During the spring athletic assembly on Friday, May 23, Director of Athletics Mark Conroy recognized the individual spring teams, honored the Class of 2014’s participation in the athletic program, and talked about a year of success in Wildcat Athletics. The assembly kicked off a weekend of year end events and ceremonies that culminated with Commencement.
Jump to the section on:
Coach Tributes
Ultimate
Crew
Girls Water Polo
Boys Golf
Girls Golf
Boys Tennis
Girls Tennis
Boys Baseball
Girls Softball
Boys Lacrosse
Girls Lacrosse
Track and Field
Individual Senior Awards
Mr. Conroy also thanked five coaches who would not be returning in the fall and gave the following tributes:
“The first young lady is leaving us after two years. She took on a great deal of responsibility early on as she served as our head field hockey coach. She also enthusiastically coached squash and lacrosse. We will miss her positive spirit, her love of competition and her wonderful sense of sportsmanship. Could I ask Logan Brown to come forward to accept our thanks.
The next coach I would like to thank this morning has worked at Williston for the past three years coaching in the wrestling program and helping to facilitate our participation in Hamp Crew. Could I ask David Sanders to come forward to accept our thanks.
The next coach I want to recognize this morning has given great service to our program for the past six years. He actually began his tenure at Williston working in the Athletic Department. Over the years he has coached soccer, golf, baseball and, of course, basketball where he served as our head boys coach. His love of competition and athletics in general were a constant part of his contribution to our program. Will Mike Athas please come forward to accept our thanks.
The last two departing members of our coaching staff deserve special recognition because they are both retiring from Williston after a remarkable 32 years—they both started at Williston in the fall of 1982. (Just to put this in perspective, consider that there were probably 15-20 faculty members that were not even born yet!)
The first young lady contributed to our athletic program in many capacities over her many years at Williston. A little known fact is that she actually preceded Mr. Tuleja as our head girls cross country coach back in the early 80s. I will miss her dearly because she has always been one of those people who is quick to volunteer or lend a hand whenever I was in a pinch. Could I ask Claire Frierson to come forward and accept our thanks.
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The second young man I want to recognize has been an invaluable member of our coaching staff for all of his 32 years coaching a number of competitive sports at Williston. He, undoubtedly, made his greatest contribution to our squash program where he enthusiastically served as the program’s head coach for many years. In addition to his significant coaching contribution, he too was always one of the first people to pitch in and lend a hand no matter what the task. His selflessness, his enthusiasm for coaching and his love of Williston were always a huge part of his significant contribution to our program. Could I ask Stan Samuelson to come forward to accept our thanks.”
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Spring Review
Ultimate
This spring, for the first time, Williston offered Ultimate as an afternoon program offering. Under the enthusiastic guidance of Coaches Rutherford and Garcia, 15 boys and five girls played in nine games and three tournaments. The team finished with a record of 10-13, which was amazing for their first year. The team’s first win came in a thrilling sudden victory point against NMH’s JV team. The team played in three tournaments this spring, competing in the Division II bracket: placing 2nd at the NMH tournament, 11th at the Four Rivers tournament, and 5th at the NEPSUL Championships at Deerfield.
Crew
Seven Williston students competed this spring in the Northampton Community Rowing program. Chase Tanguay, Josh Simpson, Kelby Reid and Teddy Wolfe were all strong competitors this year on the boys varsity team. Josh Simpson rowed in the boat that made it to the semi-finals of the US Rowing Northeast Regional Championships.
On the girls’ team, Amelia DeFrancis, Sofia Triana and Maggie White competed on the varsity squad this season. Amelia and Sofia were part of the varsity 4 that placed sixth at the Lowell Invitational. Maggie competed in the second varsity girls’ boat that advanced to the semi-finals in both the Lowell Invitational and US Rowing NE Championships.
Congratulations to all the rowers on a terrific spring season!
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Girls Water Polo
Led by Coaches Berghoff and Brown, our determined girls water polo team had its best season in Williston history. There were many highlights during the season, including beating Deerfield and sweeping rival Suffield. Junior Mary McCarthy had a terrific season in goal as she set both the saves record of 197 and the save percentage record of nearly 70 percent. Senior captain Maddy Stern deserves special recognition this morning. Maddy was a three time captain and three time MVP. Maddie also set two school records this spring: most goals in a season with 48, and most goals in a career with 136.
MVP: Maddy Stern ’14
Most Improved Player: Abbie Coscia ’19
Sportsmanship: Annika Smith ’15
Next year’s captains will be: Aubrey Berghoff ’15, Emily Grussing ’15, Mary McCarthy ’15, Annika Smith ‘15
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Boys Golf
Boys Junior Varsity Golf
The JV team, led by Coaches Whipple and Niedzwecki, demonstrated improvement throughout the season highlighted by victories over Suffield, Berkshire, and Rectory.
MVP: Daisuke Sasakawa ‘16
Most Improved Player: Jo LaBreque ‘15
Sportsmanship: Issei Nakano ‘17
Boys Varsity Golf
After losing 8 out of 9 varsity golfers to graduation last spring, Coach Fay expected this season to be the start of a rebuilding process. However, the team exceeded his expectations in their performance and development. A solid win over Suffield Academy in the first match of the season was certainly a highlight. Undoubtedly, the team’s best performance was a tough mid- season quad match down in Connecticut. The team averaged just over a 39 with 8th grader Tim Fay and freshmen Noah DeVos and Jacob Zaranek leading the way to victories over Kingswood and Choate. The team completed the regular season with decisive wins over Cushing and Vermont. With such a young and talented team, the future is bright for the boys’ varsity golf team.
MVP: Jacob Zaranek ‘17
Most Improved Player: Alex Fabbri ‘15
Sportsmanship: Mat Sulda ‘14
Captains for next year: Jacob Zaranek ’17, Alex Fabbri ‘15
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Girls Golf
Girls Junior Varsity Golf
This year for the first time, we fielded a JV girls golf team, led by Coach Liz Kay. This young group of golfers demonstrated steady improvement throughout the season and finished on a positive note by sweeping both of their matches with Rectory.
MVP: Julia Krupp ‘15
Most Improved: Dohee Kim ‘17
Sportsmanship: Lucy Du ‘14
Girls Varsity Golf Team
Led by Coach Ann Pickrell, the varsity girls golf team compiled an excellent 9-4 record this spring. Highlights included team victories over Hotchkiss, Choate, and Westover. The team narrowly lost to rival Loomis on the final putt on the ninth hole in two separate matches, while sweeping home and away matches over Ethel Walker, Miss Porter’s and Miss Hall’s. The three members of the Class of 2014—Olivia Foster, Allie Lewis and Taylor Senecal—compiled a 74-28-11 match play record. Olivia Foster set a school record with 51 career matches, the most of any golfer in the 12-year history of our girls’ golf program.
Olivia was honored with the New England-wide Izzy Marley Award, given to a senior who “is an accomplished golfer, has intent to play in college, does community service, and is a strong student-athlete!” This award was presented at the NEPSAC Pippy O’Connor Tournament held on May 12. Congratulations, Olivia!
MVP: Taylor Senecal ‘14
Most Improved: Nancy Kang ‘17
Sportsmanship: Olivia Foster ‘14
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Boys Tennis
Boys Junior Varsity Tennis
Coach John Kahane’s JV tennis team finished with a 6-3 record, highlighted by exciting victories over Suffield, Wilbraham and Monson, and NMH.
MVP: Vasken Fereshetian ‘16, Wiley Jung ‘17
Most Improved Player: Ben Griffiths ‘19, Noah Jackson ‘15
Sportsmanship: Jakub Lich ‘16
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Boys Tennis
Boys Varsity Tennis
Under Coach Ryan Tyree’s leadership, the boys varsity tennis team faced a season of ups and downs, but battled hard throughout. The team started out great, nearly upsetting recent powerhouse Cheshire before falling 3-4. The team played some tough matches, beating Gunnery handily 5-2 and dropping a nail biter to Millbrook 3-4. A decisive late season win over Wilbraham and Monson was a highlight. Captain Alex Kozikowski had a personal best season with a winning record including a streak of his last 5 matches.
A. L. Hepworth MVP Award: Alex Kozikowski ‘14
Most Improved Player: Nile Buranasiri ‘15
Sportsmanship: Tiger Liu ‘14
Next year’s captains will be: Nile Buranasiri ’15, Loren Po ‘15
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Girls Tennis
Girls Junior Varsity Tennis
Coach Choo’s JV girls tennis team (with a big assist from Mr. Thompson) demonstrated steady improvement throughout the season, highlighted by an exciting victory over local rival Wilbraham & Monson and a thrilling 4-3 victory over Berkshire.
MVP: Lizzie Sheline ‘16
Most Improved Player: Suzy Abreu ‘16
Sportsmanship: Maddie Motsinger ‘15
Girls Varsity Tennis
Coach Charlotte Wilinsky’s varsity team finished the season with a winning record for the first time since 2010. There were many highlights during the season, including convincing victories over both Cushing and Wilbraham and Monson and sweeping both matches against NMH. The biggest match highlight was defeating Loomis for the first time since 2006 in a thrilling 4-3 victory. The girls finished their season on a high note with a third place finish at the Suffield Invitational Tournament held on the final Saturday. #1 singles player Julie Lord came in third in the first singles division, while Toula Sierros came in fourth in the second singles division. The doubles team of Abbie Foster and Jordan Capelle came in second in the first doubles division.
MVP: Julie Lord ‘15
Most Improved Player: Natalie Richard ‘17, Emily Yeager ‘17
Sportsmanship: Caroline Borden ’15, Gabby Mercier ’17
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Baseball
Boys Junior Varsity Baseball
The JV baseball team, led by Coaches Spearing and Cheney, played an exciting brand of baseball this spring, finishing with an excellent 7-2 record. Highlights included a 2-1 victory over Wilbraham and Monson and a season ending 11-9 victory over Suffield.
MVP: Justin Frometa ‘16
Most Improved Player: Matt Otting ‘17
Sportsmanship: Cody Cavanaugh ‘17
Boys Varsity Baseball
The varsity baseball team, led by Coaches Sawyer, McKillop, and Athas, had an up and down season finishing with a record of 7-8. There were several highlights during the season including a convincing opening game win over Gunnery and sweeping divisional rival Pomfret. The biggest highlight took place near the end of the season when, behind pitcher JJ Celentano’s strong effort, the boys knocked off Suffield 4-1. A season ending comeback victory over Canterbury was a great way to send out the team’s nine seniors.
Several players earned all-league recognition for their outstanding play. Earning Second Team honors were junior Jack Gethings, Jay Brennan, and Mikey Thomson. Earning First Team honors were Erik Ostberg and Ledell Robinson. Additionally, Erik capped off an excellent career by being named the Co-Cleary Division Player of the Year by the league’s coaches. This is the second year in a row that Erik earned this honor. Congratulations, Erik!
Walter R. Miller ’41 MVP: Erik Ostberg ’14 (second year in a row)
Most Improved Player: JJ Celentano ‘16
Sportsmanship: Terry O’Brien ‘15
Next year’s captain will be: Jack Gethings ’15
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Softball
Girls Varsity Softball
Led by Coaches Davey and Ward, varsity softball distinguished itself this spring by making the Western New England Class A tournament for the first time in six years and finishing with an 8-6 record. Highlights of their season included decisive victories over Hotchkiss and Hopkins, and three crucial victories in their last week: a convincing road win at Loomis, a thrilling 5-4 victory over NMH, and a tournament-clinching 14-11 victory over Suffield. This great finish earned the team the #3 seed in the tournament and the girls traveled to Choate to try to avenge a late season 8-6 loss. The girls had a great comeback as senior Catie Laraway drove in the winning run with a two-run single. In the championship game at Westminster, the girls battled hard, but came up short to strong Martlet squad. The team averaged over 12 runs a game and were led in home runs by Meredith Peppes with four and Gabby Jones with three. Senior Sydney Belinskas was named to the league all-star team for her outstanding play.
MVP: Sydney Belinskas
Most Improved Player: Hannah Touzos
Sportsmanship: Liz Calderone
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Boys Lacrosse
Boys Junior Varsity Lacrosse
Coaches KaneLong, Hanford, and Briggs led our young JV team to a successful season, finishing with a winning 6-5 record. There were lots of great wins along the way, but overtime wins over Eaglebrook and Worcester Academy certainly count amongst the most exciting.
MVP: Parker Luber ’18, Julien Nicolas ‘17
Most Improved Player: Jaden Tanguay ‘18
Sportsmanship: Ben Moffett ’15, Arvin Fieldman ‘17
Boys Varsity Lacrosse
The varsity boys lacrosse team, led by Coaches Syfu, Dietrich and Johnson, competed hard all spring, finishing with a record of 7-8 including 5-2 in league play. Highlights of the boys’ season included convincing wins over local rivals Wilbraham & Monson and Suffield, a thrilling 9-8 win over Pomfret, and a season-ending 12-2 victory over Kingswood.
Four members of the team earned All-League distinction: sophomore Nick Garofano, junior Andrew Liu and seniors Seth Cupak and Max Willman. Additionally, Seth was also named the Western NE Division II Play of the Year. Congratulations Seth!
Frank Dorsey MVP: Seth Cupak ‘14
Most Improved Player: Shane Mason ‘16
Sportsmanship: Brian Schmidt ‘14
Captains for next year: Andrew Liu ’15, Curt McLeod ‘15
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Girls Lacrosse
Girls Thirds Lacrosse
Girls lacrosse at Williston had another outstanding season. The thirds team this spring was led once again by Sarah Sawyer. The highlight of their season was an exciting win over rival Wilbraham and Monson!
MVP: Kai McCalla ‘17
Most Improved Player: Sophie Cowperthwait ‘19
Sportsmanship: Maddie Elsea ‘19
Girls Junior Varsity Lacrosse
Coach Baldwin and Marsland’s JV team also had a very successful season with a strong 6-3 record highlighted by decisive victories over Choate, Suffield, and NMH.
MVP: Morgan Fogleman ‘16
Most Improved Player: Mika Sovjani ‘18
Sportsmanship: Caroline Channell ‘18
Girls Varsity Lacrosse
Led by Coaches Fulcher and Evans, the varsity girls lacrosse team had another remarkable season, finishing with a 14-1 record with a season-opening 11-9 loss to Hotchkiss as the only loss. Led by senior goalie Rosie Lacas, the team only four goals a game! In the past seven years, the girls lacrosse team record is an incredible 86 – 4.
While there were many great wins during this season, three victories stand out for Coach Fulcher. The first two were decisive home victories over perennially tough opponents Choate and Deerfield on Sawyer Field. The most exciting game of the season undoubtedly took place on a Friday night in late April at Loomis when the girls found themselves down 5-0. Demonstrating tremendous grit and determination, they stormed back to win a thrilling triple overtime victory 11-10!
In terms of postseason recognition, Maddie Hatch, Meg Swazlowski and Rosie Lacas were all named to the All-Western New England team while Gracie Simpson and Maddie Hatch were named NEPSAC All Stars. For Maddie, this is the second year in a row she has been named a NEPSAC All Star.
Davis Award for overall contribution: Maggie Fitzgerald ‘14
Most Improved Player Award: Maddie Hatch ‘14
MIP: Meg Rickard ‘16
Kate Risley ’93 Sportsmanship Award: Ana Fokas ‘14
Next year’s captains will be: Emma Lawrence ’15, Sam Newman ’15, Gracie Simpson ‘15
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Track and Field
Boys Varsity Track and Field
Both the boys and girls track teams enjoyed successful seasons. Highlights of the boys’ season included dual meet victories over Hopkins and Cheshire. At the New England championships, held at Tabor last Saturday, the boys finished in 10th place. Earning team points on the day were Aidan Greenwood, with a sixth in the high jump, and captain Jesse Ware with a fifth in the javelin. One boy deserves special mention this morning: Senior Alec Johnson became a NEPSAC champion when he defended his NEPSAC title in the pole vault with a vault of 12’6”. Could I ask Alec Johnson to stand and be recognized?
Frank Putnam MVP: Ade Adams ‘14
MIP: Sameer Jhaveri ‘15
Sportsmanship: Alex Massengill ‘14
Next year’s captains will be: Anthony Aquadro ’15, Stephen Goldsmith ’15, Aidan Greenwood ‘15
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Girls Varsity Track and Field
The girls track and field team had arguably its finest season in history. They swept through their dual meet season defeating all of their Division II opponents. At the New England championships the girls had an outstanding day finishing tied for second place with the Governor’s Academy. This was our highest finish ever! Could I ask the captains Bianca and Sylvia to come forward?
With only one senior scoring points, the team returns a very strong contingent next year. As you might expect, a number of girls are worthy of mention for their performances last Saturday:
• Senior Bianca Schultz finished in 6th place in the Pole Vault.
• Sophomore Sideya Dill finished 4th in the 400
• Sophomore Maddie Scott finished 4th in the 300 low hurdles
• Junior Mar Kuiper-Harris finished in 3rd place in the Shot Put.
Five girls are deserving of special mention this morning:
• Sophomore Rachel Rockwell earned a silver medal in the 100 high hurdles and became a NEPSAC champion when she won the Javelin with a throw of 106’8”. Rachel, can you please stand so we can recognize this great accomplishment?
• Also becoming NEPSAC champions last Saturday was our 4 x 100 relay team of freshman Rebecca Sundel, sophomore Sideya Dill and juniors Lena Gandevia and Gabby Thomas. They broke our school record three times this spring including last Saturday. Can I ask these young ladies to stand?
I do want to want to share a little more news this morning about Gabby Thomas’s performance last Saturday. I don’t think it is overstating that she enjoyed one of the finest performances by a track and field athlete in recent NEPSAC history and perhaps all of Williston’s track and field history; all told she won four gold medals on the day. In addition to her 4 x 100 gold medal, she also broke the school record in the 200 when she captured first place with a time of 24.75 just missing setting a New England record by 4/100s of a second. She also won a gold medal in the long jump when she defeated last year’s champion from Governor’s. And finally, she won the 100 meter title for the fourth year in a row.
Last year, she set the NEPSAC record, for any division, with a time of 12.06. Her winning time last Saturday was 11.74. Just to put this in perspective, the fastest time run in the state of Massachusetts by any girl this spring has been 12.02. This time puts her in the top 20 times run in the country this spring. She was the unanimous MVP of the NEPSAC championship meet. In addition to the 4 x 100, Gabby broke four school records this spring: 100, 200, Long Jump, Triple Jump. Can I ask Gabby to come forward so I can present her with this memento of her terrific season?
MVP: Gabby Thomas ’15 (fourth year in a row)
Most Improved Player: Kelli Peters ‘17
Sportsmanship: Maddy Scott ‘16
Next year’s captain will be: Ashley Fitch 15, Lena Gandevia ’15, Gabby Thomas ‘15
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Individual Awards
Students at Williston are encouraged to participate and get engaged in all aspects of our life here. Many of our graduating seniors have made an exceptional commitment to participating in our competitive athletic program. To honor this distinguished level of participation, the Athletic Department presents a senior award, the Blanket Award, to recognize those students who have participated on a team every season during their junior and senior year. For students who have been at Williston for more than two years, they are eligible for the award if they missed only one season during either their freshman or sophomore year. I would like to ask the following 25 seniors to come forward when I read your names. Please remain up front and we will applaud you as a group at the end.
One-year students: Brian Schmidt, Martha Dolan
Two-year students: Paul Accorsi, Debbie Sior, Jesse Ware
Three-year students: Maggie Fitzgerald, Alex Massengill, Matt Mei, Meredith Peppes, Bianca Schultz
15 students who have been here at LEAST four years: James Borden, Liz Calderone, Emily Cavazuti, Percy Chen, Maddie Hatch, Rosie Lacas, Kaylee Largay, Kevin McLaughlin, Nick Pattison, Taylor Potasky, Zach Pyser, Lindsay Richardson, Ledell Robinson, Mikey Thomson, Anton Wozniak
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It is our privilege this morning to award our two most prestigious senior athletic awards: the Denman Award for boys and the Alumnae Award for girls. Both awards are presented “for general excellence in athletics, with emphasis on good sportsmanship, and helpful spirit.” The award is determined by a vote of our program’s head coaches.
The Denman Award will be shared by two boys this spring.
The first recipient has only attended Williston for one year but has certainly left his mark on the program. In the winter, he captained our hockey team scoring over 40 points while earning both team MVP and All New England honors. He is the first All NE honoree on the boys’ hockey team in recent memory. This spring, he was an all-league midfielder on our Varsity Lacrosse team – his strong play and leadership were critical to the team’s success. He is widely considered by his coaches to be a outstanding competitor, a terrific leader and a great teammate. On behalf of our athletic program it gives us great pleasure to award the 2014 George E. Denman Award to Max Willman.
The second recipient has been a three-sport athlete for four years at Williston, earning nine letters along the way. During the fall, he was a two-time varsity football MVP while earning All-New England recognition during both his junior and senior year. He also tied the school record for most points in a season while accounting for 31 touchdowns and over 2,000 yards in eight games. During the winter season, he brought his athleticism to the basketball program where he earned letters the past two years. During the spring, he was the starting center fielder in baseball for three years while earning All-League recognition in both his junior and senior years. He is regarding by his coaches as a fearless competitor who always played his best in the biggest games. On behalf of the athletic program it gives us great pleasure to award this 2014 Denman Award to Ledell Robinson.
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The 2014 Alumnae Award will be also be shared this year by two girls.
The first recipient has been an outstanding contributor to our program during her four years at Williston. In the fall, she captained our varsity girls soccer team from her center midfield position while earning both MVP honors and All New England recognition. During the winter, she demonstrated her exceptional athleticism by winning four letters: three in girls basketball and one in swimming. Beyond her significant achievement in our program, she is widely considered by all of her coaches a selfless teammate, a tireless competitor, and a wonderful ambassador of our athletic program. It gives us great pleasure to award this 2014 Alumnae Award to Gia Parker.
The second recipient had an equally impressive career at Williston during her six years here, earning 14 letters. In the fall, she captained of our varsity soccer team; the team earned a postseason bid every year she was in the program. In the winter, she earned five letters playing on our very successful varsity girls hockey team. During the spring, it would be an understatement to say that she has been significant contributor to our girls lacrosse program. A four-year letter winner, she led the team this spring to a 14-1 record while earning All-New England recognition the past two years. Beyond her outstanding accomplishments, she too is widely considered by her coaches for her her competitive fire and exceptional leadership. It gives us great pleasure to award this 2014 Alumnae Award to Maddie Hatch.
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Even at a school with a storied history of swimming success, the 1972-73 boys team was a standout. The only undefeated swimming team in school history, the boys finished the year with a 12-0 record. It is no surprise the team was comprised of six All-Americans: Jan Kaplowitz in three events: 50 Free, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay; Tim Wallace in three events: 200 Medley Relay, 100 Fly, 400 Medley Relay; Tom MacDonnell in two events: 200 Medley Relay and 400 Medley Relay; Chris Stack in two events: 200 Free and 400 Free; Jay Cilfone: 200 Medley Relay; and Scott Nicholson: 400 Medley Relay.
