Williston’s Girls Varsity Tennis team capped off their great season by capturing First Place at the Suffield Tennis Tournament on Saturday.

Williston’s number one, Julie Lord ’16, started the morning with a great focus and energy, beating all of her opponents 8-0 in the first three rounds of play. Lord was pushed to produce her best tennis of the day in the finals, but she was up for the task. She was crowned overall tournament champion, after she ended her Wildcat tennis career with a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 win over her opponent from the Gunnery.

Williston’s number two singles, Toula Sierros ’16, was equally dominant in her flight. Sierros won all of three of her round-robin matches by a wide margin before defeating the Gunnery’s number two singles player, 6-2, 6-1.  Sierros will remain a student-athlete in the Pioneer Valley this fall when she begins her academic and tennis career at Smith College. Continue reading →

On Sunday, Williston’s Varsity Softball team defeated top-seeded and defending champion Westminster School 5-1 to win the Western New England Class A Prep School Softball Championship. The second seeded Wildcats nipped Taft School 1-0 in their semi-final match up on Saturday at Galbraith Fields in Easthampton.

The championship game was played on Westminster’s campus under cloudy skies. Williston, which hit the ball well all day, jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning.  Jordan Strum led off with a single and stolen base and was driven in by a Gabby Jones (E. Longmeadow) double. Jones then stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by senior captain Delaney Belinskas. In the fourth inning Belinskas and catcher Morgan Fisher led off with singles and executed a double steal to put both runners in scoring position. A timely two out single by A’Shaela Chaires (Springfield) plated both base runners, and Williston added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Continue reading →

The Girls Varsity Tennis team finished its highly-successful regular season with 8 wins and 3 losses after defeating Berkshire School at home on Wednesday. Six Wildcats will be traveling to Suffield Academy this Saturday to compete in the annual Suffield Tennis Tournament.

Julie Lord ’16 will be playing for the Wildcats in the number 1 Singles tournament. Lord has had an outstanding senior season, with 20 wins and just two closely-contested losses.  With her powerful game and competitive spirit, Julie he has a great chance to win the entire tournament.

Toula Sierros ’16 will represent Williston in the number 2 Singles tournament. Toula’s many weapons, including a big first serve and strong ground strokes, make her a dangerous player for her opponents. When this talented player is on her game, she is truly impressive. Continue reading →

Rachel Rockwell ’16 broke the 100-meter hurdles record with a time of 15.1 seconds at a track meet on May 14.  The previous record was set in 1990 by Catherine Saint Louis ’92, who was inducted into Williston’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday as a member of the 1991 Girls Cross-Country team.

“When I saw my time,” Rockwell said, “I looked at my mom right away and told her, ‘I ran a 15.1. I think I broke the school record!’

“I gave her a giant hug, and I was so happy she was here to see it on my senior day.  She drove all the way from Ohio to see the meet.”

Rockwell set her sights on breaking the 100-meter hurdles record her freshman year. “I knew with a couple of years of hard training, I could shave a second off my time,” she said. “My hurdles coach, Mrs. McCullagh, has really pushed me to become better and really focus on the little things, like helping me bring my trail leg through faster.” Continue reading →

Dale Lash attended Oil City High School in Pennsylvania where he was the captain of the basketball team.  He then attended Springfield College where his team won the New England Championship his senior year.  He graduated from Springfield in 1923 and received his master’s degree from New York University.

Dale Lash came to Williston Academy after 18 years of coaching at Wesleyan University, where he won ten Little Three Championships en-route to a 148-95 record. With a competing offer from Springfield College to coach basketball at his alma mater, he chose to accept the position at Williston because of his interest in mentoring and coaching young people. He was athletic director from 1942 to 1967 and also coached basketball, football, and baseball for 14 seasons from 1942 to 1956. Highlights as Williston coach were the undefeated basketball team of 1945, with outstanding player and 2015 Hall of Fame inductee, Tony Lavelli, and the undefeated football team of 1947. Continue reading →

Westcott E.S. Moulton ’27, one of Williston Academy’s first true ice hockey superstars, was posthumously inducted into the Williston Athletic Hall of Fame during a ceremony at Reunion on May 13.

Moulton, who was often known as Wes, attended Williston Academy for two years.  During that time he played varsity football, ice hockey, and baseball.  He was named captain in his senior year in both football and ice hockey, while earning All New England honors in baseball.

It was in ice hockey that Moulton truly shined. In a total of 11 games over two seasons, Moulton scored 48 goals while the rest of the team scored 29. He made an amazing 15 of 18 goals in his senior year. He was named to Williston’s First Half Century Team (1900-1950). Continue reading →

Laura Hurd ’01, who was posthumously inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame during a ceremony at Reunion May 13, was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and attended Williston Northampton for two years. A two-year starter in soccer, ice hockey, and track, Hurd was known for her tenacious determination, competitive spirit, and unfailing love of life. Her mother, Jennifer, accepted the award on her daughter’s behalf, and Rachel Rockwell ’16 presented the award.

After graduation, Hurd attended Elmira College, which was just starting a women’s ice hockey program.  Over the course of the next four years, she rewrote the record books for Division III Women’s Ice Hockey in leading Elmira to two National Division III titles.  A four-time First Team All-American forward, Hurd still holds the NCAA Division III record for career scoring with 237 points, leading the nation in scoring her senior year and being named ECAC Player of the Year. She also holds NCAA Division III records for points in a season (77), points in a career (120 goals, 117 assists), points per game in a season (2.75), points per game in a career (2.15), goals in a season (40), goals in a career (120), assists in a career (117) and assists per game (1.06). Continue reading →

Stephen Durant ’64 attended Williston for five years and proved himself to be one of greatest athletes to ever attend the school.  As a three-year member of the varsity football team, Durant was a two-time Boston Herald All-New England Prep School Team selection.  The fact that he was named to the team at two different positions – quarterback and fullback – made the feat even more impressive.

In 1964, with the football team on its way to a New England championship, Durant gained 305 yards while averaging 5.5 yards per carry and, more impressively, never lost yardage. In 1964, he was named the Stimets Trophy winner as well as the Frank Boyden Award winner, given to the Top Western Mass Prep School Scholar-Football player. In 1963 he was named the Connecticut Valley Scholar Athlete recipient. Continue reading →

For only the second time in Williston’s history, the 1991 Girls Cross-Country team took first place in the Division II New England Championships, capping an undefeated season.  Out of seventy runners at the championships, Williston finished with five girls in the top twenty, led by Seana and Suzanne Zelazo, who finished third and ninth respectively.  Priscilla Fusco Kanzer finished 12^th, Tara Sheehan finished 18^th and co-captain Natalie Munk crossed the line in 19^th place.  Other members of the team included Catherine Saint Louis, co-captain Mecina Bottaro, Lissy Neumann, Megan Ross, Jodi Ryder and Amanda Patterson. Continue reading →

Abbie Coscia ’19 broke the single-season scoring record of 48 goals   during the Wildcats’ water polo match against Staples last week. Maddy Stern ’14 previously held the record, which she set in 2014. Coscia currently has 64 goals in the team’s 2016 campaign, and with one regular season game remaining against Loomis and the NEPSAC tournament on the horizon, she is eager add to her total.

The Holyoke native complimented her teammates after setting her record. She said, “When I realized I broke the record as a freshman, I was really proud of my accomplishment; however, I couldn’t have done it without the help of my teammates and my coach.” Continue reading →