The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic didn't disrupt the high school sports schedule in Windham County as much as feared last week. However, for some schools, the surge in COVID cases left them barely able to field a team.
The Twin Valley boys' basketball team has been hit hard by the virus, and an already thin squad got that much thinner. The Wildcats showed up for their road game against Bellows Falls on Jan. 14 with only six players and the result was a very predictable 81-24 blowout by the Terriers.
It could have been even more lopsided, but BF coach Evan Chadwick treated the game as a scrimmage and used it to work on various plays and alignments on offense and defense. All 13 of his players played, and all but one scored.
The game was settled in the first five minutes as BF used a full-court press on defense to overwhelm the Wildcats. It was 19-0 before Twin Valley scored its first basket with 3:03 left in the first quarter. BF went on to lead 40-9 by halftime.
Senior forward Jonathan Terry, who scored nine points during the opening 19-0 run, made good on his plan to dunk the ball in this game. In the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, Terry took a pass from Jack Cravinho, and got the space to go up for the slam.
All the photographers at the game, including myself, missed Terry's dunk (I was changing lenses on my camera when it happened), but the FACT-TV livestream of the game recorded it for posterity.
“I had a feeling all day that it was going to happen tonight,” Terry said after the game, adding that he knew he had to make the dunk, or he would have been benched immediately by Chadwick.
Cravinho was playing in his first game since completing his COVID-19 quarantine, and Chadwick said his team has been fortunate that most of the players have avoided the virus.
“We just want to play,” Chadwick said. “You never know from day to day if we will be able to play.”
Senior center Owen LaRoss led the 5-2 Terriers with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Terry finished with 13 points, while Jake Moore had 12 points. Aiden Joyce led the 1-5 Wildcats with 10 points, and Cody Magnant added eight.
Girls' basketball
• Brattleboro got its third win over the year on Jan. 13 with a 35-27 victory over Woodstock at the BUHS gym. The Colonels led 22-10 at the half, but Woodstock tightened up on defense and made it a much closer game in the second half. Katelyn Longe led the 3-7 Colonels with nine points, while Brenna Beebe added eight.
Two nights earlier, the Colonels lost to visiting Fair Haven, 37-29. Lily Briggs had three three-pointers on the way to a 17-point night to lead the Slaters. Chloe Givens led the Colonels with nine points.
• Laura Kamel had 12 points and 10 rebounds, but it was not enough as Bellows Falls fell to Mid-Vermont Christian, 51-35, on Jan. 10 at Holland Gymnasium. Haley Goodwin poured in 28 points for the victors, while Julia Nystrom scored 10 for the Terriers.
Two nights later, a shorthanded Green Mountain team came to town and pulled out a 40-33 win over the Terriers. A 9-0 closing run broke open a close game and lifted the Chieftains to victory. Grace Vargas led GM with 15 points, while Kim Cummings added 13. Kamel was BF's top scorer with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Tela Harty had seven points and eight rebounds for the 1-6 Terriers.
• Leland & Gray hasn't played since Dec. 29, due to COVID postponements. The Rebels are scheduled to host Rivendell on Jan. 19.
Ice hockey
• Joseph Barwood scored the game-winning goal in the third period to give the Hartford Hurricanes a 3-2 win over the Brattleboro boys on Jan. 15.
Alex Dick and Evan Wright scored for 3-5 Brattleboro, with Will Taggard garnering two assists. Colonels goalie Darek Harvey was busy, stopping 48 shots. Barwood had two goals for Hartford. Blaine Gour added another tally and goalie Sean Keliher made 11 saves to earn the victory.
On Jan. 8, the Colonel boys beat Burlington, 5-2. Taggard scored three goals, Wright and Brett Parsons added the other two tallies. Harvey made 17 saves in goal.
• The Brattleboro girls haven't played since Dec. 28, as their last three scheduled games have been postponed due to COVID. They are scheduled to play on Jan. 22 at Middlebury.
Boys' basketball
• Hartford beat visiting Brattleboro, 84-49, on Jan. 15. It was the first game since Dec. 29 for the 1-5 Colonels, who had two games this month postponed due to COVID.
• Leland & Gray beat Poultney, 43-32, on Jan. 10 as Alex Parker-Jennings keyed a second-half comeback for the visiting Rebels. Aden Bernard led the 2-3 Rebels with 14 points, Parker-Jennings added 13, and Trevor Stillwagon had seven.
Bowling
• Brattleboro went into its match against Randolph and Windsor on Jan. 10 with only three varsity bowlers, due to COVID protocols.
This gave some of the reserves a chance to step up, and they responded well in a third-place finish. Elliana Galdamez finished with scores of 147 and 116 while Mateo Lopez Course chipped in with a 91 and 135 in his varsity debut.
Thomas Bell, one of the three varsity starters, had games of 136 and 206 to lead the Colonels. Also competing for the Colonels were Dorien Phillips, Nick Carnes, Tess Bogart, Amanda Rodriguez, and Andrew Berger.
Dunklee named to U.S. Olympic Team
• Susan Dunklee of Barton will be competing in her third Winter Olympics next month. She was selected to the U.S. Nordic ski team that will be competing in the Beijing games.
Dunklee, 35, was the silver medalist in sprints during the 2020 World Championships and placed second in the mass-start event at the 2017 World Championships.
In Olympic competition, she was seventh in the relay at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, and finished 13th in the relay at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Her father Stan was a cross-country skier for the U.S. during the 1976 and 1980 Olympics.
Dunklee is one of six Vermonters who were selected to the U.S. Nordic team. Vermont National Guard athletes Sean Doherty, Leif Nordgren, and Deedra Irwin were picked to compete in the biathlon, along with Craftsbury Green racers Claire Egan and Jake Brown. Named as alternates were South Burlington's Hallie Grossman and National Guard skier Vaclav Cervenka.
Evans plays in All America Classic
• Brattleboro wide receiver Tristan Evans received an unexpected honor when he was invited to play the All America Classic football game in Orlando, Fla., a showcase for the top high school players in the U.S.
Evans, a junior, had a great season for the Colonels, catching 31 passes for 587 yards and eight touchdowns. A good pass route runner with sure hands and decent speed, he got the attention of the All America Classic folks when the Brattleboro coaching staff sent them some game footage of Evans in action.
It's rare for a Vermont football player to get noticed by college scouts, but Evans got a chance to show his skills on a bigger stage. While the Colonels finished 4-5 this season, there is much hope that Evans and quarterback Devin Speno can have big seasons in their senior years this fall.
BOC Ski Bingo rescheduled to Jan. 23
• The Brattleboro Outing Club's Nordic ski trails at the Brattleboro Country Club will host a ski version of Bingo on Sunday, Jan. 23. Pick up your Bingo card at the BOC Ski Hut between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on the 23rd. Completed Bingo cards should be returned to the Ski Hut by 2 p.m. Ski equipment will be available free to BOC XC members and to rent for non-members, but must be returned by 2 p.m.
Here are the rules of the game: All ages are welcome to play. All skiers must ski on the groomed ski trails only. Mark your Bingo card as you complete squares, and you get a “Bingo” by checking off the activities in a full row, column, or diagonal.
Every player who completes Bingo gets a free hot chocolate and a raffle entry for each row, column, or diagonal completed with a chance to win a BOC neckwarmer. If there any questions, email [email protected].
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 2 of the winter/spring 2022 season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on Jan. 13 saw all eight teams adopting their names for the new season.
The week ended with A Rose/Tulips (10-0), the former Team 6, undefeated and in first place. Trash-O-Matic (9-1) is in sole possession of second place, followed by Bowling Stones (8-2), and Stayin' Alive and the 844s (both 5-5), The Anythings, the former Team 3 (2-8), Good Times (1-9), and Slow Movers, the former Team 5 (0-10).
Deb Kolpa had the women's high handicap game (238), while Josie Rigby had the high handicap series (660). Robert Rigby had the men's high handicap game (257) and series (676). Trash-O-Matic once again had the high team handicap game (859), and series (2,545).
In scratch scoring, Robert Rigby's 257 was the high men's game, and his 676 series also led the men. Rigby also had a 238 game. Gary Montgomery had a 579 series with games of 214 and 184. Jerry Dunham had a 547 series with a 212 game, and Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 542 series with a 200 game.
Josie Rigby had the women's high scratch series with a 525, rolling games of 181, 174, and 170. Shirley Aiken had a 178 game, Kolpa rolled a 176, and Pamela Greenblott had a 172 game.