Julie Lord ‘16

Julie had exceptional wins for the girls’ varsity tennis team in her last two matches. She was victorious against both Westminster’s and Deerfield’s number one singles players. In both of these matches, she was tested by strong players but was able to use her powerful groundstrokes and serve effectively. She also demonstrated intelligent shot selection and mental toughness in these matches. Julie’s work ethic and her ability to lead by example makes her a great role model for the younger players on the team.

Andrew Liu ‘15

Andrew plays a crucial role on the boys’ varsity lacrosse team as the face-off man. At the face-off, Andrew has won nearly 60% of his draws this year, which has amounted to 70+ possessions for Williston’s offense. Last week he was 11/18 against Wilbraham and Monson, and 10/12 against Hopkins. Andrew’s play has been vital to the success of the team this season.

Kelly Killeen ‘16

Kelly has pitched very well for the jv baseball team. Recently he went 5 1/3 innings against Salisbury to get the win and a full 7 innings giving up no earned runs in the team’s win over Rectory. Kelly’s attitude, composure and work ethic are a tremendous example for the players on his team.

Gabby Thomas ’15 started the track season off with a bang setting two school records in the team’s season opening meet against Cheshire and Millbrook. Thomas, who had set both records in 2013,  long jumped 18’ 5” to break her old mark of 17’ 7 1/2” and triple jumped 36’ 11 1/2” surpassing her previous record of 36’ 6”. Thomas also holds the school record in the 100m dash with a time of 12.02 set at the New England Championships last year.

Maddy 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.

JD 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.

Jess 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.

Arvin 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 (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

Mikey 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.

Maddie 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.

Loren 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!

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 →

The 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.

The 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.

Mary 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.

Tim 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.

Hannah 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.

Ian 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.

Williston’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

The 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.

The 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.