NORTHEAST KINGDOM – After their outstanding seasons on the hardwood this past season, several local players were selected to Vermont’s Outstanding Underclassmen roster last week.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Leading the way for high school basketball girls selections were Hazen Union sophomores Kelsie Rivard and Mya Lumsden. It is the second straight selection for Rivard, who led the Lady Cats in scoring this past season with just under 20 points per game. The multi-tooled forward scored a team-high 21 points in Hazen’s season ending semifinal loss to Windsor last week, giving her 70 career points combined in the three games she has played at the Barre Auditorium. Lumsden had a breakout year running a prolific Lady Cat offense that won 20 games for the third straight season. She scored a season-high 21 points, including 7 threes against a West Rutland team earlier this season that went on to win their fourth straight Division IV state championship.
Peoples Academy also earned a pair of selections in eighth grader sensation Daisy Berg and junior Sophie Beck. The dynamic duo led the Lady Wolves (16-7) to a Division III Final Four last week after winning just a single game last season. It was the first season under head coach Rick Welcome, who is a Hazen Union alum.
Lamoille led Division II with a pair of selections in Alana Crittenden and Alyssa Small after their season narrowly ended against eventual state champion Fair Haven in the semifinal round. The Lady Lancers have made it to the Aud two straight seasons, winning a combined 37 games.
Colchester sophomore Anya Davis earned a Division I selection after leading the Lady Lakers in scoring. Davis is the daughter of second year head coach Jeff Davis, who was a 1,000-point scorer and state champion at Craftsbury Academy.
Leading the way on the boys side was Twinfield-Cabot with a pair of selections after winning 19 games, including their first trip back to the Barre Auditorium in eight years. Point guard Eli Russell had a breakout junior season for the Trojans, leading the team in scoring, including a career-high 32 points in a second-round win over Blue Mountain in the Division IV playoffs. Fellow junior Tej Stewart earned his third straight selection after posting career highs in both rebounds and assists for the Trojans this past season.
Hazen Union junior Sully Laflam snagged his first Outstanding Underclassmen selection after posting multiple 20-point performances throughout the season for a 17-7 Wildcat team that made it to the division III state title game for a fourth straight year.
Rounding out the local boys selections were Peoples Academy’s Jack Lafayette, Danville’s Sebastian Eldred, and Lamoille’s Jackson Hoag.
