Weekly Athletic Update, 12/12/2017

It’s been a great start to the season for many of our teams and programs. As we close out the 1st phase of the winter schedule and head into the holiday season, we’ve already seen significant individual and team accomplishments, including:

• Senior co-captain Mickey Sindoris became the all-time leading scorer in WA Girls Hockey history
• Junior captain-elect Aiden Ormsby remains undefeated on the Wrestling mat
• Four US teams – Boys Hockey, Girls Hockey, Girls Swim and Girls Basketball - remain undefeated heading into Holiday Tournaments this week.

Varsity Boys Hockey is off to the best start in years (4-0) after moving past Kingswood-Oxford on Wednesday and the Hoosac School on Saturday. A five-goal 3rd period explosion propelled the home team to a Holt league win over Hoosac at the Worcester Ice Center. Senior forward Mitch Pelletier and Matt Schreiner both scored 2 goals in the Hilltopper win!

Girls Hockey (4-0) beat Southfield on the road Wednesday as Carley Daly scored a hat trick then battled from behind on Saturday in pushing past Thayer, 6-4. Senior Mickey Sindoris' scoring exploits (three goals and 5 assists) have propelled her into the lofty spot of WA’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing the 122-point total of Maddie Evangelous. Congratulations to Mickey!

Junior Aidan Orsmby scored the Wrestling team’s lone victory on Saturday in a meet against Belmont Hill School as the Hilltoppers fell to a powerful BH squad! The team will host a tri-meet here on Wednesday against Deerfield and Loomis-Chaffee.

Aliyah Boston continues her dominant play on both ends of the floor as the Girls Basketball team is off to a 3-0 start. The hometown team got things rolling in half number 2 against St. George’s as the aforementioned Boston registered team highs in rebounds and scoring. On Sunday in an abbreviated Blackburn Tournament appearance due to weather conditions, WA received double-digit scoring from Kiera Fernandes (17), Adara Groman (12), and Molly Stokes (10) to complement the 24-point performance of the games outstanding player, Aliyah Boston.

Josh Ogundele ’20 registered a career high 20 points and 8 rebounds as the Hilltoppers rallied past BCA 80-73 in the 1st round of the Blackburn Tournament. Matt Corey registered a double-double with an impressive 11-point, 13-rebound effort. Mitch Doherty (14), Jordan McAllister (13), Matt Corey (13), and Quest Harris (11) led the scoring parade for WA in the finals but their efforts came up a bit short as the MacDuffie School made their 1st ever Blackburn experience a positive one, capturing the 17th annual event with a 73-69 win over the Hilltoppers.

Varsity Boys Swim fell to Wilbraham & Monson but the WA girls prevailed in their 1st meet of the young season. Several “personal bests” were turned in during the meet as the WA swimmers try to find their stride. Pingree will provide the opposition on Wednesday with a 4 pm meet!

Varsity 2 Basketball dropped their home opener 54-45 to the MacDuffie School on Monday and will look to rebound when they host St. Andrew’s on the 11th. On the sub-varsity level both JV basketball teams are in search of their 1st win. The freshman team evened their record at 1-1 with a victory over the Bancroft School on Monday.

Around the Rim
Always nice to host the Blackburn Tournament as it gives us all the opportunity to spend some time with Tom and Peg Blackburn. The 17th Blackburn Tournament was disrupted on Saturday with our first storm of the winter but we were able to conclude the tournament in good fashion on Sunday as all 8 teams saw action. Congratulations to the MacDuffie School on their championship win on the boys’ side.

One of the highlights of the weekend was welcoming back three members of Coach Blackburn’s 1st championship team from 1977. Ed Hjerpe, Dana Chapman, and Kevin Ryan were recognized at halftime and shared some special moments with Coach Blackburn over the course of the afternoon.

Co-Athletes of the Week
Mickey Sindoris – ’18 Girls Hockey
Matt Corey – ’19 Boys Basketball