Crystal's day
camp on hold
EASTFORD/WOODSTOCK — Crystal Pond Park Commission members recently voted to suspend Day Camp operations indefinitely.
The decision was made during a recent special meeting of the commission.
Commission Chairman Chris Mayhew said one of the main reasons is liability.  Though the commission has made great strides in offering a safe environment for community members to enjoy the park, he said, the day-to-day operations of the Day Camp, and other variables created situations “that put our campers at risk.”
In addition, he said, decreased enrollment, along with financial stress, also were determining factors in the unanimous vote to suspend activity.  Though the Day Camp has enjoyed some success over the past few years, the inability to hire a qualified director to offer concrete and productive programs has also been an ongoing challenge to the commission. 
Mayhew added, though, with the suspension of Day Camp operations, other opportunities have developed at the park.  Swimming may now be enjoyed on hot summer days with no restrictions and the same will now be true for the disc golf course. 
The commission also encourages other groups such as churches and businesses to reach out to the park to book a day trip for relaxation or other bonding activities. 
Mayhew said, though these recent changes were “difficult ones to make for everyone on the commission, the future of the park is bright. The cabin by the lake is ready to rent with a beautiful view of Crystal Pond. New roofs have been completed on multiple structures to ensure their future use on the property and a new floor is planned for early next year in our kitchen area.”

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Cross country
team on fire
On a picture perfect day for running, the Pomfret School boys’ cross country team traveled to Worcester Academy to race the host, Cushing, Dexter Southfield (DS), and Wilbraham & Monson Academy (WMA). Dexter was a surprise addition to the field which made for a great and competitive five-team meet. The course at NB Fields is essentially three loops that traverse the playing fields and an up and down tricky trail in the woods. DS and WMA had good speed. The Griffins had beaten Cushing and Worcester once before, Worcester had also beaten them. To make prospects more interesting, Cole Hecker - often a top 5 finisher for Pomfret was out with an injury.
Dexter’s #1 sprung to the lead with two WMA runners and a Worcester runner on his heels. Jeffrey Gibbs — as we’ve gotten used to this season — hung back to size up the leaders. Blake Zahansky, who’s been running well of late, stuck with Gibbs. There was a sizable pack of Worcester, DS, and a few Cushing rabbits before Cam Adams, Kellen Horst, and Cooper Ames rumbled by. Ian Wolanin, Jack Terwilliger, Alex Chen, and Kevin Li all ran hard and smart first miles, biding their time and finding a good rhythm. Rounding out roster were Jacob Marsco, Danny Wang, Terry Kim, David Wu, Bill Tian, and Ben Gordon.
After the first woods loop Gibbs had moved into a 50-meter lead, and Zahansky was running around 6th. Cam had slid further up the ranks, as had Cooper, and Kellen. Ian also moved up, while Jack, Alex, and Kevin all were in a pack vying for a top 7 team finish. Runners then made their way back into the woods for their 2nd loop.
Unfortunately, it was then that David Wu took a hard fall in the woods on a tricky downslope, spraining an ankle and ripping up his other knee on the loose rocks (he will be OK) After the third woods loop, we waited to see the racers emerge for the final time and watch the 100-meter sprint to the finish line. Gibbs had, by then, fully separated himself from the competition and crossed the line for another outright win and a new PR of 17:31 (5:38/mi. pace). DS was next, followed by two WMA runners. Worcester took the next two slots and Blake was next, 7th overall. At this point, it was still anyone’s race. However, when DS took the next three spots in a row, 8, 9, 10, they were in the driver’s seat. Worcester took 11th, with Cam Adams taking a strong 12th place, but then WMA took the next three spots, making it very tough for Pomfret to beat them.
Kellen put in a valiant effort, set a new PR, and finished in 16th place. When DS took 17th, they sealed their win. Pomfret’s fifth finisher, Cooper Ames, ran as well as he has in several weeks, but couldn’t outpace a few other runners to nudge Pomfret ahead of WMA.
However the Griffins did just enough to beat Worcester by 2 points and Cushing by a significant margin. Ian Wolanin set another PR, his second one in two races, and for the first time this season, Kevin Li finished in the varsity 7. Alex Chen also scored a new PR and was the top JV finisher. He was followed by Jack, Danny, Terry (PR by one second!), Jacob, Bill, and Ben.
It was the last regular season race of the year. Nov. 9 the team travels to Litchfield to finish the season at the NEPSTA Div. III Championship.
By David Ring

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caption, page 5:


Senior Day
The Woodstock Academy football team and cheerleaders celebrated Senior Day on Saturday prior to a 44-0 win over Nonnewaug. Photo by Marc Allard.




Guaranteed
1st winning
season
A win over Stonington the week before gave the Woodstock Academy football team its most ever wins in a season.
A 44-0 win over Nonnewaug Nov. 2 meant the Centaurs reached another milestone.
“Now, we got a winning season under our belt, the first time in school history. It’s an unbelievable feeling. All the kids came out and worked hard on Senior Day and that was really big for us,” said senior receiver Nick Bedard.
The win raised the Centaurs record to 6-1 with three games left in the season.
The Chiefs came in with a 0-2 record and will play only four varsity football games this season, reserving the rest for a junior varsity schedule.
It was a situation that the Centaurs were all too familiar with in the not-so-distant past.
The difference being it was the Centaurs who used to be on the wrong side of the rout.
“At halftime, we talked about that,” said Woodstock Academy coach Sean Saucier. “We’ve been there. The kids understood that and understood how to treat a team with dignity when it’s lopsided. I was proud of them for that. They really got it, they understood.”
The one thing that Saucier knew the Centaurs had to do was to come out and strike early to take any upset potential out of the equation. Woodstock Academy had no problems delivering.
Although, the Centaurs were their own worst enemies early.
The first carry from scrimmage went 20 yards, but the ball popped out and Nonnewaug recovered on its own 35-yard line.
In three plays, the Chiefs lost 18 yards.
That forced a Nonnewaug punt and the Centaurs got the ball back on the Chiefs 47.
Two running plays netted 19 yards and senior Ian Welz (6 carries, 52 yards) took the third one into the end zone, only to turn around and see a penalty flag sitting on the ground about eight yards from the original line of scrimmage.
The holding call made things a little more difficult on the Centaurs but on 4th-and-10, quarterback Ethan Davis went 21 yards to the Nonnewaug 4-yard line.
Running back Gavin Savoie took it in to the end zone on the next play.
Nonnewaug again went backwards on its next possession but a decent punt backed the Centaurs up to their own 15.
A holding call cost the Centaurs 4 more yards.
But Davis (3-for-6, 90 yards) found Travis White over the middle for 9 yards to give the Centaurs a little breathing room.
Woodstock Academy then went to a relatively safe play, a little bubble pass to the right to Bedard.
 “All year, we’ve been running that bubble play and we hadn’t broken one. Breaking it outside and then coming back inside with Luis (Miranda) blocking was unbelievable,” Bedard said.
Indeed, Berard got to the right sideline and cut it back inside, going all the way across to the field to the left side where he was greeted not only by Miranda but a phalanx of Centaurs who accompanied him the remainder of the 80 yards to the end zone.
Savoie would set up the final score of the first quarter for the Centaurs.
After a Nonnewaug fumble gave Woodstock Academy the ball on the Chiefs 27-yard line, Savoie ran it 26 yards, finishing just shy of the goal line.
The Centaurs could have easily run it, but instead, targeted another senior, Miranda, who caught the 1-yard pass for his first touchdown of the season.
Up 22-0, Saucier went to his bench.
Adam Schimmelpfennig plays a lot on the defensive side of the ball. Not as much on the offensive side. So, Saucier put the junior in at running back and he carried the ball for the first two plays of the second quarter.
The first went 16 yards; the second ate up the remainder of the distance to the Nonnewaug goal as he scored from 44 yards out to make it 28-0.
A safety added two points to the Centaurs’ total and a Trey Ayotte 5-yard run accounted for a 37-0 halftime lead.
Freshman Trevor Savoie finished off the scoring with a 60-yard gallop with 3:47 left in the game.
Before the game, Woodstock Academy did honor seniors Welz, Bedard, Aidan Morin, Dan Suitum, Miranda, Nick Bessette, Travis White, J.J. Bain, Seth Libby, Gavin Lanning and Zach Bertram.
The success that Woodstock Academy has experienced means it has a chance to win the ECC Div. II title.
Nov. 9 the Centaurs travel to Colchester to play Bacon Academy which owns a 5-2 overall record and a 2-1 Division II mark.
“This game was nice but going into Bacon Academy, we’re going to have to really step up. It’s going to be the biggest game of the season. We’re going to really have to crack down this week and face Bacon with everything we got,” Bedard said.
Should the Centaurs get past Bacon, they host Waterford on Nov. 16 which is currently 2-0 in the division and 6-1 overall, in what will likely be the title game.
The Centaurs are also in the hunt for a Class L state playoff berth. They need to get into the top eight — they are currently No. 12 in Class L.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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