Roundup
WA wrestling team picks up first 2 victories
Wins are sometimes hard to come by for fledgling athletic programs as the Woodstock Academy wrestling program can certainly attest.
The Centaurs are in just their third season of returning to competition in the sport and it’s not easy to break in against established programs like those in the ECC.
But the Centaurs did break through this past week to score a pair of victories as they downed Putnam High School, 59-18, on the road in an ECC Div. II matchup and then posted a 48-18 win over Platt Tech at the Ellis Tech duals.
“It really helps the morale,” coach Cahan Quinn said. “I’m glad everyone made weight. Owen Hamilton, Max Kopp and Aidan Soukaloun all wrestled rather well (against Putnam).”
Quinn could individually point to those wrestlers because they were the only three who actually took to the mat against the Clippers.
Kopp picked up an early second period pin for the Centaurs over Mayson Moone, the only pin of the night for the Centaurs.
“He’s still new to the sport but he wrestles so hard, loves the sport, and it was so great to see him get a win and use what he’s learned over the past two years,” Quinn said.
Soukaloun recorded a victory by tech fall. Hamilton wrestled well but was pinned in the second period by Putnam’s Carter Murawski.
The Centaurs (2-8, 1-1 ECC Div. II) also benefited from eight forfeits from the Clippers (1-5, 0-1).
While there were few matches, Quinn did see the experience as beneficial.
“Plainfield brings its JV program to all the Putnam matches so it was nice to have a lot of JV matches after the varsity. Some of our guys, who might not have had a match, got a match because of that,” Quinn said.
The Centaurs did take their first match in the duals at Ellis Tech over Platt Tech as Jameson Costa, A.J.Landreville and Cooper Harris all recorded pins and the Centaurs received five wins by forfeit courtesy of Platt Tech.
Harris and others like Cayson Barile-Castillo and Griffen Bloom have joined the wrestling program coming over from football where Quinn is the defensive coordinator.
“I love seeing them,” Quinn said. “It keeps them healthy, makes them better athletes with their movement and learning how to move their bodies in different ways that they are not used to. It’s great to see their athleticism improve and to be honest, takedowns improve tackling skills.”
The Centaurs did not have as much success in their other matches on Saturday at Ellis Tech.
Jake Henderson and Landreville recorded pins and Soukaloun had a win by decision in a dual against Killingly, won by the Trailblazers, 64-15.
Shepherd Hill Regional out of Dudley, downed Woodstock, 66-18, with Soukaloun and Jacob Bickoff getting pins for the Centaurs.
Host Ellis Tech also posted a 52-21 win over the Centaurs with Landreville getting a pin and Henderson scored a victory by decision.
“Wrestling in the ECC is always very solid so still being in Year 3, I’m glad to see the improvement that we’ve shown so far and can’t wait to see how we grow over the remainder of the season,” Quinn said.
Indoor Track
It was the best of both worlds for the girls’ indoor track team.
Some of them competed on the varsity level, some competed against their age level and all did so at one of the better facilities in New England, the Track at New Balance in Boston, on Saturday.
The Centaurs also placed sixth overall out of the 100 teams who participated in The Nor’easter indoor track event.
The Centaurs had been as high as third place but could not field a varsity 4x400m relay team and finished with 34 points behind Bloomfield (58), Lexington (57), Shaker (40), Colonie Central (40) and Liverpool (38).
“We saw a number of personal bests and the kids got to run on one of the best tracks in the country and that certainly helped,” said coach Josh Welch.
Freshman Emelia Langevin had a banner day.
She won the freshman mile competition in 5 minutes, 28.13 seconds and followed that up a little while later with a first place in the freshman 600m (1:52.21).
But she wasn’t done yet.
She was joined by Claire Bruneaux, Bella Amlaw and Melanie Dipippo in the freshman/sophomore 4x800m relay and the quartet finished first in 4:31.99.
While the Centaurs did not run a varsity 4x400m. Langevin, Teagan Maloney, Amlaw and Bruneaux did run the freshman/sophomore 4x400m relay and took second place.
Amlaw also placed third in the sophomore 600m; Maloney placed fifth in the sophomore running of the 300m , Bruneau was fifth in the freshman 1000m and Maloney was sixth in the sophomore 55m dash.
“It was a good opportunity to let the young athletes see what they could do in their grade level rather than focus on team scores in the varsity meet,” Welch said. “Hopefully, it was a confidence builder for some of them.”
Avery Plouffe led the varsity finishers as the senior placed second in the shotput with a throw of 37-feet, 4 ½ inches. Lily Morgis (33-10) was fifth in the event.
Kathryn Dobosz, Plouffe and Morgis later finished 3-4-5 in the weight throw competition which briefly bumped the Centaurs up to third.
The distance medley of Nova Almquist, Olivia Tracy, Dipippo and Emma Weitknecht was third while Finnley Syphers netted four points for the team with a fourth-place finish in the pole vault.
Ella Lidonde placed fifth in the triple jump.
“I hope the girls are able to take away some really positive energy from this meet and will bring it with them to their next opportunity at the East Coast Invite in Providence next week,” Welch said.
The boys’ indoor track team traveled to Boston on Sunday to compete in their portion of the Nor’Easter Invitational.
Sophomore Lucas Hecker brought home the best finish as he won the sophomore mile competition in 4:46.73.
Hecker also joined Harrison and Jackson Durand and Ronan Curran for sixth-place finish in the Distance Medley Relay in 11:51.35, narrowly missing a Woodstock Academy school record.
Thatcher Paterson placed third in the triple jump (39-10); Abraham McGregor was fourth in the long jump (21-1); McGregor and Paterson then teamed up with Colin Teal and Owen Williamson to place sixth in the 4x200m relay.
Liam Hewson excelled in a pair of freshman events as he captured third in the 300m (40.44 seconds) and fifth in the 600m.
Girls’ Basketball
The best way to beat a zone- shoot over it. The girls’ basketball team is certainly capable of that as they proved on Friday.
The Centaurs made 11 3-pointers in the game, eight in the second half and held off Waterford 63-55 for their third consecutive victory which raised their record to 5-3.
“It was very nice seeing those shots go in, especially in the second half” said senior Vivian Bibeau who finished with a team-best 18 points with four 3-pointers.”We had a little bit of a rough start but our shooting pulled us out of it.”
Indeed, the Centaurs had to deal with not only the height but also size of Waterford inside and that caused troubles early on as the Lancers packed in their 2-3 zone.
It helped Waterford (4-3) build a five-point lead with 3:30 left in the first half.
Woodstock responded by scoring the next 10 points to take a five-point halftime lead, 29-24.
The Centaurs then then hit four 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the third quarter and found themselves up by 14.
“When you hit four consecutive 3-pointers, that’s the way you break a zone, that’s the easiest way when you see the ball come out the bottom of the net,” coach Will Fleeton said. “I thought we executed there which also changed their defense which gave us different looks later and made it easier.”
Kaylee Saucier added 17 with four 3-pointers and both Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain and Elise Coyle added 14 each to account for all of the Woodstock scoring.
“That’s a sign of a true team and the kind of team that like to coach where it doesn’t matter who leads the way as long as we get to the finish line,” Fleeton said.
If there has been a concern for the girls’ basketball team - it has been closing out games. The Centaurs were challenged to do so again by Stonington earlier in the week.
"I think it came down to a gut check moment in the fourth and we responded every time," said coach Will Fleeton.
As a result, the Centaurs walked off their home floor for the first time in about a month with a 56-53 win over Stonington.
The Centaurs regained the lead at the start of the fourth quarter but could only extend it to five points but the Bears stayed close.
After D'Alleva-Bochain scored to make it 53-49 with 2 minutes, 15 seconds to play, Cora Babin and Sophia Hoinsky both scored for the Bears to tie the game at 53. Up stepped D'Alleva-Bochain. The senior used to wear the number three but changed to No. 33 this season.
Both of those numbers came into play.
D'Alleva-Bochain took a pass from Anna Hernandez in the lane, turn to her left, lowered her shoulder, and muscled up a shot with three seconds left on the shot clock.
The basket broke a 53-53 tie with 33 seconds left in regulation.
"I almost burnt a time out there. I turned and walked away from the referees thinking to myself, 'trust your kids' and Isabel made a play. I could have killed it if I had burned (the time out)," Fleeton said.
D'Alleva-Bochain stole the ball on the in-bound pass and forced Stonington to waste time by having to get two fouls before the Centaurs would go to the free throw line.
"It was a little bit stressful,” D'Alleva-Bochain added. "As a team, it's always been about closing out games; it's been a bit of a struggle for us."
The Centaurs made one of four from the free throw line but it was enough to preserve the victory.
D'Alleva-Bochain finished with 21 points to lead the Centaurs while Saucier added 16 points. The majority of those coming off five 3-pointers.
"When (the opponent) sits in a zone like that, Coach always says 'shoot them out of it.' So if I get the opportunity, I know that's what I have to do," Saucier said.
It was the classic inside vs. outside battle.
Stonington's bigs did cause the Centaurs trouble as Hoinsky finished with 21 points and fellow forward Addison Cadmus contributed 13.
"We knew it was going to be a challenge," Saucier said. "(Hoinsky) is a great player. We knew we had to do the best we could and I thought our bigs put in a full-game effort."
Bibeau was forced to play down low at times but also stepped out and scored 10 points for Woodstock (4-3).
Simal Ilhan also got extended minutes and finished with a season-high six points as Allison Camara found herself in some early foul trouble.
Hernandez also came in off the bench and contributed some valuable minutes.
"They're incredible," Saucier said. "Coming off the bench is never easy but whatever we or coach needs them to do, they come in and do and we're super appreciative of that."
For Fleeton, it's a comfortable feeling to have D'Alleva-Bochain and Saucier in uniform for their senior seasons.
"They always come through for me," Fleeton said. "I have more faith in them than you can imagine. I would bet everything under the sun on this team- all of them. I have all the faith in the world in this team."
Gymnastics
For the second time in five days, Woodstock and the Ledyard Co-Op came together for a meet, this time on a neutral floor in Stonington.
The change in venue did not change the results as the Colonels swept past the Centaurs 145.2-127.6 and also defeated Stonington (114.3) and Killingly (95.25) in the process to improve to 9-0 overall and 7-0 in the ECC.
Woodstock did pick up its fourth win of the season in six meets as it downed Stonington 127.6-114.3.
Rhea Desota had a 32.65 all-around total while Emma Long finished with a 32.55 for the Centaurs
Alyssa McLeod took first in all four events to easily finish best all-around with a 38.1 total. Her teammate, Capri Sferrazza, was second in the all-around with a 36.4. Jessie Williams carded a 34.95 total for Killingly in the all-around.
Boys’ Basketball
Woodstock had cut the deficit to single digits in the third quarter.
St. Bernard then reeled off eight straight points, built a 15-point lead by the end of the third quarter and held that throughout the fourth to record the 78-63 win.
It was not what coach Donte Adams and his team had hoped would happen.
“We made a big run in the third quarter but as I told the guys, we have to start and finish quarters really well to win basketball games,” Adams said. “We got within four and it kind of slipped away in those last few minutes of the third quarter going into the fourth.”
The big problem again for the Centaurs was the defense.
The Saints had five players in double figures including Nate Little who scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half.
“We’re letting too many guys score,” Adams said. “We’re working extra hard but we have to buckle down on the defensive end and in the halfcourt for sure. Too many straight line drives, too many paint touches for the guards, and, too many guys getting into double figures.”
Brevin Gonzalez and Darin Robinson each added 14 points while Demetrius Kilgore and Chris Lerame Pierre tossed in 12 each.
Drake Abdullovski, who came into the game averaging 19 points a contest, equaled that number to lead the Centaurs. Xawier Matwiej and Lawrence Liu both added 11 points.
The loss dropped Woodstock back to the .500 mark at 3-3.
“We can always be better but I will take it at this moment. We’re going through a lot of growing pains but the best thing is that they are fixable. Before we get 10 games in, I would just like to fix all the little stuff and we will be good,” Adams said.
The nice thing about that – the Centaurs will have some time to work on things.
They do not return to the court until they host East Lyme next Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“We can regroup,” Adams said of the time off. “I’m going to make the week hard for them. They have (this Tuesday) off but after that, I plan to challenge them mentally and we need to find a group of guys that play well together. We’re definitely going to re-evaluate a few things and when we play East Lyme on Tuesday, we should be fine.”
Girls’ Hockey
At the end of the game last Wednesday, girls’ hockey co-op coach Eric Roy was busy dipping into the puck bucket.
He wasn't looking for pucks for a future game or practice but rather, pucks to be given to his players to commemorate career highlights and he had five to give away.
"That's a great feeling," Roy said. "Luckily, I have a bucket full. I would love to give away 10 more."
Zi Qing Biondo of Stonington High School got a ceremonial puck as she recorded her first career hat trick for the co-op. East Lyme's Sophia Bonner (1st career goal); Stonington's Bea Manfredi (1st career high school point); Woodstock Academy's Madison Salisbury (1st career point) and Killingly's Chloe Cesolini (1st career point) also received pucks.
More importantly, the monkey was also off their backs. The Centaurs had not scored a goal nor won a game on their home ice in four previous games going into the game with Fairfield.
Those two streaks went away quickly as the Centaurs found their scoring prowess and handed the Falcons a 10-2 loss.
"Like I've said this season, when they go in, it's going to start to flow, that was the avalanche," Roy said.
Unfortunately, the scoring surge did not carry on to the road on Friday as the Centaurs were blanked by Suffield, 5-0, at the Enfield Twin Rinks. They did return home Saturday and lost a close one to Mercy High School, 3-2.
The Centaurs are now 2-7 on the season.
It didn't start all that well against Fairfield Wednesday.
Fairfield's Mairead Kelly tallied just 4 minutes, 27 seconds in.
"We fought," Roy said. "Sometimes, you can just tuck your head and say 'Here we go again.' They woke up, scored four goals and it just kept on coming."
Ellary Sampson (2 goals, 2 assists) tied the game off an assist from Summer Discordia (1 goal, 4 assists) just four minutes after the Falcons' tally on a power-play goal.
Avery Cairns put the Centaurs ahead to stay two minutes after the Sampson goal and both Mia Auger and Biondo scored in the final minute of the first period to give Woodstock the 4-1 lead.
Biondo added two more goals in the second period for her first high school career hat trick.
"It was so good especially since they were my first goals of the year," Biondo said. "I think we played with more confidence. We were moving the puck well and communicating well. We were doing everything right. We let off the gas a little but it wasn't like we gave up."
Sampson had both of her assists on goals by Biondo.
"Last year, Ellary and (Biondo) were together and we kept them apart this year. We decided to tinker a bit with the lineup and putting them back together was one of the tinkers and it worked out very well," Roy said.
Maci Corradi and Bonner also scored in the win for the Centaurs.
Maybe the Centaurs should have saved a few goals for Friday night.
In a rough-and-tumble affair that featured a host of penalties, power plays and penalty killing time, the two teams finished scoreless in the first period.
The Wildcats, however, took control when they put four tallies on the board in the second and added another in the third.
Josie Hatch made 22 saves for the Centaurs who took 24 shots at the Suffield net.
It was a busy week. The Centaurs finished with their fourth game in six days against Mercy, but Roy wasn’t too concerned about the hectic schedule.
"We're used to it. We always have a week or two each season where we have four games. We have the legs for it," Roy said.
Mercy also had the legs for it as the Tigers were playing their third game in three days and managed to post the one goal, 3-2, victory.
Biondo got the Centaurs off to a good start as she put her fourth goal of the season into the net just 2:19 into the game.
But Alex Martin tied the game for the Tigers (2-6-1) just a minute and a half later.
It would remain that way until just 1:36 was left in the second period when Maggie Fry tallied to give Mercy the lead going into the final 15 minutes.
Bonner picked up her second goal of the season off a Biondo assist to tie the game just 43 seconds into the third but Alexis Castellani netted what proved to be the game-winner six minutes later for Mercy.
The busy week began on Monday at home versus Wilton. Woodstock put together a strong first period when they outshot the visiting Warriors, 9-2, but then Wilton scored three times in the second period and left with a 4-0 victory.
"Midway through the second period, I lost my smile," said Roy who had come into the game in a good mood as the Centaurs were coming off a 4-3 overtime win over Simsbury the Saturday before.
Two of the three goals for the Warriors in the second period were with a Woodstock player in the penalty box.
Riley Malay took a pass from Makayla Joyce, worked her way around the net, and went back door on Hatch to give the Warriors the one-goal advantage 9 minutes, 55 seconds into the second period.
Just 35 seconds later, the Centaurs were whistled for hooking and the Warriors didn't waste any time.
Freshman Jane Malay found herself open in the middle of the ice, just inside the blue line and sent the puck whistling past Hatch for the 2-0 advantage for Wilton.
"You give them opportunities like that, it's going to kill your momentum. I felt like we were on them through the first period and half of the second and then, they took full advantage of those two penalties. That's the name of the game," Roy said.
Joyce assisted on the goal by Jane Malay as well but wasn't about to not get one herself.
She got a pass from Riley Malay and was able to push it into the net, according to the officials, before she collided with and landed on top of Hatch inside the crease with 21 seconds left in the period.
"That was the backbreaker," said Roy. "We got down on ourselves and Wilton took advantage."
Jane Malay added her second goal of the game with 10 seconds left in regulation to account for the final score.
The Centaurs had hoped the 2 1/2 hour bus ride, a small bench and a decision not to have an ice cut between the first and second periods would work to the Centaurs advantage.
Early on, it looked like it had. "We were playing our game in the first period, dump it in and outwork them. They had a smaller bench and we knew we could tire them out. Then, we stopped with the pressure down low and got caught in the neutral zone and that's what Wilton liked because it kept their legs fresh," Roy said.
Boys’ Hockey
The boys’ hockey team has knocked on the door of their first win of the season a couple of times. They just haven’t been able to open it.
A case in point came on Saturday night as the Centaurs traveled to Newington to play the Newington Co-op.
The Centaurs opened the early lead but could not hold on and lost to the Newington Co-op, 2-1, in overtime.
As they had just two games earlier against the Suffield-Granby-Windsor Locks-East Granby co-op, in a 5-4 overtime loss, the Centaurs (0-7) jumped out on top.
Patrick Griswold scored with 1 minute, 45 seconds left in the first period off assists from Cameron Perreault and Bruce Walker.
The lead held up until midway through the second period when the Nor’Easters got the equalizer from Brayden Mullock but neither quad would score the remainder of regulation forcing the overtime period.
Newington ended it 3:36 in when Paxton Kelly was able to poke it past Brady Hebert for the Nor’Easters (1-4-1) first victory of the season.
Hebert had another solid game in goal for the Centaurs as he turned aside 55 shots.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
captions:
IMG 3645:
Co-op senior Maci Corradi skates just outside the blue line waiting for her teammates.
IMG 3653 & 54:
Co-Op sophomore Sophie Sherman works the puck in the neutral zone for the Centaurs.
IMG 3661
Zi Qing Biondo, right, closes in on Fairfield’s Cassidy Reyes. (All photos by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy)
Photo ID:
Lucas Hecker proudly displays his first-place medal as he won the sophomore mile in the Nor’Easter Invitational. Photo by Josh Welch/Woodstock Academy.
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