CRAFTSBURY – The Hardwick Lady Mustangs varsity AAU team were perfect over the weekend, dominating the Kingdom Invitational at Craftsbury Academy.
Hardwick’s Lady Mustangs’ weekend wins gave them the champiosship at the Kingdom Invitational at Craftsbury Academy. Members of the team include (from left) back, Assistant Coach Randy Spaulding, Mya Lumsden, Autumn Dailey, Kelsie Rivard, Sadie Gann and Head Coach Sue Rivard; front, Isabelle Gouin, Taylor Thompson, Ari Nichols and Ella Renaud, Missing is Chloe Moodie. courtesy photo
The Lady Stangs had double digit wins over Lake Region, Lamoille, Oxbow (Upper Valley), and Vergennes to take home the championship at the Kingdom Invitational. With several AAU teams in the state creating all-star teams by pooling players from neighboring towns, the Lady Stangs are exclusively made up from Hazen Union players. Head coach Sue Rivard has been on Randy Lumsden’s coaching staff the last two seasons, helping guide the Hazen Lady Cats to their third straight trip to the Barre Auditorium last month. Rivard has added Randy Spaulding to the Mustang coaching staff this season and she looks forward to the continued development of the girls varsity program as they prepare to enter their first season in the vaunted Capital League next winter.
“We started out slow Saturday morning, but the girls really picked it up the rest of the tournament, playing their best basketball the last three games. Everyone contributed in every game and I was very pleased by the team’s effort and play. The philosophy of Coach Lumsden is that AAU is a tool to develop every player, and are goal isn’t to win T-shirts on Sunday, it’s to hang another championship banner in the winter. I am committed to that process and try to push the girls to work on areas in their game they need to develop. Randy Spaulding brings years of coaching experience in AAU and the Mini Metro, and he has already made a very positive impact. We have three tournaments left and we plan to keep developing and growing. All of the girls are dedicated and focused and I predict a very successful first season in the Capital next year. I feel very blessed that I get to coach these girls,” said Rivard.
