All posts by jgrant

Athletes of the Week – April 14th

sternDSC_0148Maddy Stern ‘14

Maddy helped lead the girls’ varsity water polo team on Wednesday as she scored 6 goals in the team’s 9-2 win over Suffield Academy. Maddy is a consistent force in the pool on game day, but her drive in and out of the water is what makes her a great player. Maddy’s work ethic and passion for the sport are contagious, and she is a great leader and role model for the younger athletes.

 

 

askinDSC_0283JD Askin ‘14

JD is off to a great start this season with the varsity baseball team. He has an impressive batting average of .500 in his last three games and .667 overall average.  In addition, JD has been reliable at second base for the Wildcats. As a third year varsity player, JD possess great leadership qualities. His work in the off-season and his team first mentality will be valuable to the Wildcats this season.

 

 

wendelkenDSC_0590Jess Wendelken ‘16

Jess played an outstanding game on Saturday against Berkshire for the girls jv lacrosse team. Playing midfield, Jess was instrumental in helping the Wildcats maintain possession and move the ball up field. Jess’s effort and determination helped the team prevail by the score of 10-4. Jess is a wonderful role model for the younger players on the squad, and her fair play is admirable.

 

 

 

fieldmanIMG_7403Arvin Fieldman ‘17

Arvin had an impressive week of play for the boys JV lacrosse team. Arvin tallied 2 goals and an assist in Williston’s game against Rectory on Wednesday. On Saturday, Arvin followed up with 2 goals and an 4 assists in the team’s win over Watkinson. Arvin has been elected captain and his tireless work ethic has set a great example for the younger players on the team.

Marquis Francois ’14 Receives Boyden Award

marquis boydenMarquis Francois ‘14 (Jersey City, NJ) was honored on Sunday evening at the Western Massachusetts chapter of the National Football Foundation banquet held at the University of Massachusetts. Francois is this year’s recipient of the Dr. Frank L. Boyden Award given in honor of the longtime Deerfield Academy headmaster.   The award recognizes the outstanding Western Massachusetts prep school football scholar-athlete.  Francois was captain as a Senior and started as a defensive tackle for the Williston football team for the past three years.  In recognition of his outstanding play, he was named to the First Team All League Colonial League football team in both his Junior and Senior years.  As a scholar, Francois has distinguished himself by consistently earning Honors over the past four years.

Previous Williston recipients include:

2012 – John Woodside
2011 – Kevin Conroy
2009 – Max Richards
2007 – Mike Petegorsky
2006 – Colin Elliott
2004 – Bryan Bolte
1997 – William Lopes
1993 – John Kane
1983 – William Okun
1974 – Richard White
1971 – Gil Timm
1967 – David Urquhart

Athletes of the Week – April 7th

thomsonDSC_0217Mikey Thomson ‘14

Mikey went 3-4 with 4 RBI’s, a double and a triple in Williston’s home opener, a win over Gunnery. Mikey’s bases loaded triple helped to spark a rally by the Williston offense, giving the team a huge lead enroute to a 19-10 win.. As a senior team captain, Mikey leads by example. His performance on the field is matched by his work ethic off the field and passion for the game is contagious.

 

 

 

hatchDSC_0123Maddie Hatch ‘14

Maddie played outstanding lacrosse for the girls’ varsity team in both contests last week against Hotchkiss and Wilbraham & Monson. In addition to her numerous assists and draws, Maddie had 4 key goals in each contest for the Wildcats. As a senior captain, Maddie leads her team by example on and off the field. Maddie’s hard work and dedication to the sport is second to none and her leadership will guarantee the further development of the team.

 

poDSC_0113Loren Po ‘15

Loren was the “Man of the Match” in Saturday’s boys’ varsity tennis match against Gunnery. He exemplified outstanding determination, sportsmanship and a can-do attitude during his win. Loren split the first two sets, then during the tie breaker, Loren quickly went down 0-4. He faced the adversity and didn’t give up comingh back to win 10-5, which clinched the overall match win for Williston! The junior’s determination showed the Williston tennis team what it takes to be successful on and off the court!

Winter Athletic Awards Announced

Director of Athletics Mark Conroy announced the winter season athletic awards and spoke about the nine winter teams during assembly on Friday, March 28th. Below are the sport highlights and award winners for each team.

Girls Basketball

This winter was another successful season for our girls basketball program. The JV squad had a very strong season under Coaches Thompson and Schneider, finishing with a 10-5 record.  Highlights included an exciting two-point victory at Westminster and decisive victories over rivals Suffield and Wilbraham and Monson.

Continue reading

Swimmers Excel at Championships

aquadroDSC_0385The girls swim and diving team finished off a great season with a strong showing at the NEPSAC Division II Championships on Saturday at Westminster School in Simsbury, CT. Natalie Aquadro ’17 set a meet record in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.34) taking first in the event for the second year in a row and followed up that swim with a second place finish in the 200 IM. Sally Alrutz ’19 set a Williston school record while taking second place in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:02.09 and in her other individual event swam to a second place finish in the 100 butterfly. Emily Yeager ’17 had a break out meet finishing fourth in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Maya Soley ’18 put together an impressive day with a third place finish in the 200 IM and a fourth place finish in the 500 freestyle. Ashley Fitch ’15 put together strong swims in the 200 and 500 freestyle finishing tenth and ninth respectively.  The girls relay team of Alrutz, Aquadro, Soley, and Yeager also swam to third place finishes in the 200 Medley and 400 Freestyle relays.

 

fitchDSC_0615The Williston boys swim team led by senior captains Matt Wagman and Wilder Denholmn, along with Calvin Frye ’16 and  David Fitch ’17 put together some excellent swims today to finish a great season in style. The four boys teamed up for two third place finishes in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays in closely contested races. Denholm finished sixth in the 50 and 100 freestyle. Fitch swam to an impressive second place in the 200 freestyle and finished eighth in the 100 freestyle. Frye finished 4th in the 200 freestyle and 11th in the 100 free. Alex Li ’15 finished an impressive fourth in the 100 backstroke and tenth in the 100 butterfly.

Athletes of the Week – February 24th

mccarthyDSC_0082Mary McCarthy ‘15

Mary has played well for the girls’ varsity basketball team all season. Her presence inside the paint has helped create a well-rounded offensive attack, and her rebounding ability helps keep the ball in Williston’s hands. Last week Mary scored a season high 20 points in the team’s win over Miss Porters. Mary’s positive attitude and drive to better herself on and off the court makes her an outstanding role model for the younger players on the team.

 

 

nowackiDSC_0009Tim Nowacki ‘14

Tim enjoyed an outstanding season as a goalie for the boys’ varsity hockey team. Last week, Tim was between the pipes for three games all won by the Wildcats, including a shutout against Winchendon. On the season he was tied for 8th in New England for the best save percentage with .924. Tim’s hard work, determination and a positive attitude have benefitted the team all season long.

 

bakerDSC_0049Hannah Baker ‘17

As a freshman, Hannah continues to lead the girls’ jv basketball team with her all-around play. Hannah had 5 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals in limited time against Miss Porter’s​, and then played almost the entire game against Choate, scoring 16 of her team’s 21 points, (including 3 consecutive three-pointers), and pulling down 7 rebounds against a much taller, undefeated squad.

 

ostbergDSC_0195Ian Ostberg ‘17

Ian was the boys’ third basketball team’s point guard and leading scorer this year. Ian had a fantastic last game on Friday in which he scored a season high 20 points in the victory over Easthampton.  Ian has also contributed to the team with strong defensive effort. Ian exemplifies great sportsmanship and his positive attitude is infectious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Girls Hockey and Basketball Reach Post-Season Tournaments

jerolmanDSC_0339Williston’s girls varsity basketball and hockey teams have qualified for NEPSAC post-season tournaments.

The hockey team returns to the Division One tournament for the fourth time in five years. The Wildcats are seeded 7th and will travel to 2nd seeded St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH on Wednesday for a 5:00 p.m. game

baumDSC_0479The basketball team has reached the post-season for the first time since 2010. Williston is seeded 8th in the Class B tournament and will travel to top seeded Tilton School (Tilton, NH) on Wednesday for a 4:15 p.m. tipoff.

Here is a link to the schedules for all winter season NEPSAC tournaments.

 

Girls Varsity Squash Wins New Englands

wongDSC_0685The girls varsity squash team won the New England Interscholastic Squash Association Class C Tournament by a margin of one point, 50-49, over Kingswood-Oxford School and six other schools on Saturday, February 22nd at Millbrook School.

Led by senior co-captains Olivia Foster and Alysha Wong, who won the 3rd and 4th flights respectively, the Wildcats prevailed in five of seven positions—and then held their breath as seniors Shaina D’Souza and Camila Paiva won the last two crucial matches to secure the team’s first-ever squash championship.

Sophomore Caroline Borden, Junior Hannah Lee and sophomore Kira Wilson won the 5th, 6th and 7th flights to set the stage for the clinching senior performances.  The girls won 19 of 21 matches (and went 57-14 in games). Overall, it was an impressive display of athleticism and fair play.

Christina Zalewski Scores 100th Point

zalewski 100Christina Zalewski ’14 (Canonsburg, PA) became the 4th varsity girls hockey player in Williston history to notch 100 points when she assisted on a goal in the team’s 5-1 victory over NMH on February 12th.  Christina accomplished this feat in a remarkable three years.  It has been a extraordinary era of success for Williston girls hockey as she is the 3rd player to achieve this milestone in three years.  Previous 100 point scorers included Alex Starzyk ’13, Katherine Tomaselli ’12, and MacKenzie Lee ’08.  Zalewski has a chance to add to her total as she finishes her career this week with three more games.

Athletes of the Week – February 17th

st martinDSC_0263Patrick St. Martin ‘14

Pat has been an outstanding captain, leader and inspiration to his teammates on the varsity wrestling team.  He has amassed an impressive 26-3 record losing to just two different opponents this season.  He has an infectious enthusiasm and positive energy that he shares readily with everyone around him. Last weekend Pat finished 2nd in the New England Tournament, eventually falling to his opponent in a hard fought double overtime match. Pat will compete in the National Prep Wrestling Tournament this weekend at Lehigh University.

 

deverryIMG_6722Devin DeVerry ‘17

During the New England Ski Championships at Loon Mountain on Wednesday Devin placed 5th in the Giant Slalom and 6th in Slalom helping lead the team to a 3rd place finish of the 14 teams in the field. Devin has been a leader on and off the mountain all year long.

 

 

largayDSC_0446Kaylee Largay ‘14

Kaylee has been a positive leader for the girls JV hockey team for the past four years. She is a dependable and extremely hard working player. She is a role model for the younger players and her sportsmanship is second to none. Kaylee has been a team leader in scoring all four years and has helped the JV girls’ hockey team accumulate a 20-2-1 record over the past two years.

 

 

cavazuttiDSC_0478Emily Cavazuti ‘14

Emily has been a positive influence and leader on the girls jv hockey team for four years. She is a team captain who leads her team both on and off the ice. She is always willing to play anywhere her team needs her on the ice, even if it isn’t her usual position. Emily leads by example by constantly displaying good sportsmanship and by encouraging her teammates when she is off the ice. Emily has been a team leader in scoring all four years and has helped the JV girls’ hockey team accumulate a 20-2-1 record over the past two years.