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By Ron P. Coderre
This week’s RPC sporty shout out goes to Pomfret resident Peter Deary, who celebrated another candle on the cake today. During his high school days he was a standout quarterback at Putnam High School and later went on to play at Nichols College. Recent medical issues have slowed Deary but he appears to be on the path to good health. Happy Birthday, Peter.
Putnam High School golfer Spencer Salvas appears to be coming along strong toward the end of the schoolboy golf season. Playing for coach Jim Bartolomei, Salvas led the Clippers to some late season victories.
Most recently, Salvas captured medalist honors in the Constitution State Conference golf championships. In the championship competition he outdistanced the field firing a torrid even par 70. The effort earned him All-CSC honors for the spring season.
Salvas, playing as an individual entry because the Putnam team didn’t qualify for the State Tournament, teed off at 9 a.m. June 3 at Crestwood Park Golf Club in Watertown in the Division IV competition. During the golf season, Salvas plays out of Quinnatisset Country Club in Thompson. He’s the son of Mr. and Mrs. Warren Salvas of Putnam.
The only other northeastern Connecticut entry in the State Tournament is the Killingly High School golf team, coached by Kevin Marcoux. The Redmen, who have had a tremendous season, capped with a recent Eastern Connecticut Conference Championship, are paced by freshmen twins John and Drew Aitken. Other members of the team include cousins, Brad and Kyle Liebscher and Calvin Desjardin. Killingly tees off in the Division III competition on Monday; however their tee time is an early 7:45 a.m. at Timberlin Country Club in Berlin.
New Baby Announcement…
Congratulations to former Putnam resident Jillian D’Elia and ex-UConn basketball standout Donny Marshall on the recent birth of their daughter Melia. Mother and daughter are doing fine but all reports are that Marshall, although he handled the basketball rather adeptly in his hoop days, is very cautious when handling his new born daughter.
D’Elia is a Putnam High School graduate, where she was a cheerleader and the captain of her cheering squad as a senior. She received her bachelor’s degree in marketing at Eastern Connecticut State University. Currently she holds a management position with United Natural Foods Inc. in Providence.
Marshall, who starred under coach Jim Calhoun, played professionally for a number of years following his graduation. He is seen regularly during the basketball season on CSN Television, where he co-hosts the Boston Celtics pre and post game shows. He occasionally works college basketball games as a color analyst.
Sara and Barney Seney of Putnam are the proud grandparents.
Hole-In-One…
Josh Peach, branch manager of The Citizens National Bank Putnam office, achieved every golfers dream on a blustery May 27 when he recorded the first hole-in-one of his 10-year golfing career. Peach’s ace occurred at Wintonbury Hills Golf Club in Bloomfield.
Playing with Jay Korsu and Brian and Ann Dauphin, Peach aced the downhill par-three, 12th- hole, which was playing at a distance of 162 yards. He used his trusty seven-iron, while striking his favorite Nike golf ball, which is now prominently on display at his home.
“The wind was blowing fiercely and of course in our faces, which is usually the case on the golf course. I struck the shot well but didn’t think I would get a hole-in-one. The nice thing about the shot was that we could see the entire event taking place before our eyes, as we all watched the ball comfortably settle into the cup. I hope it’s the first of many,” said Peach.
Remembering A 1995 State Record Holder…
Tourtellotte Memorial High School has had a number of State championship teams in its long and illustrious sports history, but in 1995 four young ladies put the school on the map with a record setting performance. The quartet, Melissa Marcucci, Jennifer Blumie, Erin Raftery and Angela Girardin put on a moment to remember at the championships when they broke a 15-year record previously held by Litchfield High School in the 4x400 relay.
The previous best time, recorded in 1980 was 4:08.30. The Lady Tigers relay team finished in an incredible time of 4:06.76, eclipsing Litchfield’s record. These young ladies accounted for 47 of Tourtellotte’s 48.75 points, leading to a third place finish in the Class S championships and a fifth place at the State Open. All the young ladies were selected to the Connecticut All-State team and competed in the New England Championships.
Individually, Marcucci ran the 200-meter, Blumie competed in the high jump and Girardin ran the 100-meter hurdles, and the 200 and the 400-meters. The relay team is scheduled to be inducted into the TMHS Athletic Hall of Fame at 2 p.m. June 22 at the Thompson Public School Auditorium.
From The Annals of Putnam Sports History…
June 11, 1915: PHS. defeated Bartlett 2-0. Arthur Blackmore pitched Putnam’s first no-hit, no-run game. (Information contributed by Willie Zamagni)
RPC’s Closing Thought For The Day: A friend is somebody you can be quiet with.