HARDWICK – After dominating Mountain League opponents for the past three seasons, the Hazen Union girls basketball team will compete in the Division II rich Capital League this coming winter.
Head coach Randy Lumsden and his talented Lady Cat team will align with Aaron Hill’s boys team this season, in joining the teams in the highly competitive Capital. Lumsden was crowned Mountain League Coach of the Year after leading his program to their third consecutive 20-win season this past March.
The former Wildcat standout had an outstanding playing career for Hazen, finishing just shy of 1,000 career points, winning a Division III state championship under Coach Hill along the way. He has had a meteoric start to his coaching career, posting a 61-5 record in his first three seasons on the sidelines, including the program’s first state title in over three decades in 2024.
Since the Central Vermont League was dissolved in 2020, the Mountain League has welcomed many of those Division IV teams in, and Lumsden’s talented squad has struggled to consistently put competitive games on the schedule that get his team tournament ready.
Hill moved his boys program to the Capital in 2021 and the dividends of stiffer competition across the board paid off immediately with his sixth Division III state title. Hill was named Capital League Coach of the Year this past March for the second time in four years. He led a rebuilding upstart team to the program’s fourth consecutive Division III state title appearance at the Barre Auditorium this past season. Hazen’s boys soccer and baseball teams have also joined the rugged Capital League. Hill, now the Hazen athletic director as well, is excited for the move by Lumsden’s program, and feels that the alignment of schedules makes it easier for everyone, as well as the opportunity to create new rivalries.
“Randy has done a phenomenal job with the girls program and we’re all excited for their move this season to the Capital League. It’s a great league for basketball in the state of Vermont and we feel the move will create continuity as far as schedule and gives them the opportunity to play tougher competition out of division. We’re all really excited for the move!” said Hill.
Division II heavyweights that include the likes of North Country, Lamoille, Spaulding and Harwood, along with division rival Peoples Academy will now consistently stand in the way of Lumsden and his team as they look to get back to Barre for the fourth consecutive season.
