HARDWICK – The 2026 Division III champion Hazen Union girls basketball team dominated the Capital League in their inaugural season, led by their star junior Kelsie Rivard, who was named their Player of the Year last week.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Rivard just finished up her junior season at Hazen but is already one of the state’s most decorated players as a 1,000-point scorer and two-time Division III state champion. She led the Lady Cats in almost every offensive category this winter on their way to their championship run averaging nearly 21 points, over 12 rebounds, just under five steals and three assists per game. She debuted at the Barre Auditorium with a freshman record 33 points two years ago and punished Windsor with a 30 point and 24 rebound performance in the championship earlier this month.
Junior teammate Mya Lumsden also pulled down Capital League First Team honors after her best season in a Lady Cat uniform. The multi-faceted guard enjoyed career highs in scoring this season for Hazen and was also a First Teamer in the Mountain League last winter. Joining Rivard and Lumsden as Capital League First Team selections were Lamoille’s Alana Crittenden and Ava Baisley, Peoples Academy’s Daisy Berg, North Country’s Addie Nelson and Sophia Guarriello from Spaulding.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Greg Davis Jr. was named Capital League Coach of the Year after leading the Lady Lancers to a league championship (17-0) and a Division II state title run that ended in a loss to Hartford in the championship game. Lamoille’s Maddex Percy was named Capital League Defensive Player of the Year.
Over in the Mountain League, former Cabot multi-sport legend Billy Waller was named Coach of the Year after leading his Vergennes (17-6) girls team back to the Barre Auditorium for the first time in five years. Vergennes fell victim to eventual Division III champion Hazen in the semifinal round.
Mountain League First Team selections included Richford’s Sophia Derby, Ashtin Stearns of Vergennes, Blue Mountain’s Ava Kingsbury, Williamstown’s Julia French and Adi See from Fairfax. Danville’s Lauren Joncas and Myah Morgan earned Second Team selections.
Rookie of the Year honors went to Ayla Kittredge of Vergennes. Richford won the Defensive Team of the Year on the heels of capturing the Division IV state championship. BFA-Fairfax won the Mountain League Sportsmanship Award.
Derby was the best player in the league and what made her sophomore season even more impressive was the fact that she missed her entire freshman campaign due to injury. Derby led Richford to a dominant 17-2 regular season record and followed that up with 103 points over their four-game championship run. She capped it all off with a 28-point performance in a dominant 43-23 win over No. 3 West Rutland in the Division IV state title game.
