FAIRLEE – After a pair of successful home matches at Mountain View Country Club last week, the Hazen Union golf team hit the road to take on division rivals at Lake Morey Country Club before going up against the best high school golf talent in the state for an 18-hole affair at the Newport Invitational.
Senior Brendan Moodie led the way for the Wildcats once again, firing a team low round of 39 last Tuesday at Lake Morey. Tied going into the final hole, Moodie finished just behind medalist Brett Wells (37) and runner-up Josh Gaskin (38) of Lyndon Institute. Hazen was rounded out by sophomore Braydon Stratton’s 46, senior Gavin Stratton (50), and freshman Will Halperin (51). The Vikings edged Stowe to win the overall team competition.
St. Johnsbury Academy’s (SJA) William Eaton took medalist honors at the Newport Invitational on Thursday with an impressive 2-under round 70. Stowe’s Rowan Turner led all of Division II with a 76, helping the Raiders, along with CVU take overall honors in both divisions. Moodie led Hazen with a 94 and Halperin was close behind with a 97.
The Wildcats traveled to South Burlington to take on a challenging Vermont National track on Monday, before wrapping up the regular season at home on Wednesday.
Runners Roundup
DANVILLE – Several local athletes shone at both the high school and middle school level last week at the Danville Cross-Country Run Invitational.
Hazen Union freshman Kiah Cloutier (21:32.9) took home his second consecutive third place honor in the Division III boys’ 5,000m, finishing fourteenth overall. SJA’s Wilder Thomas bested the field with a time of 19:08.9. Craftsbury Academy junior Owen Mckibbin finished just outside the top 10. Lyndon Institute’s Elia Garcia Jurado was first overall in the high school girls’ 5,000m, posting a time of 21:29.7. Danville freshman Sycada Barnes finished thirteenth in Division III.
Danville eighth-grader Landon Garrand took home top honors in the boys’ 1.65m middle school race with a time of 10:21.8. Windsor eighth grader Natalie Ranney edged Danville seventh grader Willa Mantius to claim top honors in the girls’ 1.65m. Twinfield-Cabot sixth grader Hazel Morton-Lynch had an impressive third place finish.
ISLAND POND – The Northeast Kingdom Marathon was held over the weekend at Island Pond, with several locals competing in the half marathon.
The 2005 Hazen Union graduate Tom Nudell, now hailing from San Francisco, finished fifth overall and third among men with a time of 3:39:01. Burlington’s Brynn Orban-Salley bested all women in the field to win the 26.2 mile full marathon with a time of 3:22:28. Lain Ridgway of Holden, Mass., took top honors overall with a time of 2:44:14.
Island Pond’s own Scott MacHinist took overall honors in the 13.1 mile half marathon on Sunday, edging Brian Jansen of Bangor, Me., by just over two seconds. Danville’s Joel Pierce and Andrew Higley were just outside of the top 10 with a respectable eleventh and twelfth place finish overall. Craftsbury’s Adrienne Epstein (4th) and Plainfield’s Erica Rose turned in impressive top five finishes among all female runners, finishing behind event winner Hollie Adams of Bangor, Me. Walden and Hardwick’s own Thomas Hogeboom, Elizabeth McCarthy, and Lindsay Osteen also competed in the half marathon.
ADAMANT – Thirty-five runners, including several locals crossed the finish line last Thursday night at the Sodom Pond 4-miler.
In the Male 60-69 division, former Hardwick Gazette contributor Jim Flint posted a runner-up finish (6th overall) behind Sean Gardner of Texas. Gardner is the brother of Calais’ Mark Gardner Morse, who finished third in the division. Tim Hogeboom finished second in the Male 70-plus division behind John Hackney. Plainfield’s Sarah Knutson and Elizabeth McCarthy were tops in their divisions with strong overall finishes.
