The 90th edition of the Harris Hill Ski Jump over the weekend in Brattleboro was a big success.
More than 4,200 spectators showed up over the two days of competition. The weather was good, the snowmakers from Mount Snow did a great job making up for a snowless winter, and the competition was top notch.
All the top members of the U.S. National Team were on hand for both days, with the exception of 2010 Olympian Peter Frenette. What brought them to Cedar Street was the first FIS Cup event ever held at Harris Hill.
Two-time Olympian Anders Johnson of Park City, Utah was the winner of the Harris Hill Winged Trophy and FIS Cup champion with jumps of 94.5 and 93.5 meters for a top score of 255.5. The victory helped the 22-year-old Johnson move up to fourth overall in this season's FIS Cup standings, the only American in the top 15.
Fellow U.S. Team members Chris Lamb of Andover, N.H., and Nick Alexander of Lebanon, N.H., finished second and third, respectively.
Lamb, who won at Harris Hill in 2010, had two jumps of 90 meters for a score of 238.5. while Alexander had jumps of 87.5 and 85.5 meters for a score of 219.5. Lamb is in a four-way tie for 17th in the FIS Cup standings.
The 2011 Harris Hill champ, Michael Glasder of Cary, Ill., came in fourth with 214.5 points on jumps of 83 and 86 meters.
Brattleboro native Spencer Knickerbocker, who now jumps for the New York Ski Education Foundation in Lake Placid, won the Open Class of Saturday's Pepsi Challenge event with jumps of 69 and 80 meters for a total of 160.5 points.
On Sunday, Knickerbocker was second in the Fred Harris Memorial Tournament with jumps of 80 and 84 meters for a score of 196.5. Zach Harris of the Andover Outing Club won the event with a score of 198.5 with jumps of 78.5 and 86.5 meters.
Putney native Willy Graves, who won the U.S. collegiate title a year ago, was fourth in the Collegiate Class of Saturday's Pepsi Challenge with jumps of 69 and 76 meters.
Girls' basketball
The Brattleboro girls' basketball team has been struggling mightily since winning their first three games of the season, losing 11 of their 12 subsequent games.
Injuries, inexperience, and a lack of size have been the main factors for the losses.
Last Monday, the Colonels lost to Rutland, 65-45, at the BUHS gym. Rutland went on a 19-0 run in the first quarter to put the game out of reach early. For all of Rutland's height, it was their smallest player, point guard Maresa Bowen, who was the game's high scorer with 19 points. Taylor Bird led the Colonels with 9 points.
It looked like the Colonels were headed for their 12th loss on Friday in Manchester, but they rallied from yet another early deficit to beat Burr & Burton, 49-38.
Brattleboro shot 3-for-26 in the first half and committed 12 turnovers as they fell behind, 25-9. But the Colonels tightened up on defense and cut the lead to 30-22 going into the final quarter. Mary Richardson did the rest as she scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the second half.
Taylor Bird added 11 points as the Colonels outscored their hosts 40-13 in the second half and ended a streak of four straight double-digit losses. The gutsy effort lifted the Colonels to 5-11.
• Bellows Falls lost to Arlington, 48-38, last Tuesday. The Terriers led early on, but Arlington rallied to lead 22-14 at the half and turned back a late rally by BF. Emily Dufault led the Terriers with 16 points, Darian James added 10.
The following night, in Rutland, the Terriers had Mount St. Joseph on the ropes in the final quarter. But BF lost its top rebounder when Enny Mustapha fouled out, and the Mounties went on to rack up a 57-38 win. Dufault again was high scorer with 24 points, while Chelsea Wilder chipped in 7.
On Friday, the Terriers traveled to Wilmington and got blasted by Twin Valley, 57-22. The Wildcats showed no signs of rust after an eight-day layoff as Savannah Nesbitt scored 17 points, Shannon Lozito scored 13 and Abbi Molner had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Twin Valley's defense was also great, as they racked up 16 steals and held BF scoreless in the third quarter.
• Lots of turnovers and a bit of confusion on defense by Leland & Gray led to a 34-33 loss to Green Mountain last Tuesday. Ashley Goddard had 11 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Rebels, while Alex Morrow added 8 points and 6 rebounds.
On Thursday, the Rebels bounced back with a 41-29 win at Arlington. Goddard had one of her best games of the season, with 17 points and 18 rebounds, as the Rebels finished the week at 7-10.
Boys' basketball
• Leland & Gray is rolling along. Last Monday, they edged Bellows Falls, 51-48. Michael Bergeron had 14 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Rebels. Bobby Culver and Brandon Reilly added 12 and 10 points, respectively, as the Rebels rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half with a 15-1 run. Will Bourne had 21 points, including four three-pointers, to lead the Terriers.
• Bellows Falls rebounded from the loss to the Rebels with home wins over Otter Valley and Windsor. On Thursday, Trevor Wilson scored 21 points to lead the Terriers to a 62-57 win over the Otters. Bourne added 12 and Drew Guild chipped in 10. On Saturday, the Terriers pulled out a 67-49 win in overtime over the Yellowjackets. Hall and Wilson each scored 15 points, and Kendrick Mills added 10 as the Terriers finished the week at 9-8.
• Brattleboro fell to Rutland, 49-35, at the BUHS gym on Thursday. The Colonels struggled on offense most of the night, as Travis Beeman-Nesbitt was the only player in double figures with 13 points.
• Twin Valley completed a season sweep of the Black River Presidents with a 83-29 smackdown last Monday in Wilmington. The Wildcats dominated from start to finish, as Dal Nesbitt led the way with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 steals. Cade Nesbitt added 13 points. Eli Park had 11 points and 9 rebounds, while Sam Molner pulled down 10 rebounds, Nick Goodnow had 10 points, and Keegan Reed added 7.
Hockey
• Adam Griffin gave the Brattleboro boys all the scoring they needed in a 2-1 win over Peoples last Wednesday at Withington Rink. The senior forward got his first goal in the opening period, set up by Philip Perkins. What turned out to be the winning goal came with less than five minutes left in the second.
Peoples pressed hard in the third period and cut the Colonels' lead in half with a goal from Chris Hinrichs, assisted by Sam Loh, in the final minute. Goaltender Greg DiSilva lost the shutout bid, but not the game, as he stopped 18 shots to get the win.
The Colonels made it four wins in a row on Saturday with a 3-2 victory at Milton. Andy Harris had a pair of goals and Perkins also scored as DiSilva stopped 30 shots to pick up the win. Brattleboro finished the week at 9-9. They are ranked seventh in the 12-team Lake Division.
• The Brattleboro girls are starting to peak at the right time also. On Thursday, the Colonels picked up a 2-1 win over Mount Mansfield. Emily Wilson got the game-winner with 6:39 left in the third period. Amber Bessette also scored for Brattleboro.
Wilson had another great game on Saturday night at Withington Rink, as she scored three goals to lead the Colonels to a 5-2 victory over U-32. Kali Roberts and Miranda Moseley also scored, and Maddie Rollins had 2 assists. Lou Lou Terwilliger and Alex Fellows split time in goal, and made 16 saves between them.
Since losing to Harwood on Jan. 25, the Colonels have racked up five wins and a tie to improve their season record to 9-7-2. They are ranked sixth in the 13-team Lake Division.
Nordic skiing
• Brattleboro's Halie Lange won the girls' race and her team wound up with 34 points as the Colonels captured the Marble Valley League freestyle championship on Thursday at the Mountain Top resort in Chittenden.
Mount Anthony finished second with 43 points, while Woodstock was third with 75. Emma Straus and Leah Silverman placed fifth and seventh, respectively, for the Colonels.
In the boys' race, Graham Glennon and Jacob Ellis finished sixth and seventh, respectively, to lead the Colonels to a third place team finish. Mount Anthony won with 42 points, while Woodstock was second with 52.
Clark wins world championship
• Three-time Olympian and U.S. Snowboard Team member Kelly Clark of West Dover won a gold medal and the World Championship at the TTR Invitational World Superpipe contest in Oslo, Norway on Saturday.
This is Clark's 15th straight win and it came competing against 40 of the best female riders in the world.
The victory also gave Clark the biggest cash purse ($40,000) awarded to any female or male in the sport's history.