Weekly Athletic Update, 1/19/16
In perhaps the busiest week of the season (over 25 contests during the week), WA teams continue to hold their own and in most cases compete quite favorably with their NEPSAC counterparts.
Around the Rim
In the spirit of great sportsmanship let’s continue as a community to demonstrate support and appreciation for the work that all game officials contribute. Without their oversight and “best efforts” to provide fairness and impartiality to our competitions our interscholastic offerings would be sorely lacking. Like the majority of our athletes who play the game because they love their sport, so too these game officials do it primarily to stay involved with the sport that they love. Game officials are not always right – and neither are we as coaches, parents and competitors – but quite simply we wouldn’t have these games without our officials. Let’s afford them the respect and appreciation they warrant in their role as guardians of the game.
Co-Athletes of the Week
Devin Barresi '18 – BV Hockey
Tom McDermott '17 – Wrestling
Michaela McNamara '16 – GV Hockey
Back
- The Varsity Wrestling team is still searching for more weight classes to be filled but certainly the effort and meet results are encouraging to witness. Despite giving away critical points in just about every match, the quality of our performances and the resiliency of our team is remarkable. Tom McDermott stepped up in grand fashion this week helping the team defeat Marianapolis Prep on Wednesday and he bounced back with a 3-1 record in Saturday’s quad meet at Williston, which included a great match against perennial power, Tabor Academy. Senior Turner Geenty remains one of the top wrestlers in his classification as he points towards the Class A tournament in two weeks.
- Our Ski team got their CMSL underway on Friday at Mt. Wachusett as the cold air and snow have finally arrived. Max Glickman (8th) and Robbie Carlson (10th) were the top finishers for the Hilltoppers.
- The Varsity Swim team ran into one of their toughest opponents on Saturday (Milton Academy) and came out on the short end. The team will have a full 10 days of practice to prepare for their next meet, a home match with Portsmouth Abbey (1/27).
- Balance and a nice blend of experience and youth has been the recipe for success to date for our surging Girls Varsity Basketball team. Freshman Aliyah Boston and senior Lexi Hackett have led the way for the Hilltoppers who have excelled on the offensive end of the floor to date. Convincing wins during the week over Marianapolis Prep, Loomis-Chaffee and NMH have the team primed for a deep run in the Class A tournament but multiple tests await this talented group in the weeks ahead, including Saturday’s “titan” home contest with Nobles.
- On the boys’ side a difficult stretch of contests has Coach Sullivan’s full attention as he prepares his troops for action against NMH, Vermont Academy, MacDuffie School and St. Thomas More in the next 10 days. The team dropped a tough 66-63 decision to Class AAA, New Hampton on Saturday and this on the heels of Wednesday’s Class AA road loss to Proctor. Seniors Nassir Barrino and Kevin Marfo have been WA’s most consistent playmakers to date!
- Devin Baressi was outstanding in net on Saturday, stopping 29 of 30 shots in propelling the Boys Hockey team to a nice league win over Berwick Academy. Junior sniper Jack Moffitt registered both goals for the Hilltoppers. The team fell on Wednesday, 4-1 to Williston and will look to put back to back wins together on Monday (MLK day) as they travel to Providence, RI to take on league foe, Moses Brown.
- The newly formed “purple” line has been an instant success as the trio of Michaela McNamara, Mary Kate Drinkwater and Mickey Sindoris are having their way with NEPSAC opponents. McNamara’s hat trick on Saturday was the coup de grace in a week that saw the team defeat Class A rival Exeter (4-3) and league opponent Berwick (7-4). It has been smooth sailing to date for the team trying to position themselves with a top seed for the upcoming Class B tournament.
- Freshman Basketball fortunes continue to thrive under head coach Emmanuel Masumbuko as a host of talented multiple sport athletes lead the way! Wednesday’s impressive victory on the road against Auburn High School has the team poised for their next encounter here at home against Tabor on Wednesday.
- V2 Boys Basketball was busy during the week (1-2) as they sandwiched a 62-60 road win against BCA around home losses to Hyde School (57-49) and St. Thomas More School (57-50). Defensive stalwarts Daryan McDonald and Matt Adiletto and three-point specialist Kyle Hackett have led the charge for the team thus far!
- Our JV Basketball teams return to action on Wednesday as the boys travel to Tabor and the girls host Cushing Academy.
Around the Rim
In the spirit of great sportsmanship let’s continue as a community to demonstrate support and appreciation for the work that all game officials contribute. Without their oversight and “best efforts” to provide fairness and impartiality to our competitions our interscholastic offerings would be sorely lacking. Like the majority of our athletes who play the game because they love their sport, so too these game officials do it primarily to stay involved with the sport that they love. Game officials are not always right – and neither are we as coaches, parents and competitors – but quite simply we wouldn’t have these games without our officials. Let’s afford them the respect and appreciation they warrant in their role as guardians of the game.
Co-Athletes of the Week
Devin Barresi '18 – BV Hockey
Tom McDermott '17 – Wrestling
Michaela McNamara '16 – GV Hockey
