Sports Report
Seattle sees the best of Vermont in the Special Olympics
Representing Vermont in the interscholastic unified basketball tournament played last week in Seattle, Washington, the Green Mountain team was undefeated and carried home the gold medal.
Moving from second to first division as a result of four wins in pool play, Vermont won two more games, one of them being the championship game over Connecticut, 38-29. Wayne Elias and Gary Whalon helped the team overcome a one-point deficit going into the second half. Gary opened the second half hitting from three-point range.
The team was made up of 10 members, some with special needs, others called partners. Four of the ten played on CVU’s men’s and women’s teams. They were Lindsey Albertelli, Shannon Loiseau, Paul Keen and Graham Walker. In a Free Press article, Coach Peter Booth said that he was a friend of CVU coach Ute Otley and very pleased to follow in her footsteps nationally.
Vermont’s men take it in the Gut from New Hampshire
It is difficult enough to keep the ice on rinks—even indoor rinks—from melting in 90-degree weather. However, Gutterson managed to hold its ice for the annual Make-A-Wish Twin State Hockey Classic. This was the 26th tournament for the men and the 21st for the women. A goal in the last 25 seconds sealed a victory for Vermont on the men’s side. Woodstock’s Cullen McCarthy scored the game-winner from just outside the crease to ensure a 2-1 victory for the Green Mountain Boys. Essex partners Maverick King and Sam Couture assisted him. The goals for the men came from Woodstock alone, as Cullen’s teammate Steven Townley, on a pass from Milton’s Cam Goodrich, flipped in the opening goal for Vermont, which, at the time, was down 1-0. There were no Charlotte or CVU grads on the men’s team.
Vermont women aren’t as lucky as their brothers
Vermont Women’s Make-a-Wish squad held on to a single-goal lead for the first period, but New Hampshire came back in the second with three goals to Vermont’s one, winning the contest 4-2. Middlebury’s Andi Boe and Rutland’s Meaghan Hamilton scored the Green Mountaineers’ two tallies. Charlotte’s Arielle DeSmet, a student at the North American Hockey Academy in Stowe, shared goal-tending duty with Rutland’s Amy Howard. The women’s team included CVU’s Lydia Maitland and Jacqueline Ryan at forward.
S.D. Ireland’s American Legion baseball team struggles this summer
Made up of many players from CVU baseball, the summer Ireland Legion team has been struggling for wins, although on Saturday they managed to split a double-header at Saratoga Springs, New York, losing the opening game to the Hayner Barnstormers 6-2 but coming back in the second contest to top North Country 10-3.
The week before was tougher, as they posted a one-win, four-loss record, losing to their Hayner, New York, rivals and the Saratoga Stampede, as well as to the home-state Colchester Cannons. Facing the north-of-the-border Montreal Titans, Ireland lost 6-3, with its runs driven in by Redhawk JV prospect Lars Jensen plus upcoming seniors Jacob Murphy and Tyler Skaflestad. The lone win that week was a 2-1 squeaker over the Schenectady Indians. Good pitching by Jacob Murphy earned him a nearly complete game. He gave up only three hits and one run in six innings before he was relieved by Calvin Wuthrich who earned the save.