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Wearing his traditional Woodstock Academy attire, former coach Greg Smith exits the Bowen Building for the last time. He retired recently after 30 years of teaching and coaching at the school. Woodstock Acadmey photo.



Coach Smith has left the building
The phalanx of administrators, fellow teachers, staff members and students stretched along the side of the Bowen building on the North campus of Woodstock Academy recently.
All were in attendance for one thing; to wish Greg Smith well.
The veteran educator and coach spent his last day on the job on Jan. 19.
His last 30 years have been spent serving the students of Woodstock Academy both in the classroom and on the sidelines.
 “The whole last few weeks have been surreal, just the memories that come flooding back. People that I haven’t talked to in years, if not decades, are reaching out. You don’t think about these people for so long and then, they come back into your life and so do all the memories. Talking to the kids that I have currently have about what the Academy was like and how it has changed. It was surreal, it was cathartic,” Smith said prior to taking a well-deserved vacation trip to Mexico.
He had been a social studies teacher. That did not change. But his place on the sidelines was much more dynamic.
He was an assistant coach for the football and soccer programs, head basketball coach, the head coach of tennis and baseball and an assistant for outdoor track and lacrosse at Woodstock Academy during his tenure at the school.
He hung up the coaching sneakers in 2015 but didn’t give up his love of athletics. He was color commentator on the school’s athletic broadcasts since 2017.
“I’m going to miss being part of something that is bigger than myself, whether that is in the classroom or on the playing surfaces. When you are the coach, you make the team, you create something out of nothing and, hopefully, guide it in a direction that is positive for everyone involved,” Smith said.
There was no bigger positive than 2013.
That was when Woodstock Academy surprised much of the state with a 52-49 win over Trinity Catholic in the Class L boys’ basketball state championship game at Mohegan Sun. Smith was at the helm.
“It was a bunch of local kids from this area who showed they could really rise to that level, playing against teams that did not know we existed. We played against teams with top players from outside of Connecticut, taking trains in from New York but we had this charisma and connection. It was just beautiful. Greg always knew that they would win and, most of the time, they always knew they were going to win,” said Woodstock Academy associate head of school Holly Singleton.
Those thoughts were echoed by the person who took the journey alongside Smith, assistant coach Mike Bourgeois.
“(Smith) definitely loved the kids, tried to motivate them, that was more important to him than X’s and O’s,” he said. “There was always a positive vibe even if it seemed unrealistic or unbelievable, it was always, you can do this. We will do this. It was always, ‘When we go out on the floor and win tonight,’ it was never an if.”
A little optimistic? At times, maybe.
But it did pay a big dividend in the Run to the Sun.
“If you coach long enough, you have magical times, but that was the whole year. Everything that happened, seemed to happen for a reason. Losing to Windham on a last-second shot from the volleyball line; losing to New London in the (ECC) tournament – both those losses came at the perfect time to make us better,” Smith said. “Those losses proved to us we can’t play another team’s game- we had to play our game. If we try and go up-and-down with New London, we would end up on the short end. We had to dominate play and show other teams that this is how the game will be played. Trinity Catholic was averaging 78 points a game, we held them to 49. We did our job.”
Those memories all came back when the team was inducted into the Woodstock Academy Alumni Athletic Association Hall of Fame this past fall.
“Just to see (the players) again, all looked like they were in great shape and could go out and play. The smiles on their faces and how much they loved each other and continue to do so- it’s magical,” Smith said.
It’s what Smith had prospered doing throughout his career.
“It’s what was most important to Greg – relationships with students. Whether he was teaching or coaching, I think he actually saw the value with relationships with students before it was the buzz word and the cool thing to do. That really was his super-power. He could connect with just about any kid here,” Singleton said.
There were other highlights.
He remembered the football team’s win over Putnam, its first since the resumption of the of the football program and its unlikely win over Jemal Davis and Norwich Free Academy on Halloween in Norwich.
“We walked in there(prior to the game) and (NFA) had a banner on the back wall of the gym that said, ’Congratulations on your Homecoming win.’ That didn’t go over too well,” Smith said.
Gary Brine, Bourgeois, Mike Lunt, Bob Derrico, Chris Sheehan, John Stringer, Bill Barker and Rob Mileski.
Coaches Smith looked up to and admired.
“I learned so much from each and every one of them. It’s one of the reasons I was a good basketball coach was because of everything I learned from everyone else,” Smith said.
He lived and breathed and wore Woodstock Academy, literally, on his sleeve. His wardrobe was similar to that of Singleton; everything blue and gold with the WA logo.
It all means there is one thing he will have to get used to.
Retirement.
“Turning off the alarms on my phone was a very nice feeling. I don’t have to turn them back on,” Smith said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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Quiet Corner Garden Club inducts officers
WOODSTOCK — The Quiet Corner Garden Club recently inducted its 2024 officers.
Elaine Turner of Putnam began her second year as club president. Other officers are: Vice President Lanette Lepper of Dudley; Vice President Ramona Savolis of Thompson; Secretary Wendy Fusco of Killingly; and Treasurer Ashley Goyette of Putnam.
The Quiet Corner Garden Club, powered by its members, is known for its annual Plant Sale (always the Saturday before Mother’s Day), biannual Garden Tour and programs on all things gardening.  Proceeds from the Plant Sale and Garden Tour are used to fund scholarships for local students studying horticulture-related fields, and for civic projects at senior living sites, elementary school gardens, library and memorial gardens throughout the Quiet Corner. New members are always welcome. For information see our Facebook page or
QuietCornerGardenClub.com. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization affiliated with The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut and a member of the National Garden Clubs.

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Roundup
Mansolf
delivers
shutout in
debut
Ten hockey games have seemed like an eternity for Devlin Mansolf. The junior transferred into Woodstock Academy from Burrillville High School at the beginning of the school year.
But he hadn’t played a recognized CIAC sport at his previous high school the previous fall and the rule is that athletes must sit the first half of their first season that they played at their previous school before becoming eligible for anything.
Mansolf had the 11th game of the Woodstock boys’ hockey season circled on his calendar.
“It was probably some of the hardest 10 games of my life I had to sit through. I was just itching to get back on the ice,” Mansolf said.
It happened last Wednesday night and the goalie was ready.
He hopped back into the net and there was little more anyone could ask for as he delivered a shutout in a 9-0 victory over the ECC Eagles.
“It feels pretty good,” Mansolf said. “I came into the season hoping that I could instantly play but had to wait for the transfer, wait those 10 games, but it was still fun being able to hang out with the boys and being able to support them from the bench. Overall, it’s been a great year. I can’t complain about anything and this just adds a little extra excitement that we’re all feeling after this win. We needed this win.”
How did he prep for the game?
He arrived at the rink about four hours early, set a trash can down on its side and took a nap.
“I asked him ‘Why would you sleep on a trash barrel when you have a bench? But, you know, us goalies are weird,” coach, and a former goalie himself, Mark Smolak said.
Outside of the trash barrel, there was little Smolak had to question.
“He looked pretty calm and he saw the puck really well. If you watched his eyes and his head, every shot coming his way, he’s following, tracking it with his head, and watching it hit his body. He’s very loud in communicating with the defense, which helps them significantly. He’s waited so long for this moment,” Smolak added.
He didn’t have to wait long for his team to give him a little advantage.
Noah Sampson slipped a pass in front of the Eagles’ net and on to the stick of Donny Sousa who converted just 1 minute, 20 seconds into the contest.
Mansolf had to protect that slim lead for a bit as the second goal came late in the opening period off a Maxx Corradi shot.
The Centaurs opened it up a bit just moments later when Corradi scored again with 25 seconds left.
Both of the Corradi goals were also assisted by Sampson.
“Every game we come into, we want to set the tone early. I think we did that (Wednesday) which is why we played so well,” Sampson said.
The senior got some chances of his own as he scored the second Woodstock Academy goal in the second period and added another in the third to finish with six points in total.
But it was sophomore Brady Lecuyer who owned the second period as he scored three goals in the 15-minute span.
Although it didn’t start that way.
He began the period in the penalty box and then found himself on the bench for a bit.
“He had himself a great period and a great game. We spoke to him a little about taking late penalties and taking penalties when we had momentum. He took the penalty, served it, we benched him for two shifts and he went out and went to work. That’s what we want. If you have made a mistake, mess up, you learn from it and then go out and help the team win and he helped the team win,” Smolak said.
Corradi and Sousa each added two goals and three assists to the total.
The rest was up to Mansolf who didn’t start thinking shutout right away.
“I think with about 10 minutes left, I started to, but I was just hoping no one came over. I was just trying to avoid any conversation about it; I didn’t want anyone to talk about it. You just have to play the game one shot at a time, stay on your toes and I have a good team in front of me who helped,” Mansolf said.
It raised the Woodstock record to 5-6 as the Centaurs also got the benefit of a forfeit win from East Greenwich, R.I. The two were supposed to play the week before but East Greenwich opted not to make the trip.
“I hope we’re peaking at the right time,” Smolak said. “We have two big games coming up, New Canaan (on Monday in New Canaan which ended too late for this edition) is a hard team and then it doesn’t get any easier with (Bishop) Hendricken (from Providence on Wednesday) after that,” Smolak said.
One thing is for sure, Mansolf knows a little about Hendricken having played for a Rhode Island program the last two years.
“I’m very familiar. I had to play against them last year when I was at Burrillville. I know them pretty well,” Mansolf said.
Boys’ Basketball
Playing an extra four minutes is not a problem for the Woodstock boys’ basketball team.
After all, it has done so five times this season.
“We’ve been there,” Centaurs junior center Brady Ericson said. “We’ve had a couple of tough losses, but just the experience of being there. We said it in the time out (between the fourth and fifth quarter), the other team doesn’t have that practice with overtime. We’re getting more comfortable which helped us stay strong, put some points together and not let this one slip away from us.”
Thanks to seven Ericson points in the extra period, Woodstock held off Ledyard, 68-59, to record its seventh win in 14 games.
It was a see-saw ride to the OT.
The Centaurs held a two-point lead only to see Peyton Luther (21 points) hit a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 38 seconds left in regulation to put the Colonels up by the slim 1-point margin.
Garrett Bushey and Zion Bunkley exchanged baskets for Woodstock and Ledyard respectively, but Bushey (11 points) came back with a follow and a free throw to put the Centaurs up by two, 56-54, with 18 seconds to play.
The Colonels’ Ethan Petrowski and Teddy Richardson of the Centaurs exchanged free throws which left Ledyard in possession of the ball with seven seconds left.
The inbounds pass found Luther’s hands and the senior guard, who had just announced he had committed to Endicott College, had one thought in mind - get to the basket on the other end.
With two seconds left, Luther hit the layup.
Woodstock coach Donte Adams almost anticipated the four extra minutes.
“I have the utmost faith in my guys to get stops but I wasn’t surprised,” Adams said. “I was just happy that we were able to gather ourselves in overtime and were able to get the job done.”
The key was simple- get the ball to Ericson.
And not necessarily inside.
Ericson dropped a basket 1:14 into the overtime and Ledyard tied it on a pair of Donovan Greene free throws.
It would be the only points for the Colonels in the extra period.
Ericson hit another basket with 1:24 left and 31 seconds later, he stepped outside to the corner and put down a 3-pointer.
It ended the Colonels’ hopes.
“That was big,” Adams said of Ericson’s OT contribution. “He’s not afraid of the moment. He didn’t think twice about taking that 3-pointer. We definitely needed that and I have the utmost confidence in him taking those shots. I’m glad he’s able to take it and I’m glad he’s able to make it.”
Still, Ericson would not mind having a game decided a bit earlier one of these days.
“I would like to have a game that’s a little easier. We always talk about getting a blowout win so some of the guys can come in off the bench. That’s the goal, it just has not been happening, but I’m glad we won,” Ericson said.
Both Teddy Richardson and Hunter Larson finished with 12 points in the win.
Earlier in the week, the Centaurs ended Griswold’s five-game win streak with a 51-46 win over the Wolverines.
Ericson scored 14 of his 18 points in the second and third quarters as the Centaurs clawed their way back from an early nine-point deficit to tie the game at the half and went ahead to stay in the third quarter.
Larson added 11 points.
The two wins put the Centaurs on the precipice of reaching their goal this season.
“7-7 is very important because it puts us one win away from making the (Division IV) state tournament. That’s been the goal through the whole season. We talked about it in tryouts, all the guys, and now we’re one win away. It’s feels really good to be back at .500,” Ericson said.
Girls’ Basketball
The girls’ basketball team started to put the ball into the basket again Saturday and that usually yields positive results.
The Centaurs broke a brief three-game losing streak with a 57-43 win over Stonington.
In losses to Norwich Free Academy, New London and Bacon Academy, Woodstock was held in the 30’s.
For a time, it looked like the Bears, who saw their five-game win streak come to an end, might be able to do the same thing.
But the Centaurs (13-4) broke out of their offensive doldrums with a 20-point third quarter. The offensive spark provided by junior center Eva Monahan who scored 10 of her team-high 21 points in the third quarter to help Woodstock build a 12-point cushion going into the fourth.
Monahan added seven more points in the final quarter.
Sidney Anderson added 11 points to the effort while Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain contributed eight points and Vivian Bibeau seven to the cause.
It was a defensive struggle. The Centaurs and Bacon Academy Bobcats were never separated by more than seven points and there were three ties in the fourth quarter.
But it was the visiting Bobcats (9-5) who prevailed in the end.
Five foul shots in the last 1 minute, 46 seconds proved to be the difference as they propelled Bacon Academy past Woodstock, 41-36.
Woodstock did own the biggest lead of the game, 15-8, late in the first quarter.
But the Bobcats and their traditional 2-3 zone defense and length on the perimeter of that zone made it difficult the remainder of the way for the host Centaurs.
Woodstock was limited to single-digit scoring in the second, third and fourth quarters.
The Bobcats led by four points at the half and three at the end of the third quarter.
But the Centaurs tied it when Anderson, who led the team with eight points, buried a 3-pointer with 5:13 to play.
A pair of Cara Shea free throws - the Bacon senior guard scored all seven of her points in the fourth quarter - gave the Bobcats the 34-32 lead.
But it was brief.
Sophomore guard Kaylee Saucier threaded the needle and found Anderson open on the baseline for a layup.
Katelyn Novak, who was the only player in double figures in the game with 10 for the Bobcats, put the visitors ahead only to see Reegan Reynolds tie it for the hosts just 22 seconds later on a pair of free throws.
It would be the last points in the contest for Woodstock and Shea began the string of five free throws that gave Bacon the win just eight seconds later.
It was a similar story earlier in the week.
Woodstock closed to within two points on a couple of occasions Tuesday against New London but just could not get over the hump and lost to the Whalers, 53-37.
“They’re quality, no question about it,” coach Will Fleeton said of New London. “I think all of our opponents are quality this year but (New London) is one of the leaders. Honestly though, if it isn’t tough, it isn’t right.”
D’Alleva-Bochain led the Centaurs with nine points, all coming on a trio of 3-pointers.
Saucier added eight and Anderson contributed seven.
Indoor Track
Juliet Allard broke a school record that had been standing since 2012 Saturday night at the Jack Long Invitational.
The junior finished first in the 300-meter in 41.71 seconds, breaking the previous mark held by Sarah Swenson.
Allard was also fifth in the 55-meter hurdles and was a member of the 4x400m relay team along with Talia Tremblay, Emma Weitknecht and Julia Coyle that finished second and is now just 9/10ths of a second away from qualifying for Nationals.
Olivia Tracy won the 1600m race and was sixth in the 1000m.
The 4x800m team of Coyle, Avery Schaefer, Tracy and Kira Greene brought home a first-place finish and Avery Plouffe was third in the shotput.
On the boys’ side, the 4x400m relay team of Anthony Beaudreault, Charlie Caggiano, Colton Sallum and Christian Menounos bettered its own school record as it finished second in 3:42.58.
Menounos was also first in the 1000m (2:35.57) while Sallum took first in the 1600m (4:34.54).
The sprint medley relay team of Beaudreault, Aidan Tyler, Caggiano and Menounos finished second and Caggiano was third in the 600m.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

Senior Teddy Richardson (1) moves into defensive position against Ledyard.

Senior Hunter Larson (3) looks down the floor as he dribbles up against Ledyard.

Two Centaurs, T.J. Osborne, left, and Teddy Richardson (1) make sure Ledyard’s Ethan Petrowski (25) has plenty of company near the free throw line. Photos by Marc Allard

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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.
Jan. 18
Robert Krajewski, no age available, Birchwood Road, Monroe; violation of protective order.

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