Was there any title that Patrick Rissmiller ’97 didn’t earn? It doesn’t seem likely. During his time at Williston, the ice hockey star (who also the most valuable player and All-League selection for soccer and team captain in lacrosse) led the team to a 23-4 record. For those keeping score, that’s the most wins in school history.
“My parents wanted me to repeat my junior year in high school,” said Mr. Rissmiller of on his two years at Williston Northampton. “It worked out great.”
In his senior year, Mr. Rissmiller was named both captain and MVP. While cranking out enough points to put him third for all-time single season totals, Mr. Rissmiller was named an All-New England selection, and NEPSAC West Senior All-Star. He was also selected to play for the Team Massachusetts in Chicago Showcase.
“He’s the guy you want out there (on the ice) if you’ve got a penalty shot. He’ll put it past most goalies,” said Mike Fay, boys varsity ice hockey coach. “He’s just a really creative player who sees the game well and makes things happen.”
Out on the cross-country course, no one could catch Martha Grinnell ’85. They still can’t — Ms. Grinnell’s course record of 19.40 over 3.3 miles still stands.
Ms. Grinnell, who went undefeated in dual meets over two years and was one of the most decorated runners in the school’s history, held course records at five schools by the time she graduated. As captain of Williston Northampton’s team, Ms. Grinnell set records for both the 1,500 meters (5:01.3) and 3,000 meters (10:32.4).
She was no slouch off the course, either. At graduation, Ms. Grinnell was presented with the White Blazer, as the top senior girl.
Whether he was taking to the court or the field, Mark Timm ’76 was simply outstanding — at almost any sport. While earning 12 varsity letters over the course of his time at Williston, Mr. Timm was also named captain for three sports.
To kick off his freshmen year, Mr. Timm was named starting quarterback on the varsity football team. He passed for 609 yards and ran for 192 yards, leading his team in both statistics.
David “Duff” Tyler ’63 was a record-setting swimmer and soccer player. As part of the 1963 swimming team, he set national prep records in three events—50 free, 100 free, and 200 free—and was named All-American for both those events and three others—200 medley relay, 200 free relay, and 100 butterfly.
Mr. Tyler continued his domination at Trinity College, where he was named All-American three times, was a national champion in the 500 free, a national runner-up in the 200 free, and set seven Trinity records.
Boys varsity baseball captain Erik Ostberg has made an early impact on the season thus far. Erik was 5-8 this week with two doubles and a triple. He also scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI. On the season he is hitting .615 with a .733 OBP and a 1.077 Slugging Percentage. Erik leads the team in RBI with four and he has also played a key defensive role behind the plate at catcher.
Caroline Borden ’16 and Yoonji Kim ‘15
New double partners Caroline Borden and Yoonji Kim have been an outstanding duo for the girls’ varsity tennis team. Always arriving eager and prepared for practices and matches, the pair has shown exemplary leadership, commitment, and motivation. Coach Wilinsky says, “They are a true pleasure to coach and an inspiration to their teammates.” Undefeated in third doubles so far, Caroline and Yoonji look to pursue a successful season as doubles partners.
Mackenzie Possee ‘15
In the JV girl’s lacrosse home opener against Miss Porter’s, Mackenzie Possee made an impressive showing in her first-ever game in net. Making save after save Mackenzie was able to keep the Williston girls in the game leading them to a 12-10 victory. Mackenzie always brings a positive attitude and has proven to be a true leader on and off the field.
The 1963 football team had a perfect 7-0 record under the leadership of Coach Rick Francis and captains Dick Buckley ‘64 and Bob Montgomery ‘64. In the first undefeated (and untied) season since 1895, the Williston Academy team was the highest scoring prep team in New England.
In 1953, the boys swimming team was among the strongest in the nation. Led by Coach Wilmot Babcock, the swimmers had an average meet score of 48.1-25.7 (+22.4) and formed one of the top 10 teams in the country — on a list that included colleges.
Among the accolades the swimming team garnered that year were the national prep records for the 100 freestyle, 200 free, 200 free relay, and 150 medley relay. Team members would set nine pool records for the 50 free (Harlow “Chip” Ide ‘55), 100 free (Rex Aubrey ‘53), 150 IM (Don Miller), and the medley relay.
An undefeated football team, an Olympic runner, a National Hockey League player, and a coach who took his team to 15 New England championships are just four of the outstanding members who will be inducted in the Williston Northampton School’s inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame.
Sophomore standout Mary McCarthy has had an outstanding start to the water polo season. In the team’s first ever win against Choate, Mary had 15 saves in the 6-4 victory, allowing no goals in the shallow end. Later in the week, Mary and the water polo team faced a powerful Exeter squad. Although the game ended in a loss, Mary made 20 saves in the all deep-end pool to keep the team alive throughout the game.
Conor Archbald ’13
A workhorse midfielder for the boys’ varsity lacrosse team, Conor has been an encouraging and motivated leader on and off the field. In last week’s match up against Gunnery, Conor had 2 goals and 3 assists in the teams narrow 15-16 loss on the road. Conor has scored in all three of the boy’s lax games team and is proving to be a strong competitor early in the season.
Editor’s note: On April 7, Williston Northampton’s Director of Athletics Mark Conroy presented the Frank Boyden Award to John Woodside ’13 during the National Football Foundation banquet. The following are Mr. Conroy’s remarks for the event, which was held at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Also receiving recognition were All New England honorees Dylan Arthurs ’13 and Ledell Robinson ’14.
Photo courtesy of Mark Conroy
The Dr. Frank L. Boyden Award is given in honor of the longtime Deerfield Academy headmaster. The award is given in recognition of outstanding achievement both on the football field and in the classroom by a prep school football player.
This year’s Dr. Frank L. Boyden recipient is a senior at Williston Northampton School. A native of Amherst, Massachusetts, he has enjoyed a terrific career both on the field and in the classroom.
As a football player, he captained this year’s Williston squad as a two-way end. Offensively, he was an outstanding blocker at the point of attack, helping the Wildcats average nearly 7 yards per carry this past season. Defensively, he started at strong side defensive end where he was a team leader in tackles and a league leader in sacks. In recognition of his excellent play, he was named to the All Colonial League team for the second straight season. Speaking as his coach, he is everything you would want in a football player – intelligent, tough as nails, unselfish, and extremely dependable.
Beyond his playing exploits on the gridiron, he has also been a standout at Williston both as a student and as a citizen. Taking a very challenging academic course load he has consistently earned High Honors with over a 92 average. In the last three years, he has had only two final grades below 90! This fall his course load included five AP and Honors classes. True to form he received straight As! In addition to his accomplishments above, he has made his mark in many, many other ways at Williston serving in numerous leadership roles throughout his years.
Next fall, he will be attending Colby College in Maine where he hopes to continue his success both on and off the football field It is with great pleasure that I award the 2013 Dr. Frank L. Boyden Award to John Woodside.
Was there any title that Patrick Rissmiller ’97 didn’t earn? It doesn’t seem likely. During his time at Williston, the ice hockey star (who also the most valuable player and All-League selection for soccer and team captain in lacrosse) led the team to a 23-4 record. For those keeping score, that’s the most wins in school history.
