Edd’s Sports Report, June 14

Redhawks for state championships
Surprise, surprise! Just another state championship for the Redhawk women tennis players. That makes three straight and four out of the last five years.

Playing on their home courts at Davis Park in Shelburne, the women smothered what will be the last year of a South Burlington “Rebel” squad, 5-2. Having replaced her older sister as the #1 singles player, Stephanie Joseph started the day off on the right foot winning her match 6-1, 6-0. A strong serve followed by focused return play have been Stephanie’s characteristics all year. She did not change for the championship match, hard and low over the net. With Charlotte’s Meara Heininger the lone senior playing regularly for CVU, the Redhawks should be strong again next year. However, it takes, as Coach Amy deGroot noted in the Burlington Free Press, an ability to overcome the pressure of tournament play. The championship goal can put undue pressure on the players to win their matches. She followed by saying “they played really well.” Heininger, by the way, finished her high school career with a 6-0, 6-2 singles win. Arielle DeSmet, a junior from Charlotte, and her partner, Corina Gorman, won their doubles match, 6-0, 6-2.

Men’s LAX goes fifth in a row
Well, we should have known it would eventually happen. CVU turned from “Soccer Central” into “Lacrosse Central.” As columnist Alex Abrami noted in the June 11 Burlington Free Press, CVU is now the most “decorated high school boys lacrosse program in the state.” They earned the title well by topping South Burlington at UVM’s Virtue Field, 10-8. For the Redhawks it was early offense followed by strong defense to give them their fifth Division I title in a row. Co-captain Charlie Bernicke’s name appeared again at the top of the scoring list with a hat trick and an assist, and Charlotte’s Walter Braun this time was the Braun on the board with two goals. Face-off wins can produce a strong offense by moving the ball into the attack zone. Another senior co-captain Jake Evans won the face-off contest 14-3. A second offensive advantage from collecting ground balls also went to the Redhawks 25-9. Both face-off and ground ball control call for good body positioning as well as stick handling and come as a result of continuous practice. As a follower of the lacrosse team’s growth at CVU since the early1990s, it is a pleasure to see that occur, not only locally but throughout the state.

CVU runners and jumpers finish state meet
Track ended its season early in June with a second place finish for women and a strong individual showing for men, particularly Tyler Marshall. St. Johnsbury took both team titles.

The Redhawk team mixed upper- and under-class persons. Freshman Charlotte Hill won the 100 meters and ran a leg on the 4×100 winning relay. Sophomore Ella Whitman placed first at 3,000 meters, and senior Allison Kloeckner won both shot put and discuss. It was an awarding final year for her since she had not finished higher than third as a sophomore and junior.

In the men’s events Tyler Marshall wore the red jersey to first places in three events—the 1,500, 3,000 and 800 meters. According to the Burlington Free Press, the middle race at 800 meters brought his toughest competition from a Burlington High School sophomore. Tyler said he was definitely a bit scared in the course of the race, but he pulled it out.

Congratulations to Charlotte’s Richard Lowrey who finished 28th i.n the 55th running of the Memorial Day Classic late model stock car races at Barre’s Thunder Road track last weekend. Courtesy photo.

Ashley Clark in state golf tournament
Charlotte swinger Ashley Clark was one of two Redhawks who competed in the women’s golf championships on the Newport Country Club Course. She helped CVU finish in the middle of the eight-team pack, 58 strokes behind winner North Country.

Richard Lowrey places at Thunder Road
Congratulations to Richard Lowrey of Charlotte and UVM who finished 28th in the 55th running of the Memorial Day Classic for late model stock cars at Barre’s Thunder Road track. Word has it that he would have placed higher, but he didn’t want to embarrass Governor Scott who ended the race just ahead of him.