by Ken Brown
NORTHEAST KINGDOM – Several local star athletes burst onto the sports scene this past year with tremendous seasons, while others capped off high school careers that likely will be talked about for generations.
Winter Sports
The high school winter sports season tipped off with Aaron Hill’s Hazen Union Wildcats capturing their fourth straight Dave Morse Classic (DMC) championship. It was hard to believe that it was already the seventh installment of the state recognized tournament honoring Morse, who was not just a Vermont Hall of Fame journalist, but a hall of famer within his community and surrounding communities.
Hill and program supporters went out of their way to make this DMC extra special, honoring not only Morse and the program’s 2022 state title on banner night, but inviting all the members and contributors from Hazen Union’s seven previous championship teams. The weekend celebration was a resounding success, with former players and coaches making the trip from all around the country.
Hazen Union’s Tyler Rivard solidified his name among the Wildcat basketball greats with a sensational championship junior season, but he brought down the rafters this past winter at the Cat Den in his senior campaign, doing things the Wildcat faithful have truly never seen before.
The senior big man joined the 1,000-career point club in style, dropping 40 points against division rival Thetford Academy this past February. That milestone came on the heels of a school record breaking 50-point explosion against Enosburg that had one of Rivard’s several thunderous dunks throughout the season as an exclamation point.
His record setting outburst came on a night where Hill’s Wildcats honored the past greats of Hardwick Academy in what will be an annual tradition. Rivard also cemented his legacy as the program’s most prolific rebounder, becoming the first ever Wildcat to reach 1,000 career boards and graduated as the fourth all-time rebounder in Vermont high school basketball.
Although Hazen’s title defense came up a handful of points short against an undefeated Winooski team at the Aud, Rivard put a cap on a historic high school hoops career by becoming the first Wildcat to claim Player of the Year honors in the vaunted Capital League.
Junior point guard Xavier Hill and sophomore sharpshooter Brendan Moodie were also pivotal starters for the Wildcats in their title defense and were selected to the Vermont Dream Dozen Team for their stellar seasons. It was the second straight selection for Hill.
Joining them on that team was freshman Tej Stewart from Twinfield-Cabot. Stewart burst onto the scene in a big way for the Trojans, dropping 30 points in his varsity debut and leading Twinfield-Cabot to their first Bob Abrahamson Championship in program history.
Former Wildcat great Randy Lumsden wasted little time putting his stamp on the Hazen Union girls’ basketball program is his first season at the helm, winning 20 games and leading the Lady Cats to the Division III Final Four.
His junior star point guard, Caitlyn Davison, had a large hand in the Lady Cats’ success, averaging over 21 points per game, while earning her second straight Vermont Dream Dozen selection along the way.
Both Lumsden and Davison were named Coach and Player of the Year in the Mountain League.
Senior sharpshooter Alexis Christensen also earned Mountain League First Team honors in what was a stellar final season in a Hazen uniform.
Craftsbury Academy’s inaugural season as a varsity bowling program was a huge success under head coach Connor Bean. The Chargers captured a title during the regular season and posted four runner-up finishes.
They were led by senior Will Patnoe, who set the single-game school record, while finishing the season as the fourth ranked bowler in the state. Underclassmen Matt Wilcox capped off a tremendous first season for the Charger bowling program with an individual runner-up finish in the state tournament.
Jackson Strong capped off a fantastic winter sports season by claiming Division I Player of the Year honors, while being named Vermont Mr. Hockey by the Burlington Free Press. The former Rice defenseman is currently playing club hockey for North Carolina State and is the son of former Hazen Union baseball standout Jeff Strong and the grandson of legendary Wildcat coach Jack Strong.
Spring Sports
Head coach Spencer Howard and his Hazen Union baseball team led the spring sports headlines once again in 2023, claiming their second straight No. 1 seed in Division III.
Although their season came to a disappointing end in the first round of the playoffs, Wildcat Nation said goodbye to a special group of seniors that finished their career with an amazing 42-13 record on the baseball diamond.
Lyle Rooney, Tyler Rivard, Jadon Baker, and James Montgomery helped bring championship contending baseball back to the Hardwick community, leading the Wildcats back to Centennial Field in 2022 for the first time in over 15 years.
Rooney and Rivard earned First Team Capital League honors for their stellar seasons, with Rivard claiming Player of the Year honors. Rivard was one the most prolific sluggers in the state and also was the first Hazen Union baseball player to be selected to the Vermont Twin State team since Robbie Montgomery in 1990.
Rivard hung up his cleats and sneakers as the best multi-sport athlete in school history and was named Gatorade’s Athlete of the Year in the state of Vermont.
Rooney will go down as one of the best pitchers to ever toe the rubber for the Wildcat program after twirling his third career no-hitter in his senior season. He posted an 8-1 record, including a save. Rooney’s 232 strikeouts in a Wildcat uniform are a school record.
Once bitter crosstown rivals, Twinfield-Cabot and Danville teamed up this past spring on the softball field for a trial run on what will become a long-term cooperative agreement between the three schools known as CCSU Athletics. The combining of numbers and talent from Danville was an instant success in Marshfield, as the program posted a 10-7 record, earning their first playoff victory in nearly a decade.
Ida Astick earned Mountain League First Team honors as just a sophomore and should be a fixture for the Christin Martin and Summer Haverick’s program for years to come.
The Craftsbury Academy (CA) boys’ track and field team came up percentage points short of defending their first ever Division IV state championship, but several of their top athletes captured individual state titles in record heat at Knapp Field in Manchester.
Alan Moody capped off a stellar high school Charger career with individual state titles in the 800m and joined teammates Matthew Califano, Silas Hunt, and Alex Califano to capture the 4X800m relay title by nearly 30 seconds. Matthew Califano also captured his second straight state title in the 3000m.
Cole VanWinkle also finished up his high school career in style, capturing his first state title in the discus and teammate Roean McLellan followed suit with a state title in the shot put.
On the girls’ side, sophomore Anika Leahy dominated the 1500m field by nearly 28 seconds to capture another individual state title for CA.
Fall Sports
Several local seniors excelled on the soccer pitch for their teams this past fall, earning them Vermont All-State honors as some of the best footballers in the state.
Twinfield-Cabot’s Meles Gouge fought through an injury riddled season to earn his third straight selection, finishing his sensational Trojan career as one of the all-time greats in program history with over 60 goals. Gouge also earned his third straight Mountain League First Team selection and helped head coach Peter Stratman break a 21-year drought with back-to-back trips to the Division IV Final Four in 2021-22.
Hazen Union’s Caitlyn Davison and Tessa Luther also earned All-State honors after leading a young Lady Cat team to a winning record. Davison ended her high school soccer career with her second straight selection.
Lady Cat head coach Harry Besett captured Mountain League Coach of the Year honors and his dynamic freshman Taylor Thompson earned First Team honors, along with Davison and Luther.
CCSU unveiled their first official girls’ varsity soccer cooperative team this past fall consisting of athletes from Danville, Twinfield, and Cabot.
Head coach Spencer Morse did a masterful job meshing the three schools together throughout the season, winning the program’s first ever Division III playoff match.
Junior midfielder Sloane Morse was the leader in the middle for CCSU, earning All-State honors, along with her second straight Mountain League First Team selection.
Camryn Hoffman also earned First Team honors for CCSU, dominating from her sweeper position down the stretch.
Hazen’s Xavier Hill enjoyed a breakout senior season on the pitch, scoring a career-high nine goals for the Wildcats, earning his first selection to the Vermont All-State team.
We said goodbye to some all-time great local high school athletes in 2023, but their legacies pave the way for the kids in the stands who watched them perform at the highest level. With this winter’s high school basketball season just underway, it’s already apparent that more records will be set and more history will be made.
Happy Holidays to you and your families.
