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Centaurs win
13th ECC  crown in a row
If 13 was an unlucky number for anyone on the Woodstock gymnastics team, it probably isn’t any longer.
The Centaurs won their 13th-consecutive ECC gymnastics title Sunday with a 136.05-134.3 win over Norwich Free Academy.
“That’s pretty good,” said coach Kasey Tocchio. “(Woodstock Academy athletic director) Sean (Saucier) came up to me at the end and said, ’13!’. It’s awesome.”
It also was not pre-ordained as it has been in the past.
The Centaurs lost their top gymnast, Taylor Markley, to injury before the season even began and several others also had to recover from injuries of their own. Freshman Julia Kerr, for example, performed in the All-Around competition for a first time this season at the championship meet.
“Every team has its own challenges,” Tocchio said. “We come into the season always trying to figure it out and it takes a little bit at the beginning and we always seem to get back into the groove. It’s more challenging these days, not harder, but just different.”
And going into a championship meet with a streak on the line that the Centaurs now still possess can make it all that much more difficult.
The solution: Don’t think about it.
“My biggest thing is telling them to just be normal. I like to remind them of that; it’s no different (than a regular meet). Keeping their nerves down and just being calm is so important. They didn’t have to do anything out of the box, nothing better or worse, just be normal because their normal is really good,” Tocchio said.
It’s always nice, however, when you have someone to lean on. The Centaurs have that in sophomore Olivia Aleman.
Aleman was solid at the beginning as she posted a 9.35 to tie for first in vault. She followed that up with second-place finishes in the bars (9.2) and beam (9.2) before putting together a sparkling routine to win the floor with a 9.65 total.
It all added up to a 37.4 All-Around total and an ECC individual championship for the young gymnast.
Kerr also stepped up. It was the first time she attempted to compete in all four routines that comprise the All-Around.
She came away as ECC beam champion, alongside Killingly’s Ella Pereira, as both finished with a 9.25 score. The freshman was also second on the floor with a 9.45 and added an 8.15 vault and an 8.1 bars routine for a 34.95 total, fifth-best in the competition.
Kerr’s presence on Sunday was more than important. The Centaurs didn’t have much room for error as the meet was not decided until the final rotation.
In addition to the Wildcats finishing just a point and a half back, Killingly (134.1) was just two-tenths of a point behind NFA and Stonington ended with a 131.3.
“We knew how close it was, everyone was checking scores and it was pretty much neck-and-neck. Our floor as a team is very strong (the Centaurs tallied a 35.9) so it was good for us to end there,” Tocchio said. “I feel like all four teams made mistakes (Sunday) too so that made it even a closer meet in a sense.”
One streak maintained. Another to try and keep intact. Woodstock has 11-straight state titles to its credit.
The Centaurs next travel to Jonathan Law High School to compete for a state class championship on Feb. 25, but at what time, in what division, and against who is still a mystery.
Unlike most CIAC-sponsored sports, the state divisional alignments are not determined prior to the season and, instead, are figured out after the regular season concludes.
Earlier in the week, the Centaurs accomplished another goal.
The Centaurs captured the ECC regular season crown with a 136.15-133.55 win over Norwich Free Academy.
Aleman was again a key performer. Aleman did not finish first in any of the four routines but had a balanced performance to capture first at the end.
She just edged out Norwich Free Academy’s Trinity Ambruso in the All-Around  by a tenth of a point, 37.45-37.35.
Aleman was second in the vault (9.25), second on the bars (9.4), second on beam (9.4) and third in floor exercise (9.4).
Kerr was second on the floor with a 9.55 total and sophomore Allie Boyd had a strong beam routine, finishing third with a 9.1.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

ECC Champs: The Woodstock Academy gymnastics team proudly displays another ECC championship banner, the program’s 13th straight, following a 136.05-134.3 win over Norwich Free Academy at Thames Valley Gymnastics in Norwich Sunday.
(All photos by Sean Saucier/Woodstock Academy)

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The following charges were listed in the Putnam Police Department logs.  The people charged are innocent until proven guilty in court. The Town Crier will publish dispositions of cases at the request of the accused. The dispositions must be accompanied by the proper documentation. The Putnam Police Department confidential Tip Line is 860-963-0000.
Feb. 1
Chanily Ferran-Navedo, 32, Phillips Street, Putnam; second-degree breach of peace, disorderly conduct.
Feb. 2
Danielle Deleon, 30, Laconia Avenue, Putnam; disorderly conduct.    
Feb. 3
Jose Deleon, 29, Elm Street, Southbridge, Mass.; disorderly conduct.

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Putnam man cited
after car hits house
PUTNAM — A Putnam man was charged with failure to drive in established land and operating under the influence of alcohol.
Putnam Police Department Chief Christopher D. Ferace said Shawn H. Bates, 48, of Maynard Street, operating a 1997 Camaro lost control of his car and hit a home at 14 Maynard St.
None of the occupants of the home or the vehicle were reported injured. The Putnam Building Official checked the damage to the residence. The Camaro was removed by a wrecker service.

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caption:

Darryl Simmons. Photo by Thomas Netzer

It was a busy week of hoops at Putnam Science Academy, with all five basketball teams seeing plenty of action.
The Prep boys’ team, ranked third in the country, went undefeated across four games, including an impressive 73-58 win over the NBA Global Academy on Tuesday.
Darryl Simmons led a balanced offensive attack that night with 11 points and six rebounds, while Ben Ahmed had 10 points and nine rebounds. Six other Mustangs scored at least six points in the win. Oswin Erhunmwunse had seven points, including a dunk over a 7-foot-3 defender, and four blocks.
“I thought the guys played hard,” said coach Tom Espinosa. “Defensively, I thought we were pretty good. We only gave up 58 points. That’s a good number.”
Simmons led the way again Thursday night, posting 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists in a 69-54 win over Mt. Zion Academy. Ahmed recorded his sixth double-double of the season, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Erhunmwunse scored a team-leading 14 points. The Mustangs then spent the weekend in Springfield, Mass., for a Power 5 conference showcase. Blake Barkley had 15 points and seven rebounds in a 94-75 win over Bridgeport Prep Saturday. Baye Ndongo played real well as he continues to get comfortable after joining the team in mid-January. He finished with 11 points, eight boards and a pair of blocks, then followed up Sunday with 17 points in an 85-64 victory over Redemption Christian, PSA’s ninth victory in a row.
Simmons had 10 more points in that game and remains on pace to score 1,000 career points. Mouhamed Dioubate is also on pace to join that exclusive club (currently only three Mustangs have hit that mark), and he also has a chance to become PSA’s career and single-season rebound record holder.
Varsity Boys’ Team
The Varsity boys’ team had a packed schedule as well, playing five games in five days, with wins in three of them. The highlight was Wednesday’s 57-53 overtime win at Wilbraham & Monson, keyed by Nick Sokol’s 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force OT. Michael Olorunsola had a team-high 15 points for PSA, which also got 12 points from Max Shepel. Sokol and Erick Aponte both had nine points in the win.
A day earlier, they beat Plainfield High’s freshmen team 62-26 behind 11 points apiece from Hugo Bolumar and Victor DeLeon, and 10 each for Shane Sebastian-Smalls and Mario Espinoza.
Shepel had 19 points and 15 rebounds in Thursday’s 69-60 loss to Get Better Academy, a team out of the Czech Republic.
“We played well,” said coach Nick Schmidt. “We executed well offensively and rebounded well for being outsized. We competed hard and I was proud of them for that.
The Mustangs also lost Friday, 55-36 at Fessenden, before rebounding Saturday with a 51-23 victory at St. Andrew’s. DeLeon led the way with 10 points in that one.
Elite Boys’ Team
The week started well for the Elite boys’ team, grabbing a 75-51 win over Rectory on Monday. Pop Wadang had 10 points and seven rebounds, while Thierry Lokrou finished with a team-high 15 points for the Mustangs. But they lost a tough back-and forth game Wednesday to Winchendon, 91-85, in which Lokrou scored 29, Jalen Claude had 17 points, Travis Upchurch 15, and Yhali Steinhauer 10 for the Mustangs, who had their seven-game winning streak snapped. The week ended with a 71-67 loss at New York Military Academy Saturday, despite 24 points from Claude.
Prep Girls’ Team
It was a tough week on the girls’ side as well, as the Prep team – playing without its top two scorers Ines Goryanova and Janeya Grant – fell 65-47 to Life Center (N.J.). Genevive Wedemeyer had 13 points, Brianna Mead had 10, and KC Cedano finished with four points and 13 rebounds for the Mustangs.
The Select girls team dressed just seven Saturday for its game at NYMA and came up just short in a 56-53 overtime loss. Mead had 17 points in that one, Hailey Johnson had a season-high 12 points, Keyani Jackson added 11, and Zuzanna Komor added 10 for the Mustangs.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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