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Vermont Broadcast Sports
The Vermont Broadcast Sports Interview
Vermont Sportscasters &
Sportswriters Athletes of the Year For 2007
Rob Hamlin of Mt. Mansfield and Mary Krug
of Essex have been named the Vermont Athletes of the Year for 2007.
Hamlin, a three time New England Champion Wrestler and Krug, a three
time State Champion Gymnast, were honored at the VSSA's annual Awards
Banquet on Sunday at Norwich University in Northfield.
Former Spaulding High basketball coach
Fran Pinard and ex-Winooski High football coach Paul Frenette were named
recipients of the VSSA's Career Coaching Achievement Awards while
longtime Essex coach and administrator Melbe Masse and longtime coach
and official Bill Flory were named winners of the Ralph Lapointe Award
for contributions to Vermont Athletics.
Over 225 people attended the ceremonies
at the Plumley Armory in Northfield.
Vermont Sportscasters &
Sportswriters Athletes of the Month
May
The Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association has named Lyndon Institute pitcher Buddy Lamothe and Hamilton College lacrosse standout Jen McGowan of Jericho the state’s male and female Athletes of the Month for May.
Lamothe, a junior right-hander, was virtually untouchable on the hill in May for Division II Lyndon, which ended the month 13-2. Lamothe had 70 strikeouts in 37 innings for an eye-popping 0.19 ERA. He compiled a 5-0 record, surrendered just two runs – only one earned – seven hits and 14 walks. The games included a no-hitter with 17 strikeouts against Oxbow (while 2-for-2 and two RBIs); a one hitter with 16 strikeouts over Randolph; a two hitter with 13 strikeouts over Montpelier and a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts at Randolph (while going 3-for-4 with a home run, double and four RBIs). His fifth pitching game was nine innings of relief with 14 strikeouts in a 12-inning marathon win over Harwood. At the plate, Lamothe was 14-for-33 for a .424 average. He tallied 15 RBIs, 11 runs, three home runs and two doubles.
McGowan was the force that drove Hamilton College to twin Final Four upset wins to capture the NCAA Division III National Championship in women’s lacrosse. The fourth-ranked Continentals ousted top-ranked (and previously unbeaten) Salisbury (MD) 11-10 in the semifinals as McGowan scored two goals. Hamilton followed by beating the national defending champion Franklin & Marshall 13-6 as McGovern tallied one goal and three ground balls for the first ever NCAA crown for Hamilton. The title game goal was the 42nd for the season for McGowan, a former all-state player for two-time state champion Mount Mansfield Union. She was named to the Final Four All Tourney team and a second team All-American. During the NCAA regionals, the senior midfielder played every minute as host Hamilton posted wins over Colby and Middlebury (scoring the game winner in a 9-7 victory). In leading Hamilton to a 17-1 regular season record,
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April
Leah Houston of Rutland High lacrosse and Ted Kusiak of Mount Mansfield Union baseball and track have been named the state’s female and male Athletes of the Month for April by the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
Houston scored 31 goals and 16 assists as the undefeated Raiders went 7-0 in April. And most of the wins came against major powers, including five Northern schools. Houston had four goals and one assist in an 8-3 win over state champion South Burlington. She had three goals, including the game winner in a 4-3 win on the road at Middlebury. She fired in six goals and set up another in a 14-4 win at BFA-St. Albans. Houston had five goals and one assist in a win over Essex 13-4. She had four goals and four assists in a 15-5 win over Champlain Valley. Houston, who is headed in the Fall to St. Lawrence University to study pre-med.
Kusiak is a rare bred by being a first class athlete in two spring sports. Kusiak warms up his pitching arm by chucking the javelin. Kusiak pitched MMU to a win over Essex and striking out 10 batters over six innings. He helped his cause with two hits and two runs. The next day (April 23) he heaved the javelin 152-feet-9 inches to win the event at the Essex Vacational meet, where MMU finished second behind the hosts. Kusiak’s dad, former UVM track coach Ed Kusiak, said his son warmed up for Essex by tossing the javelin around in the backyard the night before. In the game a few days before Essex, Kusiak went 2-for-3 with one RBI in a tough luck loss to Brattleboro. He was the lone batter to have multiple hits. During a four-team track meet on April 15, Kusiak won the javelin with a toss of 157-feet-10 inches.
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MARCH
Rob Hamlin, Mount Mansfield Union’s all-star wrestler and Barbara Jordan of South Burlington, a national record-setter in masters track, have been named the state’s male and female athletes of the month for March by the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
Hamlin, who wrapped up his Vermont high school career with his fourth state individual title, won his third straight New England wrestling crown by winning four major matches at the 44th annual event in Lowell, Mass. The three New England state titles also won Hamlin induction into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame – only the second Vermont wrestler so honored. Also during March Hamlin picked up a couple of wins at the National High School Senior Tournament in Virginia Beach, Va. in the 171-pound division before losing. Also in March the Vermont State Athletic Directors Association honored him as one of the state’s top scholar-athletes for 2007-08 during a banquet at the Sheraton Hotel in South Burlington. Hamlin, an honor roll student, has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Lehigh University, where he plans to wrestle.
Jordan set a pair of national records at the USA Masters Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston. The 72-year-old grandmother broke a record on March 30 that had stood for 10 years when she won the 200-meter dash for women aged 70-74 in 34.58 seconds. Pat Peterson had held the previous mark of 35.58 since 1998. A day earlier, Jordan lowered the 60-meter dash record to 10.03 seconds (from 10.26). She also won the 60-meter hurdles in 13.15 seconds, shy of the national mark of 12.86. While in Boston, Jordan also learned she is one of six women 60-and-over who will be honored nationally as a Masters Athlete of the Year for 2007. At the World Masters Athletic Championships in Italy last summer, Jordan won eight medals, became the world champion in the 80-meter hurdles for her age group, and was a member of a 4-by-400 meter relay team that set a world record. She is scheduled to receive the Athlete of the Year award this August at the National Masters Track and Field Championships in Spokane, Wash.
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February
Southern Vermont College basketball standout Nick Harrington and Essex High gymnastics state champion Mary Krug have been named the state’s male and female athletes of the month for February by the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
Harrington, the nation’s leading college rebounder for the second consecutive year, continued to show in February why he is one of top Division III players in the country as the points, rebounds and honors continued to pile up. Besides being the top rebounder in the country (15.5 rpg this year), Harrington finished third in the nation in scoring (27.2 ppg.). During February the 6-foot-7 senior forward averaged 29.3 points, 18.2 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.2 blocks per game, while hitting 64.4 percent from the floor during six games for the Mountaineers. He was named the National Player of the Year by the Association of Division III Independents. Harrington also won Player of the Week three times in February. He also was named ECAC Player of the Week three times in February competing against all Divisional schools in the Northeast. Harrington ended the month by being notified that he would be one of those few college basketball players ever honored by being featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd.”
Krug, a VSSA Athlete of the Month last year, won her third straight individual state championship in gymnastics as she helped guide Essex to its third straight team title. The junior tallied a 36.8 all-around score for the four events. Krug won the vault (9.4) and parallel bars (9.25), tied for first on the floor exercise (9.3) and tied for second on the balance beam (8.5) Krug, who has dominated the gymnastics scene for the past three years, warmed up for states with an impressive all-around win (35.5) at South Burlington, including firsts in the bars, beam and vault and a second in the floor.
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January
The Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association has selected Caitlin Manahan of BFA-St. Albans and Logan Calkins from Danville High basketball as the state’s female and male Athlete of the Month for January.
Calkins in nine games in January for the Danville Indians averaged 24.9 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Among his performances were three triple-doubles: He tallied 30 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists in a win over Whitcomb. He recorded 23 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Richford. He capped the month by scoring 33 points, including his 1,000th career point in a win over BFA-Fairfax. Calkins also becomes the fourth member of his family to win the statewide Athlete of the Month competition. His sister, Lyndsay Calkins, won for cross country running at Lyndon State in October 2007. His brother, Garrett Calkins, won for track at St. Johnsbury Academy in June 2006, while another sister, Mikayla Calkins, won for gymnastics at St. Johnsbury Academy in December 2006.
Manahan tallied eight goals and nine assists as BFA-St. Albans posted a 7-1 record in January. Manahan netted three of the seven game winners during the month. Those performances were one goal, one assist in a 3-0 win over Spaulding; one goal in a 3-2 win over Stowe; and one goal and one assist in a 3-1 win over South Burlington. By month’s end, Manahan had 28 goals and 16 assists this year and was the career leader in goals (96) and points (151), while being two shy of the career lead for assists.
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December
The Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association has selected high school basketball players D.J. Campbell of Winooski and Alyssa Herrington of Mount Anthony Union as the state’s male and female Athlete of the Month for December.
Campbell, a senior, propelled the Spartans to an 8-0 record in December by averaging 28.2 points and 11 rebounds a game. The most extraordinary statistic is Campbell hit 60.8 percent from 2-pointer land. He sank 42.5 percent from 3-point land. He also is a 76 percent shooter from the free throw line. Campbell’s biggest game was 42 points and 13 rebounds at Craftsbury when he buried seven 3-pointers.
Herrington had a strong month for the defending Division I state champion Patriots. She averaged 19.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists in five games for MAU. Herrington went over 1,000 career points in a 72-59 win over Rice at Kates Gym during a 20-point, 11-rebound, six-assist game. Among her other performances were a 25-point outing in a 62-51 win over Essex during the North-South Challenge in Rutland and 23 points and nine rebounds in a 57-51 win over Burlington at MAU. The senior is bound for Division I Manhattan College on a basketball scholarship in the Fall.
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November
The Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association has selected South Burlington all-state football player Taylor DeVarney the state’s Male Athlete of the Month for November, while Montpelier High soccer standout Jill Dellipriscoli and two-time New England Cross Country champion Georgia Griffin of Norwich tied in voting for the Female Athlete of the Month award.
DeVarney, a senior, had an outstanding month by rushing for 756 yards in his three games. In the Rebels semifinal upset win (27-23) over previously unbeaten and top-seed Middlebury, DeVarney had a possible state record 50 carries for 354 yards and scored four touchdowns, including the 75-yard game-winner. In the State Championship overtime loss (13-7) to Harford, DeVarney ran 33 times for 279 yards, caught the only Rebel pass and scored their only TD on a short run. He ended his senior year with 2,231 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns, plus five more through the air. At the North-South Senior All Star Game, DeVarney led all rushers with 137 yards on 19 carries as the North scored three times in the final five minutes to post the 23-14 come-from-behind win. DeVarney scored the North’s winning touchdown on a 21-yard carry with 2:22 left in the game for a 17-14 lead.
Dellipriscoli, a junior, was the sparkplug for the Montpelier girls team all season and she continued to deliver big time in helping to bring the first ever Division II soccer crown to the state capital. While Dellipriscoli patrolled the midfield in dominating fashion, her skills showed at both ends of the field. She scored both goals in the 2-0 state championship win over top-seeded Woodstock. Dellipriscoli set up the game-tying and game-winning goals in the semifinals.
Griffin, a senior, has been the most dominating high school cross country runner from Vermont for the past few years, but is little known because her tiny Vermont hometown is part of the Dresden School District, which operates Hanover, (N.H.) High. Coming off an October in which Griffin won the New Hampshire Class I individual title for the third year in a row and led Hanover to its fourth straight team championship, the Windsor County teen-ager swept through November with three decisive victories. Griffin, who is Stanford-bound in the Fall, won by more than a minute at the New Hampshire Meet of Champions in Nashua on Nov. 3, by 23 seconds at the New England championships in Cumberland, Maine, on Nov. 10, and by 13 seconds at the northeast regional qualifier for the Nike Team Nationals in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., on Nov. 24. Between races and workouts, Griffin also was named a semifinalist for a National Merit Scholarship.
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October
Lyndsay Calkins of Lyndon State College cross country and Tucker LaClair of U-32 High football have been voted by the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association as the top female and male athletes of the month for October.
Calkins, the reigning Vermont State Intercollegiate Cross Country Champion, continued to show in October why she is the top college runner in Vermont. The Danville High graduate won the Runnin’ Monks Invitational on a hilly 5K course in 19:47 at St. Joseph’s in Maine on Oct. 6. Calkins followed it up by running away from the field, including the best from Division I University of Vermont during the St. Michael’s College Invitational on Oct. 12. She ran the 6K course in 22:39 to win by 33 seconds. Calkins later recorded a personal record for the 5K (18:07) when she placed seventh among 223 runners at the Saratoga/RPI Invitational on Oct. 20. Calkins is in her third year running at LSC and actually will be eligible to run next Fall as she completes her double major in accounting and exercise science.
LaClair’s outstanding all around play in October helped the East Montpelier school make the jump from Division IV to Division II this year and lead the Raiders into the post-season play-offs. LaClair helped provide wins over Division I finalist South Burlington and Division II champion Spaulding. The senior star opened the month by with a 23-yard TD, kicking a 32-yard field goal and booting three extra points in a 30-16 win over Lyndon Institute. The following week LaClair tallied all 14 points as the Raiders dropped SBHS 14-12. He scored on 50 and 27 yard runs, kicked both extra points, and ended with 175 yards on 21 carries. LaClair also added a key interception and seven solo tackles to earn Free Press Athlete of the Week honors. In the 47-34 win over neighboring Spaulding, LaClair scored one touchdown rushing and two more on receptions (three total catches for 175 yards), kicked 5 of 6 extra points, made seven tackles and recovered a fumble. In a 19-7 loss at Mount Mansfield, LaClair scored the lone TD and set it up with a 70-yard run.
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September
Trevor Varney of Windsor High football and Dani Lewis of Woodstock High field hockey have been voted by the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association as the top male and female athletes of the month for September.
Varney, a senior, made it a September to remember for fans of Yellow Jackets football as they had a 5-0 start, the best since 1969. Behind a solid and experienced offensive line, Varney rushed for 1,076 yards and scored 17 touchdowns during a five-game span. That was an average of 215.2 yards per game or 12.5 yards every time he touched the ball. The numbers are more remarkable considering he played in only one fourth quarter during those five games. In addition, Varney brought his September touchdown total to 19 by catching two scoring passes for 78 yards. Varney’s impressive performance was one reason the Windsor Yellow Jackets posted a perfect 5-0 slate during September to gain sole possession of first place in Vermont Division III.
Lewis, a junior, was the key figure in the undefeated run in September for the Woodstock Wasps in field hockey as they looked for their first perfect season since 1997. The Division II Wasps went 8-0 during the month as Lewis scored 18 goals and four assists. Lewis scored in every game for Woodstock. The numbers are more remarkable when you consider she is bouncing back from a torn ACL that ended her sophomore year in mid-season.
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August
Amateur golfer Molly Aronsson of Shelburne and masters track and field competitor Dr. Edgar Holmes of Mendon have been voted by the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association as the top female and male athletes of the month for August.
Aronsson, 19, captured the Vermont State Women’s Golf Association Amateur championship for the second straight year by beating 58 others at the Enosburg Fall Country Club in August. Aronsson, who plays out of the Burlington Country Club, had a five over par 221 during the 54-hole tournament. The former four-sport athlete at Rice Memorial won by six strokes over Reggie Parker of Ekwanok of Manchester, a former Vermont, Rhode Island, Florida and New England title holder. Aronsson has begun her sophomore year at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she is one of the top golfers.
Holmes, a 73-year-old retired orthopedic surgeon, became the national champion in the hammer throw for ages 70-74, at the National Masters Track & Field Championships held in Orono, Maine Aug. 3-5. His winning throw was 36.09 meters. Holmes also won the weight throw, which was an exhibition event this year, with a throw of 14.57 meters. He also was fifth in the discus. Holmes also played on a Vermont golf team that beat Maine, Massachusetts and Quebec in a four-team tournament during the month.
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July
Soccer player Annie Rowell of Craftsbury and golfer Trevor Murphy of St. Johnsbury Country Club have been voted by the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association as the top female and male athletes of the month for July.
Rowell tallied three goals as Vermont knocked off New Hampshire 4-1 in the 25th annual Lions Cup Twin State Soccer Match at Franklin Pierce University. The All-State and All New England player scored about three minutes into the game to help Vermont take control. Rowell tallied in the 52nd minute and again with about 11 minutes left to complete the hat trick in a game that features many of the top graduating high school seniors in both states. The Middlebury College-bound striker was named the Most Valuable Player of the Game as Vermont won for only the second time in nine years.
Murphy won his third straight Vermont amateur at the Brattleboro Country Club in July. He shot a six-under-par 278 to capture the tournament by 13 strokes. Murphy, who just finished his junior year at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, joins four others to collect a three-peat for the Vermont Amateur. Later in the month at the rain-shortened New England Amateur, Murphy finished fifth as the four-round tournament was reduced to 36 holes.
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June
A leading softball player and a top boys track standout have been selected as the female and male Athletes of the Month for June by the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
Pitcher Courtney Simpson of Lyndon Institute and runner David Kennedy of Lamoille Union both wrapped up their high school careers with impressive June performances. Simpson is headed to the University of Vermont, while Kennedy will be going to the University of Rhode Island.
Simpson picked up her third state championship win on the mound in four years as Lyndon nipped Randolph 3-2 for the crown. Simpson threw a six-hitter with four strikeouts as LI won its 55th straight game. She also threw a four-hitter in a 6-1 semifinal win over Mount Abraham and a four-hitter in the 8-1 quarterfinal win over Bellows Falls. Simpson and her fellow seniors compiled a 74-1 record in four years, while she was 45-1 on the mound. The lone loss was in a title game her freshman year. Simpson was named the NEKSports.net Softball Player of the Year.
Kennedy was an athlete with no track, but it never stopped his frequent record-setting efforts. Kennedy was a dominating figure in high school track throughout the Spring and capped it with record-setting performances, while also being named the Boys Track Athlete of the Year in Vermont by Gatorade. Kennedy set and broke the state records for all three divisions in the 200 and 400 meters several times during his career. The final record-setting efforts came in both events at the New England High School Track Meet in Massachusetts when he won the 400 in 48.55. He also set a new mark in the 200 meters (22.11 seconds) when he finished third. Those wins on June 9 came one week after he was a double winner in the 200 (22.62) and 400 meters (49.42) at the Vermont D- II track meet at U-32 on June 2. His efforts are even more remarkable when you consider there is no track to train on at his high school. Kennedy, who also holds the 300-meter indoor mark for all divisions in Vermont, never lost in four years at the Burlington Invitational Meet, which has many of the top D-I schools. Kennedy, who won 12 athletic letters at Lamoille, graduated as the top 2007 Boy Scholar-Athlete by the Vermont State Athletic Directors Association.
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May
The state’s best high school softball and baseball pitchers have been selected as the female and male Athletes of the Month for May by the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
Amanda Downey of Essex and Casey Harman of South Burlington are the first set of monthly state winners elected for 2007-08 by the VSSA.
Downey and Harman both completed their high school careers by leading their high school teams to Division I state championships. Gatorade selected both this Spring as the Player of the Year for their respective sports in Vermont.
Harman was the leading force driving South Burlington toward an undefeated regular season (16-0) and the No. 1 seed in the Division I playoffs as the month of May ended. Through May the 6-foot-2, 180 pound left-hander had a 6-0 record on the mound with a 0.19 E.R.A., 56 strikeouts, five walks and allowed just 10 hits and one earned run in 36 innings. Harman, who also plays first base, was productive at the plate hitting .462 with a homer, two triples and six doubles. Harman drove in 17 runs, scored 22 more runs, walked 14 times and stole three bases.
For Downey in the month of May the numbers speak for themselves. She had a record of 7-1 with an E.R.A. of 0.00. For the month Downey had 82 strikeouts, only 12 walks and gave up just 14 hits. The only run Downey gave up in 50 innings pitched was an unearned run to the Middlebury Tigers: a game the Hornets loss 1-0 -- their Hornets only loss of the year. In that game Downey pitched all nine innings of the extra inning affair, striking out 17 and only giving up one hit.
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