Sports Report – Oct. 31, 2019

Charlotte’s Holden Batchelder sends the ball in CVU’s state quarterfinal win over Burr and Burton. Photo by Al Frey
Quarterback Max Desito gets the snap while running back Seth Boffa (27) turns to take a hand off and lineman Isaac Bergeron (54) gets ready to block. Photos by Al Frey.

CVU is no longer just soccer central
There was a time not too far back when CVU was titled “Soccer Central” for its domination in that fall sport. Well, lo and behold, soccer domination has spread to other sports. Don’t deny soccer, as both men and women are ranked first in the state’s top division. However, both men and women cross-country runners won the Metro Division followed by state titles. Men’s volleyball is ranked first in the state with their female counterparts ranked second. Two weeks ago the men golfers took the state title by 10 strokes over second place Rice. Both field hockey and women’s volleyball ranked second in their division. While we don’t want to jinx them, Redhawks are flying high above many other schools in a good number of sports.

Speaking of  cross-country running . . .
Thetford Academy again sent off the state’s best cross-country runners onto its trails. Both Redhawk men and women won the team titles, led by six women and three men who finished among the top-10 individuals in their groups. There seemed to be a familiar list of women finishers from CVU, with Alicia Veronneau winning the race followed by teammates Alice Larson in third, Jasmine Nails in fourth, Sadie Holmes in sixth and Charlotte’s Finn Mittelstadt in seventh. The women will seek to duplicate last year’s New England title and again qualify for a national run.

Matthew Servin was again the top CVU male runner, placing fourth. Caleb Nye in seventh, Drew Buley in ninth, Gavin Schaaf (12th), Matthew Ireland (14th), and Parker Soares (17th) helped secure the team championship. The collective strength of CVU carried the team over Essex, which had the top two finishers.

Jasmine Nails Free Press Athlete of the Week.
Her two strong finishes in the Metro and State cross-country races brought Redhawk Jasmine Nails nearly 40 percent of the votes in the Burlington Free Press poll. Her male counterpart was also a cross-country runner, Burlington High’s Wondu Summa, who won the Metro race and finished fifth at Thetford Academy in the state championship.

Both Redhawk soccer teams move along in the state playoffs
Despite the school’s name change, soccer is still among CVU’s fall feature.
Redhawk women’s soccer blanked Mount Mansfield by 3 in a quarterfinal win with Avery Sleeper hitting the net twice in the second half on shots 45 seconds apart. Olivia Zubarik added one more, and Charlotte’s Maryn Askew was called upon for five saves.

The men also moved ahead to the semi-final round by claiming a shutout as well, theirs over Burr and Burton 7-0. Jack Sinopoli had a hat trick to lead the way. Jonah Roberts, Sam Johnson, Holden Batchelder and Riley Gauthier added single goals, with Jeff Barbic handling two saves.

Both CVU volleyball teams are still spiking
Men’s volleyball moved into the state finals with a win over Lyndon. They will face Essex in the championship match. Jacob Boliba led the semi-final win with eight kills and six aces. Noah Allen, Devin Rogers and Ethan Harvey were strong above the net with a block apiece.

The women’s team faced South Burlington in a semi-final match as the News went to press.