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Roundup
Girls’ tennis
team improves
to 6-1
Woodstock girls’ tennis coach Keith Atchinson knew at the start of the season that he had his top six players coming back from a year ago and that has paid dividends.
The Centaurs improved to 6-1 on the season May 7 and 4-0 in Div. II of the ECC with a 6-1 victory over New London at Killingly High School May 7.
The Centaurs will now be playing some of the stronger programs in the league beginning this week when they take on Ledyard on Monday, Stonington in a doubleheader on Tuesday and East Lyme on Friday.
Woodstock Academy posted the win over the Whalers May 7, again, seemed more suited to the end of March than early May. The temperatures were only in the high 40s and winds were gusting well over 30 miles per hour. Fortunately the Centaurs were playing on some sheltered courts at Killingly.
Senior Addy Smith had the toughest battle as she outlasted New London’s Emily Fielding 10-9 (5) in a pro-set tiebreaker. Jackie Trudeau, Sydney Schuler and Logan Reynolds picked up the other singles victories. Reynolds stepped in for Alexa Fernandez who was at a graduation event in Florida.
The doubles teams were also successful. The Centaurs were missing a few players, however, and had to forfeit at third singles which accounted for the Whalers victory.
Earlier in the week, it wasn’t wind, but rather rain that was the concern. The Woodstock and Killingly girls’ tennis teams managed to do that, playing pro sets in the Monday match with the Centaurs prevailing, 6-1.
Trudeau filled in for Smith at first singles and posted a 10-1 victory. Schuler was a 10-0 winner and Fernandez also posted a 10-1 win.
The Centaurs also swept the doubles. Reynolds and Ellie Bishop-Klee were 10-1 winners at first doubles. Morgan Bentley and Alecia Qu posted a 10-1 win at second doubles and Emma Massey and Peyton Bentley were 10-2 winners at third doubles. The Centaurs also played Killingly May 5 with Woodstock posting a 7-0 win. Reynolds posted her first career varsity singles match win when she downed Payton Cathell 6-2, 6-1.
Boys’ Track: Setting the standard
Woodstock senior Keenan LaMontagne is leaving behind quite the outdoor track and field legacy. Last season, he captured the Class MM state championship in discus with a throw of 149-feet, 4-inches.
The week before last, he went to the Tetlow Ledyard Relays and broke the discus record there which had stood since 1989 with a throw of 156-1. May 7 LaMontagne went almost 20 feet further.
He now owns the Woodstock Academy record in the event as he threw the discus 175-8 to finish first in the Middletown Invitational. His throw erased the record formerly held by Jeff Barrette who threw 169-9 at the Class MM state championship meet in 1998.
Not only was that a Woodstock Academy record, but it remains a Class MM state record.
Jared Eaton finished fourth in the shotput by throwing a personal-best 45-feet.
Earlier in the week, E. Lyme had too much for the Centaurs as a team, winning their meet against one another, 100-49, May 5.
But Woodstock did sport some fine performances: Senior Ian Hoffman shaved off four seconds from his best 800m time and finished second in 2 minutes, 4.8 seconds. That time qualified Hoffman for the state championship meet in the event. Hoffman also qualified in the pole vault where he finished second by clearing the bar at 10-feet, 6-inches.
Vince Bastura won the 1600m race and also qualified for States in a time of 4:43. Freshman Christian Menounos qualified in the 3200m as he also scored a second-place finish in 10:18.9.
Girls’ Track: Vikings too tough to tame
Woodstock girls’ track coach Josh Welch knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
The girls’ track team got as close as it has been in a while against E. Lyme on the South Campus track on Thursday, but just didn’t have quite the firepower necessary as the Vikings posted a 90-60 win and clinched the ECC Div. I regular season title.
Woodstock (2-1, 2-1) was in it right up until the end. Linsey Arends did all she could. The senior won the 800m and 1600m individually and was a member of the winning 4x800m relay team.
It was asking a lot for any athlete to do that trio of events. The distance runners, as a whole, did well. Leah Castle, Julia Coyle and Lauren Brule shared the first-place finish in the 4x800 with Arends. Brule and Castle finished second and third as the Centaurs swept the 1600m. Leila MacKinnon was third in the 800m and Coyle and Brule finished second and third in the 3200m.
Freshman Juliet Allard finished first in both the 200m and the 300m hurdles. She also finished second in the 100m. Junior Bella Sorrentino won the 100m hurdles, was second in the shotput and third in the long jump. Talia Tremblay was second in the 400m but beat her former best by two seconds in the event.
Girls’ Lacrosse: Centaurs down rival Killingly
According to senior Sydney Haskins, the team’s nickname for fellow senior Shannon Gagnon is “sneaky Shannon.”
That’s because Gagnon loves to operate from the X-position behind the opponent’s net. That sneakiness produced four goals and three assists against Killingly.
On the other side of the field, Sofia Murray was doing some fine work of her own only in this case, in front of the Woodstock net. The senior made 14 saves against Killingly.
Together, the two efforts helped spark the Centaurs to a 10-5 win over Killingly. It was a needed victory as it got the Centaurs back on the winning side of the scoreboard. Gagnon got things rolling for the Centaurs with a hat trick in the first half. That helped Woodstock Academy bolt out to a 6-1 lead early. The Centaurs were up 7-2 at the half, thanks in part to the defensive effort of Murray. She turned aside five shots in the first half and was even better in the second, when she stymied nine more attempts.
Jones said the 14 saves might have been a personal best for Murray in a match. Haskins added a pair of goals while Stella Brin added a goal and an assist. But Brin’s biggest contribution may have been in the middle of the field where she was dominant on the faceoffs.
The Centaurs got a stellar offensive performance from Brin earlier in the week. The senior scored four goals and added an assist but host Bacon Academy had too much firepower and posted the 15-8 win. Gagnon added a goal and two assists in the match. Caroline Harris, Haskins and Julia Powell also tallied.
Boys’ Golf: Win at home away from home
It was hard to call the Centaurs boys’ golf team the “away” team.
Woodstock could have just about walked to Harrisville Golf Course while it was a considerably longer hike for their hosts, Ellis Tech and Vinal Tech out of Middletown.
Centaurs senior Kyle Brennan finished with a 1-over par 37 to lead the Centaurs (6-4) to a pair of wins with a 166 total.
Ellis Tech combined to finish with a 183 and Vinal Tech posted a 217 score.
Davis Simpson was only two strokes back with a 39 and Chris Thibault added a 42. Brennan came back with another 37 May 5 at the Quinnatisset Country Club. Unfortunately, his effort only garnered a half-point as he and E. Lyme’s Tyler Moore tied for medalist honors. The Vikings went on to win the match 5 ½ - 1 ½ .
The loss to E.Lyme dropped the Centaurs to 6-5 overall and 1-3 in Div. I of the ECC. Chris Thibault captured a point for the Centaurs as he carded a 46 in the match.
Girls’ Golf: Picking up Win
Woodstock had to make the long trek north to Suffield May 5 and it was worth it --- the girls’ golf team brought back a 225-252 win over its hosts. The victory raised the Centaurs’ record to 2-4 overall. Ella Musumeci carded a 49 for team medalist honors against the Wildcats. Jillian Marcotte was just 1-stroke back in the win.
It finished what was a busy week for Woodstock who also played two league matches.
The first time the Centaurs met the NFA Wildcats this season, they lost by double-digit strokes. May 3, things were much better. Woodstock lost to the host Wildcats, 237-243. Marcotte was the medalist with a 54 while Ella Musumeci shot a 59.
The Centaurs played at Quinnatisset Country Club for only the second time this season May 4. They and E. Lyme dodged the raindrops but managed to get the match in with the Vikings posting a 234-247 win. Marcotte and Musumeci both finished with 59’s in the match.
Softball: Centaurs qualify
The Woodstock softball team picked up its seventh win of the season, 11-10, over Griswold May 7 to qualify for the Class L state tournament. But the Centaurs had to come from behind to do it.
The Wolverines owned a 9-1 lead going into the bottom of the fourth before the Centaurs (7-8, 4-2 ECC Div. II) rallied.
Woodstock scored four in the bottom of the fourth on two passed balls, a ground out and a Liz Morgis single. They added four more in the sixth on a two-run single by Ainsley Morse, an RBI base hit from Sarah McArthur and a passed ball before winning it with two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
With two outs, the Wolverines (1-12, 0-5) allowed Woodstock to load the bases. Emily Goodell walked to tie the game and Morse (2-for-2, 3 RBIs) brought in the game-winner when she was hit by a pitch.
Lexi Thompson and Jenna Bankowski each had two hits in the win for the Centaurs.
Earlier in the week Woodstock was trailing by a run in the bottom of the third inning to St. Bernard when Mia Pannone walked and both Bankowski and McArthur reached on bunt singles. Gerum called time and asked his three baserunners and his hitter at the plate, Madison Martinez, to come meet with him.
“He told me basically to swing out of my shoes,” Martinez said with a laugh. Martinez cleared the bases with a solid shot that rolled all the way to the fence in right-center and she wound up on third.
After being shut out twice last week by Fitch and E. Lyme, the Centaurs saw their bats warm up with a 10-4 win over the Saints.
Martinez scored on a single by Lexi Thompson and Thompson came around after a double by Delaney Anderson and a base hit by Liz Morgis.
The Centaurs added another run in the fourth inning when McArthur (4-for-4) scored on an error. Morgis scored on a passed ball in the fifth inning. McArthur came around when Martinez reached on an error in the sixth inning and Martinez scored on a Thompson single.
The 10 runs were a welcome sight for Gerum. Thompson did the rest as she allowed just four hits, one earned run and struck out 14. Martinez also got the Centaurs off to a good start May 3.
Unfortunately, this time it was Stonington that put together the rally in an 8-4 win on the Bears home field.
Martinez drove in Sarah McArthur with an RBI triple in the first inning. Thompson knocked in Martinez and later scored on a Delaney Anderson single. But then Martinez went down in the game with an elbow injury, something that has plagued her for the past two seasons.
She is likely out a week or two, maybe longer at the catching position.
The Centaurs fell behind early against Ledyard as the Colonels scored six runs in the first two innings and posted an 11-2 win. Woodstock finished with four hits in the game with Morgis getting an RBI single.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
captions:
Throwing
Woodstock senior Keenan LaMontagne (throwing the shotput earlier this season) broke a school record in the discus at the Middletown Invitational. Photo by Marc Allard.
Sliding In
Woodstock junior Lexi Thompson slides in safely to third base in a win over St. Bernard. Photo by Marc Allard.
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