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Winners

The Woodstock Academy girls' golf team with coach Earl Semmelrock. They won the ECC golf tournament. Courtesy photo.

 

By Ron P. Coderre

This week’s RPC column is dedicated to Richard “Dick” Tremblay of Putnam.  A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Tremblay, a Putnam High School graduate, remains very active in the Putnam community.  He’s a member of the Putnam High School Alumni Athletic Association and local veterans’ organizations.  “Semper Fi” Dick, RPC salutes you.

Quinnatisset Country Club was the setting for the 6th Eastern Connecticut Conference Girls Golf Championships on Wednesday, June 3.  The league crowned Woodstock Academy the 2015 champions.  In securing the team championship over nearest competitor Norwich Free Academy by a score of 196 to 230, the Lady Centaurs reclaimed the championship trophy from the Lady Wildcats.  In 2014 NFA edged Woodstock by one stroke, 205-206.

The championship Woodstock team coached by Earl Semmelrock was paced by medalist Roxanne Garceau, who topped the 22-player field with a nine-hole score of 43.  Garceau’s nearest competitor was Hannah Slocum of Norwich Free Academy who posted a score of 45.  Two golfers, Margaret Waugh of Stonington and Woodstock’s Elaina Becher, tied for third place with scores of 49.

Individually for Woodstock Grace Yang recorded a score of 50 and Alice Meng posted a 54 to compliment Garceau and Becher.

At the conclusion of play the ECC golf committee announced the conference all stars for the 2015 season.  Named from Woodstock Academy were Garceau, Becher and Yang, while Slocum of Norwich Free Academy and Waugh of Stonington were also named.  Rounding out the all star selections was Abigail Poirier of Tourtellotte Memorial High School. 

Danielson Rotary Club 

Prepping for 22nd Tourney

A pair of well known athletes, Bob Chenail and Jay Long, is the co-chairmen of the 22nd Danielson Rotary Club Spyder Burke Golf Tournament according to club President Donna Mercier.  The event is scheduled for a 1 p.m. shotgun start at the scenic Connecticut National Golf Course in Putnam on Friday, June 19.

The scramble format tourney is reasonably priced at $125 per golfer and includes 18 holes of golf with cart, use of the driving range, a $400 skins game, refreshments, lunch and dinner, gifts and prizes.  The competition includes closest-to-the-pin contests on all par three holes and a hole-in-one vehicle lease sponsored by King Cadillac of Putnam.  Winning foursomes will be awarded $600 cash prize for the first place, $400 for second place, $200 for third place and a $200 wild card prize.

The tournament offers sponsorship opportunities at five levels – Title Sponsor ($2000), Gold Sponsor ($1000), Silver Sponsor ($500), Bronze sponsor ($300) and Tee Sponsor ($125).  Title and Gold levels include a foursome with the sponsorship, while Silver sponsors are entitled to two players and Bronze one player with the sponsorship fee.

According to President Mercier, the proceeds from the tourney assist in supporting scholarships to local students, providing dictionaries to all third grade students in Killingly, Brooklyn and St. James schools and support of the Amber Alert registry.

Anyone wishing to enter as an individual or registering a foursome should contact Chenail at 860 923-0458 or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Long at 860 428-7661 or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Checks may be made out to Danielson Rotary Trust and mailed to P.O. Box 394, Danielson, CT 06239-0394.

UConn-bound Diarra Continues

 to Shine

Mamadou Diarra, the former Putnam Science Academy standout who will play in the Woodstock Academy Post Graduate program this coming season, continues to shine on the hardwood as he works his way to UConn as a member of the Class of 2016.  Since announcing his plans of accepting a scholarship with the Huskies of coach Kevin Ollie, Diarra’s confidence appears on the rise.

In the Mary Kline Classic, an annual event in West Orange, N.J., that raises funds for cancer research, Diarra showed his ability to run the court and finish, as he led his team to a 139-132 win, scoring 20 points.  Most of Diarra points were of the slam dunk variety.  The game featured top recruits from the Northeast.

Prior to returning to his second home, Putnam and northeastern Connecticut, Diarra will continue working on improving his skills and strength while playing AAU basketball with the New York Jayhawks over the summer months.

Diarra’s Putnam Science Academy teammate and friend Hamidou Diallo, from Queens, N.Y., also participated in the Mary Kline Classic.  Diallo, who will be returning to northeastern Connecticut in September, scored 13 points.  The 6-foot-5-inch guard tallied a couple three-point baskets and ran the floor scoring on breakaways.  Diallo is pointing toward the University of Connecticut in the Class of 2017.

Little East Conference Names Woodstock Grad

The Little East Conference, which includes Eastern Connecticut State University, recently announced its all star selections for the past athletic seasons.  Woodstock Academy graduate Sarah Froehlich, a junior at ECSU, was named to the All-LEC Academic Honor Roll as a member of the Lady Warriors swimming team.  Froehlich, a three-year member of the swimming team and two-year varsity letter winner, swims in the butterfly and freestyle events.  She’s majoring in elementary Education and Spanish.

Clippers Garner CSC All Star Honors

Three members of the Putnam Clippers baseball team, which concluded its 2015 season with a 9-12 record, were named to the Constitution State Conference First Team All League baseball team.

 Among the honorees was senior Jacob Guertin the Putnam catcher and one of the team’s top hitters.  He was also recently honored as the Putnam High School 2015 Male Athlete of the Year.  Guertin is a member of the TriTown American Legion Baseball program.

Also named was junior Nicholas Foucault the ace of the Putnam pitching staff and the team’s shortstop when not on the mound.  He’s also a member of the TriTown American Legion Baseball team.  The other Putnam selection was freshman Aiden Ciquera who started for the Clippers in his first season at the school.  Ciquera, a middle infielder, proved to be a valuable addition to the team, producing a number of clutch hits and a couple of game winning hits.

RPC’s Closing Thought For The Day: “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”  Henry Ford

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