Jared Freilich of Worcester, a starting pitcher on Williston Northampton School’s Varsity Baseball team for one year, has signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Kentucky this fall.

“Jared worked very hard in the fall and winter preparing for the season,” said his coach, Matthew Sawyer. Freilich had a back injury several years ago and needed to condition to prepare for play. “Then, he worked at his mechanics and now uses his 6’5” frame very well,” Sawyer added. Continue reading →

Williston’s two most prestigious senior athletic awards, the George Denman Bowl for boys and the Alumnae Bowl for girls, were awarded to five Williston seniors at the conclusion of last Friday’s athletic ceremony.  The prizes are awarded to seniors whose contribution to the athletic program have been characterized by exceptional achievement, faithful participation, and loyal devotion to the best interests of the school.

This year’s Denman Award was shared by three exceptional senior boys.   Michael Dereus was the first mentioned recipient.  He has been a terrific two-sport athlete during his two years at Williston.   During the fall, Dereus was an outstanding receiver for the Varsity Football team, averaging over 20 yards per catch, while totaling a school record of 19 touchdown receptions in the past two years.  He was named all-league both years and All-New England as a senior.   During the spring season, Mike brought his great speed and athleticism to the track and field program where he captained the team.  He was undefeated in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, breaking the school records in both events.  At the NEPSAC championships, he was named the Most Outstanding Male Competitor of the meet.  He is regarding by his coaches as a tremendous team player, whose work ethic and self-less approach made him a exceptional young man to coach. Continue reading →

Friday’s athletic assembly concluded by recognizing Williston’s graduating student-athletes who will compete for their respective college programs in the coming months. Below is a list of Wildcats bound for NCAA competition during the 2016-2017 academic year.

Patrick Beaton – Football & Baseball, Bates College

Delaney Belinskas – Ice Hockey, Boston College

Zachary Bernstein – Baseball, Bates College Continue reading →

On Friday, May 27th, Director of Athletics Mark Conroy held the annual spring athletic assembly to recognize the outstanding athletic achievements from this past season.  Williston’s athletic teams had a very successful spring that included setting new records, winning New England championships, and having a great deal of fun in the process.

Softball

Led by coaches Amber Rodgers, Molly Ward and Allison Marsland, Varsity Softball enjoyed a terrific season finishing with a record of 10-3.   After dropping their first two games, the girls got on a roll, enjoying decisive victories over Berkshire and Deerfield and a number of thrilling one run victories over Cheshire, Loomis and Stoneleigh Burnham.

For the third year in a row the girls qualified for the Western New England Class A League Tournament – this time earning a #2 seed and a match-up with #3 seeded Taft.  The girls advanced to the finals with a 1-0 victory thanks to the outstanding pitching of sophomore Jordan Strum and excellent defense.   This victory set up a championship game at Westminster against the defending champions. Continue reading →

Boys Lacrosse Captain Nick Garofano ’16 was honored when the New England Secondary School Lacrosse Association selected their All-American award winners. Garofano is Williston’s first boys lacrosse player to earn All-American honors.

After four highly-successful seasons for the Wildcats, the Yorktown Heights, NY, native finished his career second in goals (111), second in points (199), and as the all-time leader in assists (88).

Garofano led the team in points this spring after recording 34 goals and 19 assists in 16 games, and he was selected to the Western New England Division II All-League team. Between Garofano’s freshman and junior year, he scored a total of 77 goals and tallied 69 assists, and he was named as the League’s Offensive Player of the Year last season. Continue reading →

Danielle Grant ’16 and Haley Beecher ’18

The newly-formed doubles partnership of Danielle Grant and Haley Beecher paid off for the Girls’ Varsity Tennis team this past Saturday, as the duo went undefeated and won their flight at the Suffield Tournament. After sweeping past their first three matches over Pomfret (8-3), Suffield (8-1), and Marianapolis (8-0), Danielle and Haley handily defeated the The Gunnery in the finals, 6-1, 6-1.  Both girls were last-minute additions to the doubles team before the tournament, and the points they collected helped the Wildcats edge Gunnery by one point to win the overall tournament crown for the team. Continue reading →

Varsity Basketball standout Chris Hudson ’16 signed a letter of intent to attend Bentley University this fall.  Hudson is the second Wildcat to sign for the Falcons this year, as teammate Sam Geschickter ’16 put pen to paper for Coach Jay Lawson’s squad earlier this winter.

Hudson played a major part in Varsity Basketball’s success over the past two seasons, which saw the Wildcats win two consecutive New England Prep School Athletic Conference Class A Championships. The Maine native captained this year’s championship team and was named to the NEPSAC Class A All-Star Second Team.

“He has had a ball in his hand for as long as I can remember,” said Robin Hudson, Chris’ mother. “He developed a passion for basketball by playing in the driveway with his older brother, Josh. They would play for hours.” Continue reading →

Williston senior Mike Dereus set a New England Prep School Track Association Division II record in the 100-meter dash at the New England Championships last Saturday with a time a 10.84 seconds. Dereus also won the 200-meter dash in 22.28 seconds and was named the Championship’s Most Outstanding Athlete.

“Before the race I was a nervous wreck,” the Hyde Park, Massachusetts-native admitted as the 100-meter dash approached. “I didn’t know what to expect from my competition because I had not raced against them before.”

However, Dereus was able to stay focused on his pre-race routine with help from his coaches. “I had a lot of pep talk from my coaching staff, including Mr. Rivers,” Dereus said.  Coach Rivers “just kept telling me to, ‘think like a lion,’ despite what the circumstances were.” Continue reading →