obit pg 6 11-23-22
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PUTNAM — Elizabeth (Herlihy) “Betty” Aucoin, 74, of Liberty Highway, died Nov. 17, 2022. She was the wife of Peter Aucoin. Born in 1948 in Putnam, she was the daughter of the late John and June (Morse) Herlihy.
Mrs. Aucoin worked as a secretary for Belding Heminway for 10 years. She was a volunteer for Day Kimball Hospital for 20 years. She enjoyed cake decorating, baking, and sewing. She especially enjoyed spending time with her children and grandchildren.
In addition to her husband Peter, Elizabeth leaves her daughter Allison Darigan (John) of Woodstock; her brother, Ellsworth “Butch” Herlihy (Diane) of Putnam, and Brian Herlihy of Woodstock; her sisters, Maryanne Loomis (Dick) of Putnam, and Katherine Saucier (Ronald) of Putnam; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her daughter, Melissa Pelletier.
Funeral services are private.
Donations: Day Kimball Hospital Cancer Fund, P.O. Box 632, Putnam, CT 06260. Gilman Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Church St., Putnam.
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wa pg 6 11-23-22
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WA community
participates in
Give Back Day
at arboretum
WOODSTOCK --- The annual volunteer-based community service initiative, WA Gives Back, took place recently at the Palmer Arboretum. More than 50 students, faculty, and staff participated in a day of cleaning the rain garden, raking leaves, preparing to lay mulch, and general yard clean up.
WA Gives Back was created in alignment with The Woodstock Academy’s mission of helping its students grow as global citizens, fostering volunteerism, and showing appreciation for community support.
“The local community generously gives to our students year after year in so many ways,” said Head of School Chris Sandford. “WA Gives Back is just one way that our community can show our appreciation and gratitude to those who have such a positive impact on our students.”
The WA Gives Back program will soon be headed to other locations across The Academy’s sending towns (Woodstock, Pomfret, Canterbury, Brooklyn, Eastford, Union) to assist with fall clean-up, allowing for additional community service opportunities for students.
“What’s special about WA Gives Back is watching students enjoy being outside with each other while making our community a cleaner, brighter place,” said Sara Dziedzic, social studies and English department chair and WA Gives Back organizer.
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centaurs pg 7 11-23-22
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caption:
From left: Sophomore Liliana Bottone, senior Morgan Bonin and Sophie Gronski (3) and middle hitter Reegan Reynolds (10). Photos by Bradley O’Connor.
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Woodstock Academy volleyball coach Adam Bottone had tried to keep his young team at ease going into the Class L semifinal against top-seeded Joel Barlow Nov. 16.
“I don’t know if it was ,’Oh no, we’re playing the No. 1 undefeated team’ so we went into it with those nerves instead of staying loose and relaxed which is what we tried to get them to do,” Adam Bottone said. “But we struggled to receive the ball and because of that, we couldn’t get our offense going and sent a lot of easy balls over which put the defense back on its heels.”
And the Falcons took advantage of that. Joel Barlow finished with a straight set, 3-0, victory over the Centaurs to advance to the Class L championship match.
The Centaurs finished the season at 15-10.
Barlow quickly established itself as it rolled to a 25-11 win in the first set. The Centaurs thrown off kilter as much by the Falcons’ style as their talent.
“Going into this, we knew we had to play the best game we had all year if we wanted to hang with them. They ran a really fast offense which was tough for us to try and get up and block because we’re a fairly small team. Our reaction to the quicker offense was a little slow. Hopefully, it’s something our girls who are returning next year will learn from,” Adam Bottone said.
Woodstock did bounce back a bit in the second set but Barlow still prevailed, 25-17.
The Falcons finished up with a 25-12 win in the third set.
“We made a lot of great plays and some good digs. We did the best we could but when we weren’t able to get our offense going, we struggled. We really needed to side out on the first ball that came over the net and we had trouble doing that,” Adam Bottone said.
The Centaurs also didn’t serve any aces. On the good side, they didn’t have many service errors either.
“We served very conservatively to keep the ball in play, which is what we’ve been working on, but our serves weren’t difficult either,” Adam Bottone said.
Liliana Bottone had five kills and six digs for the Centaurs while Reegan Reynolds and Morgan Bonin had three each. Bonin and Sophie Gronski (12 assists) each had 10 digs.
The Centaurs won eight of their first nine matches.
The up-and-down play that occurred in the middle of the season could easily be attributed to a rash of injuries and illness. Instead of COVID this year, concussions were the largest trouble.
There were a couple of factors working in the coach’s favor.
He had a team that probably had the more depth and versatility than most of his past teams.
The Centaurs lose only four seniors, Bonin, Leila MacKinnon, Jade Desmond and Nunes to graduation.
“I have a lot of pieces coming back,” Adam Bottone said. “Obviously, Liliana and Sophie will be a big part of that; Cassidy Ladd is going to continue to improve. Reegan will be back. Mia Sorrentino will be a threat on the outside, too, so we definitely have a lot of pieces in place.”
Liliana Bottone finished with 250 kills, 213 digs and 54 aces this season. Gronski had 612 assists.
The biggest concern for the Centaurs will be replacing the middle hitter position which was occupied by MacKinnon (49 kills, 15 blocks) and Bonin (205, 27) this season.
“I think we will have girls playing club (in the offseason) and if that happens, it will be good. If the CIAC allows us to do some coaching in the summer - I’m crossing my fingers that will happen – it will help establish and build the basics we need to move forward,” Adam Bottone said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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dubsky pg 7 11-23-22
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Connor Dubsky came to Putnam Science Academy’s prep basketball team known as a shooter, and while he’s working on the other parts of his game, he always has that “let-it-fly” mentality.
“I think I’m the best shooter in the country,” he said. “I can call anybody out…Gradey Dick at Kansas (University), he can see me right now. I don’t care. That’s just my mentality.
“I’m confident in my shot, and I let it go. Make or miss, I am going to shoot the next one.”
Nov. 15, Dubsky had 13 big-moment points as the Mustangs survived a shaky first half then pulled away in the second for a 95-57 win over Commonwealth. PSA closed the first half on a 15-0 run to take a 14-point lead, then Dubsky had 11 of his points after halftime when the Mustangs put the game out of reach.
“I told him a week ago, ‘If you’re not going to shoot the ball, I’ll find someone else,’” coach Tom Espinosa said. “He’s shooting the ball now. And he made some big shots and got the momentum going.”
Tarique Foster added 14 points for the Mustangs, who also got a solid game out of DJ Dormu. He finished with 10 points, six steals, five rebounds, and three assists.
Duane Thompson chipped in with 11 points while Blake Barkley had eight points, six rebounds, and a pair of blocked shots for PSA.
Nov. 19, most of the Mustangs struggled mightily on offense, including Dubsky who finished with just two points. But he, Darryl Simmons (eight points), and Dormu (four points) spearheaded a defensive attack in the second half that led No. 2 PSA to a gritty 76-63 win over Fork Union (Vir.) at the National Prep Showcase held at Albertus Magnus College.
The Mustangs went on a 19-6 run over four-minute span midway through the second half to take a 59-46 lead. Full-court ball pressure from Simmons and Dormu made it difficult for Fork Union to run its offense, and Dubsky twice dove on loose balls on back-to-back defensive sequences that led to back-to-back buckets, energizing the Mustangs during that run.
The Mustangs needed that defense with their offense going the way it was.
Ben Ahmed had 13 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks, Barkley had 17 points, and Will Lovings-Watts finished with 11. That trio combined to make 17-of-22 shots; the rest of the team went just 12-of-37, and PSA missed all 14 of its 3-point attempts.
“Some days are like that,” Espinosa said. “You’re going to have good days; you’re going to have bad days. But a lot of guys did a lot of good things.
“I loved our defense in the second half. We always want to play hard on defense, it’s what we expect, no matter what we’re doing offensively. And we struggled on offense for sure. But the ball pressure, especially from Darryl and DJ, and the hustle plays from Connor, that gave us the energy and the lift we needed.“
PSA finished off its pre-Thanksgiving schedule with a second game at the National Prep Showcase, finding it difficult to score yet again Nov. 19, but nevertheless prevailing with a 64-61 win over Sunrise Christian Academy (Kan.).
“We won two games down here, and we didn’t shoot the ball well at all,” Espinosa said. “We’ve got some tough kids who stepped up and got it done for us.”
Like Saturday, it was another tight game in the second half before PSA’s defense sparked a run. The Mustangs were down one midway around the 10-minute mark when Mouhamed Dioubate made one free throw and Foster converted an offensive rebound off the missed second to put them ahead 49-47. A defensive stop and a dunk from Dioubate preceded two steals and scores from Lovings-Watts to push the lead to eight points and give PSA some breathing room.
Sunrise got as close as one point before trailing by three on the game’s final possession. That’s when the ball worked its way quickly from the right wing to the left corner for what appeared to be an uncontested 3-pointer. But Barkley raced from the right block to a step outside the left one, left his feet and leapt toward the shooter with his right arm extended, just getting enough of the ball to have it fall harmlessly short of its mark as the buzzer sounded.
“I knew I was going to get there in time with my length, so I went out there and blocked it,” Barkley said with a smile afterward.
Dioubate finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, and three steals, Lovings-Watts had with 11 points and five rebounds, while Thompson added 10 points for the Mustangs (7-1), who are now off for the Thanksgiving break and will next play on Nov. 30.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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