By Edd Merritt and Tom Giroux, Contributors
March 2 saw the lady Redhawks honor five teammates playing their final years at CVU and carrying on the winning tradition. A dominating victory over St. Johnsbury Academy, 55-23, helped matters. The five are Maddie Reagan, Josie Pecor, Cathy Gilwee, Jade Leavitt and Maddie Mfochive.
Devin Rogers hits for two. Photo by Al Frey.
Their classmates set up humorous posters around the gym, with lines such as “Have No Fear #2 is Here,” “Make Your Swishes Come True,” “21 Will Get It Done,” “Josie P Will Hit That Three.” And they did, jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. The Hilltoppers followed, however, in the second period by hitting seven unanswered points and bringing the game within three points, 16-13. Coach Otley switched her defense to a 1-2-2 zone which held St. Jay scoreless for the remainder of the first half.
The win followed a previous victory for the women, 57-31 over Rice.
The junior varsity also remained without a loss by outscoring the Hilltoppers 40-31 behind Kate Boget, Merrill Jacobs, Charlotte Sisson and Nina Zimakas.
On Monday, the women bested Rutland, 47-29, with much of its offense coming through the hands of familiar players—Cathy Gilwee, Josie Pecor, Shelby Companion, Elise Berger, Chloe Snipes and Maddie Mfochive. Addie Hunter’s rebounding and Maddie Reagan’s playmaking helped the Redhawk cause.
Following a slow start, the Redhawk JVs picked up for a 43-16 win over the Raven JVs. Seven of 10 CVU players scored, led by Samara Ashooh with 11. The win leaves them undefeated like their varsity counterparts.
For men hoopsters it was a win over Wolves but a loss to Green Knights
The last Friday in February saw CVU men outscore South Burlington by 14 points in the second half to lead the determined Redhawks to a convincing 58-40 victory over the Wolves. Coach Osborne’s deep bench proved to be a major factor with all 14 members of the roster seeing some action.
Ethan Czarny provided an early offense for CVU. Ten Redhawks saw playing time in the first quarter, even though they ended the period with only a one-point lead, 11-10. Ethan Murray, Devon Rogers, Logan Vaughn and Alex Provost gave CVU a four-point lead at halftime. Charlotte’s Deng Dau scored five points, and his town-mate Zach Doane helped create a 40-31 score after three periods and before the Redhawks outscored the Wolves 18-9 in the final stanza.
The JVs had a tight game with CVU leading 18-16 after two periods. They went on to win 38-29 and maintain an unblemished record.
On Saturday, March 6, CVU ran into a hot set of Green Knights, losing to Rice, 53-29. Devin Rogers and Ethan Czarny led the Hawks with eight points apiece. While both teams used tight defenses in the opening period, the Redhawks went back to a man-to-man in the second quarter, and Rice ran to a 20-12 lead at halftime. The Knights, however, blew the Hawks away in the second half to remain unbeaten. The game was between the two top seeds in the state, and the Redhawks look toward an opportunity for revenge in the playoffs.
The CVU junior varsity suffered its first loss of the season to Rice, 42-39. CVU did cut the lead to two with only a little over a minute left to play. But that was as close as they would get.
CVU gymnasts are a potent bunch
The Redhawk gymnastics team has been overpowering in its meets. Take its match on Feb. 27 in which, as a team, it bested South Burlington 117.1 to 89.5. The Hawks won all but one exercise, with Ruby Opton taking the All-Around title and Rory Anderson third. Ruby earned that spot with victories in the vault, the beam and floor exercises. She placed second in bars.
Skiers master the slopes
The CVU Alpine teams continue to perform well on the slopes—particularly the women. Olivia Zubarik, Dicey Manning, Ella Lisle, Charlotte Couperthwaite, Kate Kogut and Ellie Ramirez-Richer seem to dominate the top ten individuals, while Peter and Sean Gilliam and Seth Boffa finish in that group among men.
