win of the season against a Division I opponent.
"Anytime you can go on the road and win against a Division 1 team as a Division 3 school, it's a great win," said Chadwick.
Bears head coach Winston Sailsman Jr. said he was happy with all the offense produced by Korson and Satterfield, and with the defensive effort by the Bears, particular by Cady.
"We definitely knew this would be a physical game, and we adjusted well, but we keep making careless mistakes," he said. "We have to put this game behind us now and look forward to tomorrow, which is MAU."
The Bears were dialed in for the Feb. 12 game at the BUHS gym against Route 9 rival Mount Anthony, and came away with a 68-59 win over the Patriots. Brattleboro then lost to Rutland, 75-44, on Feb. 15 to fall to 6-12 heading into the final week of the regular season.
• Undefeated White River Valley has been pummeling teams this season. The latest victim was the Leland & Gray Rebels, who lost 101-41 on Feb. 11. It was the third time this season that White River Valley has scored more than 100 points against an opponent, Bellows Falls and Twin Valley were the other victims.
The Rebels then lost to Green Mountain, 69-36, on Feb. 14 in Chester. Caleb Merrow sank seven three-pointers in the first half for GM as he finished with a game-high 21 points. Teammate Tanner Swisher had 17 points and 10 steals. Cody Hescock led the 2-15 Rebels with 13 points.
• Twin Valley pounded visiting Rivendell, 82-37, on Feb. 11, and rolled to an 89-47 win over Mill River in North Clarendon on Feb. 15 to improve their record to 12-5.
Girls' basketball
• The Chicopee (Mass.) Comprehensive Colts journeyed north to the BUHS gym on Feb. 10 and left town with a 65-42 loss to the Bears.
Reese Croutworst led the way for Brattleboro with 26 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. "These are incredible numbers for a guard, and numbers we often overlook because it's Reese…but this is insane!" wrote Bears coach Karen Henry in an email.
Forward Parker Thibault had a strong game in the paint, finishing with nine points, 10 rebounds, and eight blocked shots. Guards Naima Harris and Abigail Henry added 10 and nine points, respectively.
Brattleboro led the game wire-to-wire as they opened with a 7-0 run, then went on an 18-3 run in the second quarter to take a 36-14 lead over the Colts at the half.
• Twin Valley got off to a slow start against Proctor, but the visiting Wildcats got going in the second half on the way to a 42-23 win over the Phantoms. Proctor held Twin Valley to just 15 points in the first half and trailed 15-8 at the break before the Wildcats outscored the Phantoms 27-15 in the second half.
Ice hockey
• The Brattleboro boys saw their six-game winning streak end on Feb, 12, with a 3-2 loss to the Burr & Burton Bulldogs at Riley Rink in Manchester. Henry Parent made his first start as goaltender for the Bulldogs and made more than 20 saves to earn the victory.
Burr & Burton took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Chase Mears and Bodie Smith. Brattleboro had two power play chances in the period, but the Bulldogs got a shorthanded goal from Smith and killed off the other power play. Smith scored again at even strength in the second period.
Parent's shutout bid was spoiled late in the second period when an errant pass from Brattleboro's Rowan Lonergan deflected off of Smith into the net. Lonergan then scored again late in the third period as the Bears pressured Parent, but Brattleboro could not get the tying goal to force overtime.
• Rutland ended an 11-game losing streak when it defeated the Brattleboro girls, 4-2, on Feb. 10 at Withington Rink.
The Bears took a 1-0 lead in the first period when Gretchen Stamberg scored, assisted by Judyn Denny. Rutland got a pair of goals from Maeve Saunders and Piper Morgan to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Stamberg tied the game in the second period, with Denny and Avery Hiner assisting on the goal. Rutland then scored twice in third period with goals from Kinsley Rodrigue and Morgan.
Brattleboro then traveled to Manchester to face the top team in Division II, Burr & Burton, on Feb. 15 at Riley Rink. Despite the result being a 1-0 loss to the Bulldogs, it was one of the best games of the season for the 1-12 Bears.
Rec. Dept. offers youth indoor soccer
• The Brattleboro Recreation and Parks Department will offer youth indoor soccer at the Gibson-Aiken Center from Feb. 24 to March 26, from 5 to 6 p.m. Children will be grouped into small co-ed teams to play pick-up games. Scores will not be kept. Shin guards and sneakers are required. The focus will be on having fun. Don't forget to bring water.
The Kindergarten-Grade 1 session on Mondays is full, but space is still available for the Grades 2–3 session on Tuesdays and the Grades 4–6 session on Wednesdays. The fee is $20 for Brattleboro residents and $35 for non-residents.
Individuals can register online at vtbrattleboroweb.myvscloud.com/webtrac/web, or in person Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m., at the Gibson-Aiken Center. For more information, call 802-254-5808.
Senior bowling roundup
• Another Thursday of bad weather forced the postponement of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl for the second straight week. Weather permitting, they'll be back in action on Feb. 20.
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.