Once a trimester, Director of Athletics Mark Conroy presents at a special assembly to recognize the teams and individuals their achievements over the past season. On Wednesday, December 3, as students were returning from the holiday break, he took an opportunity to call out the highlights of each of the 10 fall programs and individual award winners. All of the award winners were also announced at banquet night gatherings before Thanksgiving.
Highlights of the fall included junior Lacey Gillis recent first- and second-place finishes in horseback riding; an undefeated season for thirds volleyball; junior Calvin Frye breaking the single season school record in water polo; Sam Madden ’17, Marielle McHale ’18, Rob Champigny ’18, Nick Hill ’17, and Milo Cowles ’15 making their respective course honor rolls for the fastest times ever run on the cross country course; Mr. Champigny finishing as the top freshmen runner at the NEPSAC All-Star cross country meet; varsity field hockey earning the Western New England Class B title; and junior Nick Garofano breaking the single season rushing and scoring records in varsity football as the team clinched its first postseason appearance in 13 years.
“I wanted to thank all of those of you who wore the blue and green this fall for competing so hard and so well,” Mr. Conroy said during the assembly. “Your sportsmanship was outstanding.”
Jump to the section on:
Horseback Riding
Crew
Girls Volleyball
Boys Water Polo
Boys Soccer
Girls Soccer
Girls Cross Country
Boys Cross Country
Girls Field Hockey
Boys Football
Horseback Riding
As many of you know Williston has a number of students—eight this fall—who participate in horseback riding at Fuller Horse Farm in Westhampton under the direction of Laura Etzel. The riders choreograph intricate horseback riding maneuvers to music, otherwise known as a drill team. The drill team requires the riders to work in uniformity with their horse to create the proper spacing, alignment, coordination, and timing to a musical selection. One of the Williston Riders, junior Lacey Gillis, competes on the Williston-Fuller Inter Scholastic Equestrian Team. In the last three shows, Ms. Gillis has come in either first or second in each show in either jumping or her equitation class.
Most Valuable Rider: Lacey Gillis ‘16
Most Improved Rider: Caitlin Reid ‘19, Eugenia Nosyryeva ‘16 (Nos: reeva)
Sportsmanship Award: Sophia Flores ‘18
Crew
This fall, led by new father Kevin Garrity, 14 of our students participated in Northampton Youth and Community Rowing and headed over to the Connecticut River every afternoon. Of the 14 students who participated, seven earned varsity letters while the other seven participants were novices. Hamp Crew competed in six regattas this fall in various spots throughout the northeast including Boston, Hartford, Saratoga, and Worcester. Some highlights of their season included the novices winning all of the events at the Paper City Regatta in Holyoke, the varsity boys with Loren Po, Teddy Wolfe and Josh Simpson in the boat, finishing 18th at the Head of the Riverfront regatta and the varsity girls, with Camila Brown, Amelia DeFrancis, Maggie White and Sophia Triana, finishing sixth out of 27 at the same race. At the very prestigious Head of the Charles, the women’s junior eight, that included Amelia, Maggie, and Sophia, started out at 82 and finished in 49. Congratulations to all the rowers on a great fall!
Girls Volleyball
Thirds
With 38 girls participating again this fall, the girls volleyball program fielded three teams. The thirds team, coached by seniors Emily Grussing and Janyce Carey, had an excellent season finishing with a perfect 4-0 record. Congratulations on an undefeated season!
Most Valuable Player: Sabrina Sampson ‘16
Most Improved Player: Emma Demerath ‘19
Sportsmanship Award: Serena Chen ‘16
JV
Coached by Annie Schneider and Alex Rivenburgh, the JV team also played very competitive volleyball all season, with an exciting 2-1 victory over Worcester Academy as their biggest highlight.
Most Valuable Player: Fuka Iwama ‘18
Most Improved Player: Dylan Fulcher-Melendy ‘20
Sportsmanship Award: Vivien Shao ‘16
Varsity
Despite a tough season in wins and losses, the varsity team, led by Coaches Chambers and Choo, played hard their hearts out and enjoyed great team spirit throughout the season. Coach Chambers says that highlights of their season included a terrific match with top Class B team Cheshire Academy, a great effort against a strong Worcester Academy squad, and a shutout win over Stoneleigh Burnham
Most Valuable Player: Dina Dahdul ‘15
Most Improved Player: Katie Lucchesi ‘15
Sportsmanship Award: Melissa Falcone ‘15
Boys Water Polo
Varsity
Led by Coaches Berghoff and Biddiscombe, a young boys water polo team with only two seniors, captain Ben Moffett and Ray Kim, made great progress throughout their season, developing into a very competitive unit. According to Coach Berghoff, highlights included excellent efforts against Loomis, Hotchkiss, and Choate.
Junior Calvin Frye had a terrific season breaking the single season school record set by Jean Claude Wright in 2005. Calvin finished with 78 goals.
Most Valuable Player Award: Calvin Frye ’16 *(second year in a row)
Most Improved Player Award: Noah DeVos ‘17
Sportsmanship Award: Ben Moffett ’15 *(second year in a row)
Boys Soccer
JV A
It was another competitive season for the boys soccer program at Williston. Coach Whipple and Harper’s JV A team played tough competitive soccer all season, highlighted by victories over Pomfret, Wilbraham & Monson, and Kingswood.
Most Valuable Player Award: Joey Teresi ’16: second year in a row
Most Improved Player Award: Michael Lloyd ‘16
Sportsmanship Award: Soma Mizobuchi ‘17
Junior
Coach Garcia and Luikart’s junior team also enjoyed a strong season, with victories over Renbrook and Rectory as highlights.
Most Valuable Player Award: Robby Hill ‘19
Most Improved Player Award: Ethan Bradway ’19, Luke Po ‘20
Sportsmanship Award: Jessup Goldberg Cook ’20, Itai Zilberstein ‘19
JV B
The Junior B team, led once again by Coaches Bagley and Niedz, finished the season on a high note with victories over Berkshire and Wilbraham & Monson.
Most Valuable Player Award: Tito Ovhori ’15
Most Improved Player Award: Tiger Lindsay ‘16
Sportsmanship Award: Alex Fabbri ’15, Gabe Moon ‘18
Varsity
The varsity boys soccer team, led by Coaches Syfu and Sendra, battled hard all fall against the top teams in Western New England. According to Coach Syfu, highlights included wins over Canterbury and Cheshire, gritty ties with Suffield, Salisbury and K-O, and a terrific season-ending performance against Class A finalist NMH. Two members of this year’s team represented Williston in postseason all-star games. Junior Davis Smith was selected to play in the NEPSAC Junior All-Star game, while senior captain Anthony Aquadro was selected to play in both the Western New England All-Star game and the NEPSAC Senior All-Star game.
Most Valuable Player Award: Anthony Aquadro ’15, Davis Smith ‘16
Most Improved Player Award: Quinn Griffin ‘15
Sportsmanship Award: Bryan Hong ‘15
12th Player Award: Charley Mercier ‘15
Next year’s captains will be Davis Smith ’16, Imran Hayatu-Deen ‘16
Girls Soccer
JV
The girls soccer program enjoyed another very successful fall season. The junior and JV teams certainly had their share of success, with a combined record of 11-6-1 , including exciting victories over Kent, K-O, Suffield, and Pomfret.
Most Valuable Player Award: Rachel Burke ‘19
Most Improved Player Award: Abigail Coscia ’19, Catherine King ‘19
Sportsmanship Award: Sophie Carellas ’18, Gabby Mercier ‘17
Varsity
The girls varsity team, under Coaches Davey and Conroy, played very competitive soccer all season against most of the top teams in NEPSAC. The team had a strong start to their season with an outstanding 0-0 tie against Class A power Worcester Academy. While the girls faced a bit of adversity throughout the season, shutout victories over Berkshire, Kent, Suffield, and NMH on Senior Day were certainly highlights. Seniors Emma Lawrence and Gracie Simpson were both chosen to play in the Western New England All-Star game, while junior Caroline Wysocki earned both All-State recognition for Massachusetts as well as a place on the prestigious All-NEPSAC Class A & B team.
Most Valuable Player Award: Caroline Wysocki ‘16
Most Improved Player Award: Molly Zawacki ‘17
Sportsmanship Award: Gabby Thomas ‘15
Alumnae Award for outstanding contribution to the program: Gracie Simpson ‘15
Next year’s captains will be Haley McCreary ’16, Emily McDonald ’16, Caroline Wysocki ’16.
Girls Cross Country
Led by Coaches Greg Tuleja, Michelle Lawson, and Jane Lucia, Williston girls cross country had a terrific season, finishing with a record of 10-3. As usual, the team enjoyed wonderful team spirit as 33 girls participated on the team. According to Coach Tuleja, highlights of their season included a late season race at Berkshire when the team swept a race that included six other schools. This big day included a win over a Suffield team we had not beaten in four years. This was only the third time in history that the team achieved double figures in victories with its 10 wins.
Two girls broke into our course honor roll for the fastest times ever run on our course: sophomore Sam Madden is now 14th while freshman Marielle McHale is 4th.
Most Valuable Runner Award: Sam Madden ‘17, Marielle McHale ‘18
Most Improved Runner Award: Maya Soley ‘18
Sportsmanship Award: Ashley Fitch ’15, Emily Yeager ‘17
Next year’s captains will be Natalie Aquadro ‘17, Rachel Rockwell ’16, Maddy Scott ‘16.
Boys Cross Country
Under the direction of Coaches Talbot, Pelliccia and Gunn, the 41-member boys cross country team enjoyed another very good season, finishing with a record of 10-4. Highlights of their season included big home wins over Worcester, Suffield, Westminster, and K-O, and a gutty road win at Avon. At the Westminster Invitational, the varsity team placed fourth while the JV was second. The team’s dual meet season ended on a high note by defeating all five opponents at a six-school meet held at Berkshire on the last Saturday of the season
At the season-ending New England’s, held out at Galbraith Fields, the varsity, led by freshman Rob Champigny’s seventh place finish, finished sixth as a team. Sophomore Billy Ashenden was our top finisher in the JV race with a seventh-place finish. Rob finished his exceptional freshman season by competing in the NEPSAC All-Star meet held at St. Mark’s where he finished in 10th place; he was the top freshman runner at the meet. Individually, three boys earned their way on to our course honor roll recognizing the fastest finishes ever on our home course. Rob is now fourth, while sophomore Nick Hill is 14th, and senior Milo Cowles is 15th.
“Alan Shaler” Most Valuable Runner Award: freshman Rob Champigny ‘18
Most Improved Runner Award: Tim Jacques ‘20
Sportsmanship Award: Emmett O’Malley ‘15
Next year’s captains will be Bryan Bates ’16, Alex Fay ’16, Nate Gordon ’16, Nick Hill ‘17
Girls Field Hockey
JV
The JV team, under Coaches Klumpp and Anderson’s guidance, played very competitive field hockey all season, highlighted by six shutouts. The team only lost twice in their 12 game schedule.
Most Valuable Player Award: Anna Harvey ‘18
Most Improved Player Award: Erika Sasaki ‘17
Sportsmanship Award: Neha Nascimento ‘17
Varsity
The varsity field hockey team, led by Coaches Garrity, Jablonski and Noble, had an excellent season, finishing with a record of 10-6. The team won all of its Class B games during the regular season, including exciting victories over Suffield, Berkshire and NMH. This dominant season within our class earned Williston the Western New England Class B title for the fifth year in a row! The team’s outstanding season earned them a #3 seed and an opportunity to host #6 seed Berkshire: unfortunately, they lost 2-0. Two girls earned postseason recognition: Juniors Lauren Helm and Delaney Belinskas were both named to the Western NE All-Star team while Lauren was also named to the NEPSAC Class B All-Tournament team.
Most Valuable Player Award: Lauren Helm ‘16
Most Improved Player Award: Jess Wendelken ‘16
Sportsmanship Award: Julia Valine ‘15
The captains for next year will be Delaney Belinskas ’16, Lauren Helm ‘16.
Boys Football
JV
Williston’s football program enjoyed an outstanding season. The highlights of Coach Doubleday and Spearing’s JV season were an exciting victory over Pomfret and a season-ending shutout over Wilbraham & Monson.
Most Valuable Player Award: Justin Newman ‘18
Most Improved Player Award: Dome Klonggumrai ‘17
Sportsmanship Award: Nick Barber ‘19
Varsity
Competing in the 10 school Colonial League, varsity football had an excellent season, finishing with a 7-1 record. In the 10 years the league has existed, Williston is the only school in the league that to have never had a losing record. This year’s Wildcat squad was the second-highest scoring team in school history, averaging over 42 points per game. The highlights of their season included an exciting 35-28 opening victory over a bowl team from Westminster, defeating Gunnery to retain the Miller Cup for the sixth year in a row, beating local rival Wilbraham & Monson on their Parents Weekend, and a hard-fought 50-18 Senior Day victory over Tabor. The victory over Tabor clinched the team’s first postseason appearance in 13 years when it was matched with ISL champion Lawrence Academy in a NEPSAC championship bowl game. In a tremendous game, the boys rallied from a 27-0 halftime deficit to take a second half lead before falling 35-34. Despite the heartbreaking loss, it was a tremendous season.
A number of boys earned postseason recognition for their outstanding play during the season. Three boys were named to the prestigious All-New England team by the NEPSAC football coaches association: postgraduate John Kay (who led the team in tackles with 112), senior Marshall Rizzuto (who led the team in both receptions and interceptions), and junior Nick Garofano (who broke the single season rushing and scoring records). These three boys were joined on the All-Colonial League First Team by Max Chipouras and Evan Cavanaugh. Earning Second Team All-League honors were seniors Johnny Aylward, Curt McLeod, Stephen Goldsmith, Alex Ganter, and juniors Zach Rouleau and Mike Dereus.
(Only JV winners were recognized during the assembly as the varsity team will have its banquet night next Sunday.)
Our winter teams get under way this week with a handful of games. Good luck to all the winter teams. Just a reminder to all of us as spectators to “honor the blue and green” by doing everything we can to INSPIRE our teams to play their hearts out without disrespecting our opponent’s efforts.