NEK – Several local athletes from Craftsbury Academy (CA), Hazen Union, Twinfield-Cabot, Danville, and Peoples Academy (PA) earned Mountain League honors last week for their outstanding play this past spring in high-school varsity softball.
Danville sophomore Phoebe Crocker led all honors with a First Team selection as a utility player for a Twinfield-Cabot-Danville (CCSU) team that won a playoff game for the program in back-to-back seasons for the first time in almost a decade this past spring. CA eighth-grader Caira Ingalls earned a Second Team selection as a utility player, playing in multiple positions for head coach Ashley Gravel this season, highlighted by several outstanding defensive plays in centerfield. Adelina Augsberger also earned Second Team honors for the Lady Chargers in the outfield and senior teammate Sadie Skorstad earned multiple honors as a Second Team selection at second base and an Honorable Mention at first base. The dynamic duo led CA to four consecutive wins to end the regular season to earn a home playoff game and pulled double duty for the CA track and field team this season, qualifying for States earlier this month in Manchester. Hazen Union’s Gracie Crown earned Second Team honors at third base for CA and Danville’s Kendall Hale accomplished the same feat for CCSU with outstanding play at the hot corner, while being the workhorse for co-head coaches Christin Martin and Summer Haverick in the circle throughout the season. Twinfield’s Sophia Mancini had a breakout junior campaign for CCSU, earning Second Team honors at first base for the Lady Trojans. Honorable Mention honors went to Savanah Boyce (CA Pitcher), Hazen senior Sarah Collier (CA Catcher), Danville freshman Austin Roos (CCSU Catcher), Hazen’s Gracie Crown (CA 1B 2B), PA’s Kaleigh Mason (CA 1B), and PA’s Emily Hoffman (CA SS). The first season of combining all three schools to form a Lady Charger varsity softball team and the second season of CCSU’s merger to field a team with all three schools in the vaunted Mountain League has both programs pointing in an upward direction.
Fourth-seeded Richford claimed an unlikely Division IV state championship for the league last week, completing a Cinderella run through the tournament that included a 6-5 win over top-seeded Blue Mountain in the semifinals and an 11-7 win over second-seeded West Rutland in the title game. Richford and Blue Mountain combined to earn 11 First Team Selections, with Division III BFA-Fairfax snagging five after a double-digit win season, culminating in a Final Four appearance.
