Locals Sweep at Terrier Alum’s Creation at Aud
BARRE – Both the Hazen Union and Twinfield-Cabot girls and boys basketball programs swept this past weekend at the second annual Winter Solstice Tournament, a holiday high school basketball rivalry series created by Hardwick Academy alum Jimmy McWilliam.
McWilliams creates and coordinates events at the Barre Auditorium. His inaugural Winter Solstice featured rivalries between Spaulding, Montpelier, Hazen, and Peoples Academy. He added the budding rivalry between Twinfield-Cabot and Williamstown this season. The plan is to expand the annual holiday event to eight teams, and Hazen athletic director and boys varsity basketball head coach Aaron Hill loved what he saw already in year two. “The tournament and experience was great last year, but you could already see the growth and improvements this season. Attendance was way up, and they just have great people in place running the event. It is amazing experience for the kids to play at the AUD in front of their home fans. We love participating and supporting something that one of our own created,” said Hill.
Wells Making Early Impact for Lady Wolves Program
MORRISVILLE – Early signs show that Hazen Union alum Rick Welcome has his young upstart Peoples Academy (PA) varsity girls basketball program pointed in the right direction.
The Lady Wolves are just two years removed from a Division III Final Four appearance behind 1,000-point scorer Shelby Wells. They missed the tournament altogether after Wells graduated, winning just one game last season.
Welcome, a 2003 Wildcat alum, played under coach Hill, scoring nearly 600 points in his varsity career. He’s been heavily involved in the PA girls basketball feeder program for years and was hired by athletic director Gabriela Silva this past summer. Welcome’s rebuild project at PA features four eighth graders on the roster, led by Daisy Berg, who scored 19 points against defending division III champ Hazen at the AUD over the weekend. His young squad has already knocked off a Twinfield-Cabot team that won 13 games last season, beaten Vergennes on the road and slugged it out with the Lady Cats in a five-point loss. Hill said Welcome’s immediate impact on the program is very noticeable on the court.
“It really is an amazing change in that program by Rick in such a short period of time. The energy he has that young team playing with is off the charts. You can see him building a winning culture there, and he has that fan base excited again. It’s great for the kids,” said Hill.
Fortmann Skating for Raiders this Season
STOWE – After two seasons on the Lyndon Institute varsity boys hockey roster, Hazen Union’s Max Fortmann is finishing his high school hockey career with the Stowe Raiders this winter.
Fortmann and former defensive captain Andrew Menard (Hazen Union) were one game away from a trip to Gutterson Fieldhouse last season, powering the Vikings to 16 wins and a trip to the division II Frozen Four.
Fortmann and the Raiders travel to North Country on Wednesday and will be back home to host Hardwood on Saturday.
