Athletic Director Mark Conroy stood before the school during an assembly on November 29 and listed the highlights of the nine fall athletic programs.
Horseback Riding
Seven Williston students participated in horseback riding at Fuller Horse Farm in Westhampton under the direction of Laura Etzel. The seven riders brought a range of riding experience to the program. “Coach Laura Etzel says that the group was a great pleasure to work with and improved tremendously this fall,” Conroy said.
Varsity Riders:
Most Valuable Rider: Momoka Oda ‘18, Aiden Alden ‘18
Most Improved Rider: Noel Song ‘21
Sportsmanship Award: Hana Tsukamoto ‘20
JV Riders:
MVP: Izzy Epstein ‘23
JV Most Improved Rider: Sophi Edmunds ‘23
Sportsmanship Award: Elsa Frankel ’23
Water Polo
Led by Coaches Bill Berghoff and Teddy Schaffer, the boys’ water polo team fielded a young squad this fall short on experience but long on enthusiasm. With leadership by three seniors, Dave Janoschek, Josh Calianos, and Jaden Tanguay, the team “demonstrated a great competitive spirit all fall battling the top prep programs in NEPSAC,” Conroy said. Highlights of their season included an 11-8 win over Hotchkiss at home in mid-October and revenging a road loss at Wilbraham and Monson with a decisive 25-15 win over the Titans at home late in the season.
In terms of postseason recognition, senior David Janoschek earned All NEPSAC honors for the second year in a row.
JV
Most Valuable Player Award – Drew Manory ‘19
Most Improved Player Award – Conrad Kang ‘20
Sportsmanship Award – Gavin Kline ‘20
Varsity
Most Valuable Player Award – David Janoschek ’18
Most Improved Player Award – Shogo Kamei ‘20Sportsmanship Award – Josh Calianos ‘18
Captain for next year is Tom Lawry ’19
Girls Volleyball
Led by Coaches Berlanga, Ketcham, and Choo, the Thirds and JV team had terrific seasons, Conroy said. The JV team, in particular, had one of their finest seasons in recent memory with a 9-6 record including sweeping Berkshire in both of their matches and earning thrilling 2-1 victories over Ethel Walker, Pomfret, Worcester and WMA.
The varsity team led by Coaches Rivenburgh and Briedis played competitive volleyball all season taking on a very challenging schedule. Highlights of their season included shutting out Stoneleigh Burnham 3-0, a terrific 3-0 win over Worcester at home on Friday of Family Weekend and revenging an early season 3-2 loss at Berkshire with a decisive 3-0 win at home later in the season. According to Coach Rivenburgh, despite the narrow loss, the team played its best volleyball of the season in a tremendous match at WMA.
One team member garnered post-season recognition: sophomore Dylan Fulcher-Melendy was named All NEPSAC Honorable Mention.
Thirds
Most Valuable – Shirley Shen ‘21
Most Improved Player – Jessie Tran ‘21
Sportsmanship – Na Lee ‘21
JV
Most Valuable Player – Jade Chen ‘20
Most Improved Player – Jane Wegrzyn ‘21
Sportsmanship Award – Zoe Okaisabor ’19 (second year in a row!)
Varsity
Most Valuable Player – Dani Marquez ‘18
Most Improved Player – Erin Chai 21, Karen Janocha ‘19
Sportsmanship Award – Lizzie Cuevas ’18
Next year’s captains will be and Dylan Fulcher-Melendy ’20, Gates MacPherson ‘19
Football
Williston’s football program enjoyed a successful season, according to Conroy. The JV squad, led by Coaches Doubleday and Farmer, demonstrated great improvement and team spirit. A shutout victory over Eaglebrook was certainly a highlight.
Varsity Football made a big step forward this fall competing in the Erickson League, arguably the most competitive prep football league in New England. The team finished with a 3-5 record beating three teams it lost to in 2016. Led by a big day from Braeden Heald, the Wildcats opened with a hard fought 28-14 win over Kent. On Family Weekend, the team earned a convincing 35-0 shutout victory over rival Wilbraham and Monson. The final win was a thrilling 20-11 second half comeback victory at Hotchkiss late in the season.
“Football did have one boy who I think is deserving of some special recognition this morning for breaking the single season sack record on defense when he had 14.5 half sacks this fall in our 8 games,” Conroy said, asking Xavier Thibault to stand.
In terms of postseason individual accolades, a number of boys were recognized by coaches. Four boys earned All Erickson League recognition: sophomore Henri Bourque and seniors Noah Clack, Braeden Heald, and Xavier Thibault. Additionally, two-way standout Braeden and Xavier were both named to the prestigious All NEPSAC Class A football team. “Xavier is deserving of special recognition this morning,” Conroy said. He had a tremendous senior year in which he broke the school record for sacks with 14.5 in our 8 games. His outstanding season also earned him the Erickson League Co-Defensive Player of the Year award.
JV
Most Valuable Player Award – Will Strout ‘20
Most Improved Player Award – David Costello ‘20
Sportsmanship Award – Mike Beaulieu ‘20
Varsity:
Jim Purce Memorial Award for Overall Excellence – Braeden Heald ’18, Xavier Thibault ‘18
Edward Stimets Jr. Memorial Defensive Excellence Award – Noah Clack ‘18
Lindy Hanson Memorial Offensive Excellence Award – Henri Bourque ‘20
Richard R. Francis Most Improved Player Award – Addison Walker ‘18
Mills Kicking Game Award – Joey Ford ‘19
Sportsmanship Award – Mason Balch ‘18
Next year’s captains will be Christian Anzeveno ’19, Ben Normandin ’19, Thomas Thibault ‘19
Boys Soccer
Seventy-six boys came out for soccer at Williston this fall comprising our four teams. Led by coaches Kurt Whipple and Liz Kay, the Junior team enjoyed exciting one goal wins over Rectory and Eaglebrook. The JV A team, led by coaches Will Eberle and Tom Johnson, played competitive soccer all fall highlighted by shutout victories over Millbrook, Wilbraham and Monson, Kingswood and Salisbury. The Junior B team, led by Coaches Garcia and Niedzwecki, also had a strong season with shutouts over Cushing, Vermont and WMA as highlights.
The Varsity Boys Soccer team, led by Coaches Chiavaroli and Syfu, battled hard all fall against many of the top teams in western New England. The team finished with a winning record in Class B with a record of 4-3-4. Counted amongst the team’s highlights were two home shutouts over Marianapolis and Hopkins, a decisive 6-1 victory over Pomfret, and a last second thrilling 2-1 victory over Cheshire when Couper Gunn assisted on the game winner by Jack Phelan.
Three members of this year’s team were named to postseason all-star teams. Junior Cory Booth was named to the Class B all-star team and the Select Team- drawing from the best players in Western NE in Class A and B. Senior captain Jack Phelan was named Honorable Mention to the Select Team. Junior Wyatt Wegrzyn was named a NEPSAC junior all-star.
Junior
Most Valuable Player Award – Max Edwards ‘22
Most Improved Player Award – Connor Queenin ‘23
Sportsmanship Award – Kai Paik ‘22
JV B
Most Valuable Player Award – Mike Janocha ‘18
Most Improved Player Award – George Goodhead ‘18
Sportsmanship Award – Zach Davidson ‘21
JV A
Most Valuable Player Award – Mike Slate ‘20
Most Improved Player Award – Kyle Grabowski ‘20
Sportsmanship Award – Penn Cancro ‘20
Varsity
Most Valuable Player Award – Jack Phelan ’18
Most Improved Player Award – Oskar Lee ‘18
Sportsmanship Award – Couper Gunn ‘18
12th Player Award – Mark Woort-Menker ‘18
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer program enjoyed a very successful season. The JV team led by Coaches Karla Schaffer and Carey Baldwin had a very competitive season finishing with a 5-7-2 record including shutouts over Pomfret and Cushing and exciting one goal victories over rivals Suffield, NMH, and Deerfield.
The Varsity squad led once again by the seasoned coaching duo of Fulcher and Conroy had a wonderful season. Buoyed by a strong group of 12 seniors, the girls enjoyed a terrific season against one of the toughest schedules in NEPSAC finishing with a 9-6-3 record. All six losses were to top seeded NEPSAC tournament teams. There were many highlights during the fall including a gritty 1-0 win at KO, a thrilling 1-0 win at Westminster under their lights, beating rival Deerfield at home and a decisive 4-0 win over rival Wilbraham and Monson at home under our lights! Undoubtedly the biggest highlight of the season took place on the final Wednesday of the season on Senior Day when the girls knocked off one of NEPSAC Class A’s top squads Choate 3-0 in a tremendous all around team effort.
A number of girls added their names to the Williston record books this fall. The teams’ nine shutouts were second all time for a Williston squad, Sophie Weed’s 8 assists were 4th most in a season in Williston history, Madison Fulcher-Melendy’s 21 career assists were the second highest ever recorded as were goalie Alana Serafino’s nine shutouts in a single season.
In terms of postseason individual recognition, four girls received honors. Junior Campbell Nyarady was named a WNEPSSA junior all star. Senior captain Madison Fulcher-Melendy and classmate Ana Weed were both named to the WNEPSSA all-star team while fellow senior Sophie Weed was named to the All NEPSAC Class B all-star team.
JV
Most Valuable Player Award – Ella Goodman ‘19
Most Improved Player Award – Anne Valerie Clitus ‘21, Sam Yunes ‘23
Sportsmanship Award – Devon Morgan ‘21
Varsity
Most Valuable Player Award – Ana Weed ‘18, Sophie Weed ‘18
Most Improved Player Award –Claudia Capone ’20, Caroline DiFiore ‘19
Sportsmanship Award – Natalie Romain ’18, Tori Zingarelli ‘18
Alumnae Award for outstanding contribution to the program – Fiona Bundy ’18, Madison Fulcher-Melendy ‘18
Next year’s captains will be Caroline DiFiore ’19, Campbell Nyarady ‘19, and Emily Whipple ‘19.
Field Hockey
The JV team, under Coaches Klumpp and Ram’s guidance, played competitive field hockey all season with a 1-0 win over Bement and a hard fought 0-0 tie to Pomfret as highlights.
The Varsity Field Hockey team, led by Coaches Kate Garrity, Alex Tancrell-Fontaine and Ellie Massengill, enjoyed a terrific regular season finishing with a record of 8-7-1 including a 3-2-1 Class B record. Highlights of their season included six shutout wins including thrilling 1-0 victories over both Berkshire and Loomis and a season ending 4-0 shutout over NMH. A 1-1 overtime tie at Deerfield was also a tremendous game. Ironically, two losses demonstrated the team’s great heart and competitive spirit—a late season 3-2 overtime loss at Suffield and a season ending 2-1 tournament loss to #1 seeded and eventual Class B champion Governor’s Academy.
In terms of individual recognition, seniors Caroline Channell and Tori Palumbo were both named to the Western NE All Star team. In terms of All NEPSAC honors, Tori and Gabby Dicomitis were both named to the First Team while Julia MacLean and Kate Holmes were named Honorable Mention.
JV
Most Valuable Player Award – Louisa Coughlin ‘23
Most Improved Player Award – Ji Soo Hwang ‘21
Sportsmanship Award – Jordan Strum ‘18
Varsity
MVP – Tori Palumbo ’18 (second year in a row)
MIP – MK O’Brien ‘20
Sportsmanship – Caroline Channell ’18
Next year’s captains will be: Maura Holden ’19, Kate Holmes ‘19
Boys Cross Country
Under the direction of Coaches Talbot Syfu, Loomis, and Gunn, the 29 member Boys Cross Country team enjoyed another terrific season finishing with an excellent dual meet record of 10-3. There were many, many highlights during this season including beating Kent at home in the inaugural race on our new course, finishing in 3rd place at the Westminster Invitational, beating rival Suffield FOUR times during the season, finishing 4th at the Shaler Invitational and going 6-0 (with 12 team members running personal records) at our final dual meet.
At the Division II NEPSAC championships held at Berkshire, the team ran their hearts out coming in 7th out of the 16 teams that competed. Three varsity runners finished in the top 30: Nick Sinofsky at 7th with a PR of 16:50, Oscar DeFrancis in 17th and Nat Markey 29th. Nick and Oscar’s top 20 finishes qualified these two boys to compete in the NEPSAC all-star meet that comprises the top finishers in all four divisions. In this very competitive meet held at St. Mark’s, Nick finished in 9th with a new PR of 16:50 while Oscar came in 16th at 17:32.
“Alan Shaler” Most Valuable Runner Award – Oscar DeFrancis ’20, Nat Markey ‘20
Most Improved Runner Award – Daniel Simpson ’20, Caleb Stern ‘19
Sportsmanship Award – Oliver Lawrence ’18, Bryan Soder ’18
Next year’s captains will be DJ Poulin ’19, Caleb Stern ‘19
Girls Cross Country
Led by Coaches Tuleja and McCullagh, the 31 girls who ran cross country at Williston this fall had a terrific season finishing with a record of 11-2. A little history here – this happens to be the 31st year in a row that girls cross country has had a winning record! According to Coach Tuleja, highlights of this season included sweeping Division 1 opponents Miss Porter’s and Taft, going undefeated on our new course including a season opening one point victory over Kent and defeating all six of our opponents (including host Suffield!) at the season ending dual meet. Individually, Abigail Tuohey became only the second 8th grader, boy or girl, to win a varsity race when she came in first against Taft. The future remains very bright as the top four places on our new course Honor Roll are all held by underclassmen – Abigail, Claire Harrison, Chloe Prouty, and Anna Richardson. At the NEPSAC championships at Berkshire, the girls had a great day coming in 5th out of 16 schools. Abigail earned All NEPSAC honors when she came in 12th out of 110 runners.
Most Valuable Runner Award – Abigail Touhey ’22 (second year in a row)
Most Improved Runner Award – Poojaa Prakash Babu ’21, Abby Andrews ‘23
Sportsmanship Award – Anabelle Farnham ’18
Next year’s captains will be Claire Harrison ’19, Catherine King ’19.
Our winter teams get under way this week with a handful of games today and Saturday. “I wanted to thank all of you who wore the blue and green this fall for competing so hard and so well,” Conroy said. ” Your sportsmanship was outstanding. I also want to thank and congratulate all of you who came out to cheer on your classmates at games—your school spirit and sportsmanship was exceptional. 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 while respecting our opponent’s efforts.”