The three key seniors from Twin Valley's undefeated championship season - forward Dal Nesbitt, midfielder Colin Lozito, and defensive back Eli Park - were all selected to the Vermont Soccer Coaches Association's Division IV All-State team.
Twin Valley's Buddy Hayford, the coach of the Division IV champs, was named the Division III-IV Coach of the Year. The Wildcats' 3-0 win over Proctor marked Hayford's seventh state soccer title in his 31-year career at Wilmington High School and Twin Valley High School.
Nesbitt (24 goals, 22 assists), Lozito (19 goals, 19 assists), and Park (eight goals) all helped Twin Valley win every game this season, with 16 shutouts and a 90-1 goal differential against their opponents.
Leland & Gray senior back Adam Beattie was the only other local male selected to the All-State team.
On the girls' side, Twin Valley's Savannah Nesbitt and Hannah Swanson, and Leland & Gray's Giannina Gaspero-Beckstrom, were selected to the All-State team.
Flipping the calendar
• The Vermont high school football championships were played last Saturday, closing the book on the 2013 fall season.
Now it's time to mark the calendar for the high school basketball and hockey seasons. Practices will begin on Nov. 18 for all winter sports in Vermont, with girls and boys basketball beginning on Dec. 2; boys and girls hockey starts Dec. 4.
The Brattleboro hockey teams will open the season with Rutland on Wednesday, Dec. 4, with the girls on the road for a 5 p.m. game, and the boys at Withington Rink at 7:15 p.m.
In basketball, the Brattleboro girls play their first game on Monday, Dec. 9, at the BUHS gym against Twin Valley; Bellows Falls girls travel to Rutland to play Mount St. Joseph on Saturday, Dec. 14.
On Dec. 14, all the boys' teams are started as Brattleboro travels to Mount Mansfield, Twin Valley hosts Rivendell in Wilmington, Leland & Gray hosts West Rutland, and Bellows Falls hosts Black River.
Living Memorial Park gets ready for ski season
• The volunteers who comprise Living Memorial Park Snow Sports Inc. (LMPSS) have been busy getting the T-bar lift at the Brattleboro park ready for another season.
The biggest job they had: replacing the steel cable on the T-bar. An inspection two years ago found that it needed replacement, but the nonprofit group lacked the $20,000 needed for the work.
This year's Plunge for Charity at the Marina Restaurant in Brattleboro raised approximately $11,000 for the project. Another $6,000 came from a Windham Foundation grant. The rest came from individual donors.
LMPSS hopes the T-bar, which was installed in 1957, will keep running for decades to come. But there still are many other expenses looming, including repairs to the snow groomer and the cost of running snow-making equipment to supplement the natural snow cover.
After a disastrous 2011-12 season, where the hill was open for only 11 days, the 2012-13 season was a huge success. The hill stayed open right through the end of March, and there were enough visitors to help LMPSS break even.
Daily lift tickets remain $5, making Living Memorial Park the most affordable option for young skiers and snowboarders in Vermont. A 12-ticket punch card costs $50; an individual season pass costs $75; and a family season pass costs $200. Youngsters 5 and under ski free.
Scheduled hours of operation are Thursdays and Fridays from 3-9 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday from noon-4 p.m., plus extended hours on holidays and Winter Carnival week.
LMPSS is always looking for more volunteers to run the lift and more donors to share in the cost of keeping this community resource open. Donations may be sent to Living Memorial Park Snow Sports Inc., P.O. Box 1945, Brattleboro, VT 05302.
Those wishing to volunteer may call Milt Gilmore at 802-257-4074, Ray Blow at 802-387-4121, or Jake Dixon at 802-254-9541.
Whithington Rink open for season, too
• The Nelson E. Whithington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park opened for the season Oct. 26, and will be open through March 9, 2014.
Daily rates for open skating are $2 for students and $3 for adults ($1 extra for non-resident students and adults). Season passes are available at the Recreation and Parks Department office at the Gibson-Aiken Center on Main Street. For more information, call 802-254-5808.
For a complete schedule of Recreation and Parks winter season events, visit www.brattleboro.org.
Putney Rec League sign-ups
• The Putney Recreation League basketball will have a sign-up on Saturday, Nov. 16, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Putney Central School gym.
This league is for students from pre-kindergarten to sixth grade. For more information, call Mike Barrett at 802-579-4739.