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Getting back on track.
It’s what the Woodstock Academy Blue prep basketball team wanted to accomplish coming out of the holiday break.
So far, it has been successful in that quest.
The Centaurs raised their mark to 16-6 with a pair of victories last week. Woodstock Academy handled the Hoosac School, 91-46, Jan. 12 at the Alumni Fieldhouse. Before that, the Centaurs scored a 92-58 win over Capital Prep Harbor at the University of Bridgeport.
“It was definitely great for us and great for the confidence of our team after we lost five of the last seven,” forward John Korte said of the two wins following Saturday’s win over Hoosac. “We’re getting back into it quickly. We’re looking good so far, moving the ball and playing good defense.”
The Centaurs, prior to the break, lost some tough games.
That included a pair of 1-point games to Navy Prep (77-76) and Toronto Academy (74-73) and an overtime contest to Hamden Hall (94-90). Add to that, losses to Lee Academy (77-66) and Athlete’s Institute (82-71), and it made for a tough stretch.
“We fell into a rut,” said Blue coach Nick DeFeo. “We were struggling. We were missing some guys who went home early for break.”
“It was an accumulation of things. People wanted to go home, which you know will happen and we played some very good teams. We just didn’t come to play in some of those games and when that happens, you lose,” Korte agreed.
Fortunately, things have changed.
“We came back and we’ve had great energy ever since. We have a full roster, minus one (Kaleb Thornton) due to injury. We’ve had some great practices this week,” DeFeo added.
Like DeFeo, Korte wasn’t sure what the atmosphere would be like when the Centaurs returned last week.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen. I thought we might still be in a rough patch like where we were before, but we’re looking really good right now,” Korte said.
The Centaurs didn’t pull away immediately from Hoosac.
The Centaurs had beaten the New York school in November by 47 points and DeFeo was concerned about his team’s approach to the game.
“DeFeo talked to us a lot before the game about not underestimating them. They can come out and kill us in the first half,” Korte said.
Korte (nine points) went on a five-point run of his own midway through the first half to help make sure that didn’t happen and put the Centaurs up, 16-10
His seven-point effort in the first half included a pair of dunks which brought his teammates to their feet.
Both of those dunks came off assists.
“We’re learning to trust each other more and that’s a huge part of the game,” Korte said. “I trust that they’re going to pass me the ball for the dunk and I give it to them right back.”
Ty Mosley and Jeff Planutis both scored seven points in the first half in addition to Korte as the Blue took a 39-20 lead into halftime.
It became a 3-point party for the Centaurs in the second half.
Kruno Macner, who led the Blue squad with 16 points, hit four from beyond the arc while Ahmad Jeffries and Isaiah Jones both had a pair and Planutis (10 points) added one.
The Centaurs opened the week with the easy win over the Harbor Sharks.
Stefanos Psarras scored 11 points and Guillem Gonzalez added 10.
“We came out with great energy right from the jump and got on top early. Any time, you go on the road and win a conference game, it’s nice. We got a great effort from everyone, they all contributed,” DeFeo said.
It’s a good time to be playing well.
This is the stretch run for the Blue prep team which will see the season end in just a little less than two months.
“It’s time to focus. We have to get these kids some college interest, get them signed and ready to go to the next level. I think they’re dialed in a little bit and we have a bunch of conference games coming up. This is it. We’re putting our foot on the gas pedal,” DeFeo said.
DeFeo said the coaching staff has been meeting individually with the players and discussing a plan for their future.
“Luckily for us, our staff is tremendous at getting out and communicating with colleges and two, we’ve had college interest for every kid in the gym, every kid on the Gold team, every kid on the Blue, somebody has asked or inquired about them. That’s really good for us and now it’s just finding out what the kids want, see who loves them the best and picking the right school,” DeFeo said.
The Blue squad is on the road for much of the month.
Their only other home game comes up on Jan. 29 against USA Academy.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

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Woodstock Academy's girls' indoor track team raised its record last week. Ivy Gelhaus placed second in the 600-meter and Julia Theriaque was second in the high jump as the Centaurs won two of their three meets Jan. 9 at Tantasqua Regional High School in Sturbridge.
The Centaurs raised their record in the Massachusetts SWCL Indoor Track league to 7-2 with wins over Leicester, Mass., 53-32, and Marianapolis Prep, 59-18. The Centaurs stumbled against Auburn, Mass., 57.67-28.33.
Iris Bazinet scored points for Woodstock Academy in both the 1000 and 1,600-meter races.
The girls are doing very well among independent schools in the SWCL when it comes to individual performances.
Bazinet is best in the 1000m (3:52.7) and the 1600m (6:19.8); Gelhaus tops in the 600m (1:52.9); Maria Scandalito owns the top performance in the shotput (23-1 ½ ); Julia Theriaque in the high jump (5-0) and Aochen Li in the 55m hurdles (10.4 seconds).
Woodstock Academy also owns the best performance (4:58.2) in the 1600m relay.
Boys’ indoor track
The Woodstock Academy boys’ indoor track team raised its record to 4-4 in the Massachusetts SWCL indoor track league with a pair of victories Jan. 9.
The Centaurs downed Leicester, Mass., 59-27, and Marianapolis, 65-20, but lost to Auburn, Mass. 52.5-33.5 Jan. 9 at Tantasqua.
Kenneth Birlin placed second in the 1000-meter and fifth in the 1,600 while Ethan Aspiras took third in both those events.
Lucas Couture placed fourth in the 55-meter hurdles and missed qualifying for the Connecticut state championship meet by just a 10th of a second.
Several Centaur athletes currently own the best performances among the independent schools in the league to date.
C.J. Burroughs owns the best shotput with a throw of 35-11 ¼; Couture is best in the 55m hurdles with a 9.1-second performance; Aspiras is top in the mile (5:13.7); Birlin is best in the 1600m (2:57.5), Spencer Collins tops the 300m (41.3) and Jackson Dias is tied for best in the high jump at 5-2.
Girls’ Hockey
Centaurs’ goalie Marie Gravier made 35 saves but was under fire much of the night as the Avon-Southington cooperative program handed Woodstock Academy an 8-0 loss Jan. 9 at the Westminster School. The Centaurs fell to 1-4 on the season.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

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caption:

Field Hockey Help
Boston University senior goalie Kathleen Keegan, center, worked with Woodstock Academy field hockey goalies, left to right: Rachael Roberts, Olivia Stanikmas, Alina Michalski and Kailey LaChappelle on Jan. 12. Photo contributed by Lauren Gagnon.



The Woodstock Academy field hockey team welcomed a visitor on Saturday.
Kathleen Keegan, the senior goalie for the Boston University field hockey team, came to The Academy and gave a 90-minute clinic to four Woodstock Academy players; senior Olivia Stanikmas, junior Rachel Roberts, and sophomores Alina Michalski and Kailey LaChappelle.
“She did a lot footwork drills, a lot of higher-level technique and updated skills for ground work,” said Woodstock Academy coach Lauren Gagnon.
Keegan started all 20 games for the 12-8 Terriers this past season and earned Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors on two occasions. She finished with a goals against average of 1.67.
Keegan has also worked with the trainer for the English National team goalie, Maddie Hinch.
“She has a ton of experience,” Gagnon said.
The 5-foot, 6-inch Keegan is a Connecticut native, having graduated from Hall High School in W. Hartford. Gagnon coached her in the past with the HTC field hockey club.
“I couldn’t be happier for her. She is an amazing kid. She told me that someday, she was going to play D-I and she was this tiny little thing and you’re like, ‘That would be awesome, but who knows’ because it’s the pipe dream for everyone. She always put in the work and was totally committed. I always saw her at UConn games just watching. She was so focused on the game,” Gagnon said.
Keegan has possibly played her last field hockey.
She plans to go into finance after graduation.
Stanikmas, the starting goalie for the Centaurs, is currently looking at a number of colleges both academically and athletically. She plans to continue to play field hockey and Gagnon feels that it’s possible she will receive a Division II offer.
Roberts will be doing Futures with Centaur teammates Avery Jones and Eliza Dutson which Gagnon feels will be beneficial come the fall.
Gagnon was also pleased to see the goalies get a little attention for a change.
“I have very little time to dedicate to just four kids when I have 55 others. It’s huge for them to be able to have someone dedicated to just looking at their body position and distribution of weight and all that type of stuff that can be real nit-picky but can translate to huge gains,” Gagnon said.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

 

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#1 Putnam Science Boys Prep 78
Cushing Academy 67
The #1 ranked Putnam Science Academy Mustangs improved to 20-0 and extended the winning streak to 44 games with a huge road win over Cushing Academy 78-67. Tyson Etienne scored a team-high 18 points for the Mustangs who had five players score in double-figures. Demarr Langford Jr. had 13 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 steals and Dan Porcic (12 points) was huge off the bench knocking down four 3’s when the Mustangs needed it most in the second half to help preserve the win. Hassan Diarra (9 assists and 5 rebounds) and Kareem Reid (5 rebounds and 2 blocks) each scored 11 points for Putnam Science.
The Putnam Varsity 2 team had a successful week going 2-0 with a dominating performance against Ellis Tech holding the Golden Eagles to just 8 points in a 81-8 victory. The boys would then close out the week at home and beat St. Thomas More 74-59 to move to 8-3 and have 8 of their last 9 games.
Putnam Science Academy’s Varsity boys went 1-1 last week starting off the week with a 93-86 home victory over St. Thomas More. Tyler Henry had a big game for PSA finishing with 36 points to help the Mustangs pick up win number number nine on the year. PSA would fall to Redemption Christian Academy on the road later in the week in a tight game 101-96. Tyler Henry again kept PSA in the game with 33 points in the tough loss.
Girls
The PSA girls’ varsity team struggled early in the week with a 70-42 loss to Redemption Christian Academy on the road. Zoe Furman-Cox led the Lady Mustangs with 12 points in the loss but the Mustangs bounced back in a big way with a 65-45 road win over Rectory School to move to 7-3. Zoe Furman-Cox once again led PSA with 17 points, 10 points coming in the 4th quarter to close the game out. Alex Hutchins finished with 16 points and Brianna Mead added 13 points for the Lady Mustangs who play who games on the road this week.
PSA Girls’ Prep 98
Redemption Christian Academy 49
The Lady Mustangs improved to 12-2 on the season with a dominate win at home over the Lions. Xianna Josephs led PSA with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists and was named the Mustang Player of the Game. Trinasia Kennedy added 16 points and Ariana Koivisto had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists! The Lady Mustangs are home this week before they compete in the Rose Classic Super Jam.
Josh Sanchas
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy


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