By Ron P. Coderre

This week’s RPC sporty shoutout is sent along to UConn Husky fan and graduate Dennis Kelly.  In high school, Kelly was a standout on the hardwood for Woodstock Academy.  A little known fact, he played on the Huskies freshman team in the days when players were only allowed to play varsity basketball for three years.

The U.S. Navy graduated a class of more than 800 recruits at the Great Lakes Training Center on Friday, April 4.  Among the newest recruits who were promoted to E-2 was former Woodstock Academy 2013 graduate Tim Cutler.

Cutler successfully completed eight weeks of basic training, which started for his class in early February.  It seems that Cutler started his training at a time when most people would rather be in Florida, Arizona or Aruba as the weather in the Chicago area is not known for its balmy temperatures at that time of the year.  Following the ceremony Seaman Apprentice E-2 Cutler is awaiting his next assignment.

Prior to reporting to his assignment, which will be to the USS Blue Ridge, an amphibious craft that is the flagship of the 7th Fleet stationed out of Yokosuko, Japan, Cutler will spend time in “A” School located at the Great Lakes Naval Air Station.

A rugged, physically fit and determined individual, Cutler is hoping to be accepted into one of the Navy’s special missions programs.

While a student at Woodstock Academy Cutler starred on the Centaurs baseball and soccer teams.  During the summer months he was a stalwart on the Paul Faucher coached TriTown American Legion Baseball team.  He split his time between the pitcher’s mound and the outfield.  Last season he was the Towners ace relief pitcher.

Seaman Apprentice Cutler is the son of Doug and Charlene Cutler, who serves as the Town of Putnam’s town administrator and executive director of The Last Green Valley respectively.  The Cutlers, along with their other son James, were in attendance at the graduation ceremony.  The family used the opportunity to see and tour the sites of Chicago and the many offerings of the Windy City.

All State Selections

Northeastern Connecticut schools saw three of their players honored by the CIAC as first team All-State selections following conclusion of the basketball season.  The players were chosen in Class L, M and S, representing three divisions and three local schools, Woodstock Academy, Plainfield High School and Tourtellotte Memorial High School.

Chris Lowry Woodstock Academy’s stellar point guard, was a Class L selection.  Lowry, who averaged in double figures for the Centaurs, led the team to a 20-6 record and into the Class L semifinals.  He’s planning to play basketball on the college level next season.  The Academy floor general was selected for postseason play in the prestigious CIAC All Star game and the Jewish Community Center Schoolboy Classic.

Ryan Pambuku, Plainfield High School’s sharp shooting guard, was a Class M selection.  The long-range threat was one of the top scorers in all of Eastern Connecticut this season as he led the Panthers to a 13-11 log and into the Class M second round.  He averaged 21.8 points a contest in the recently completed season.  On March 25 he was chosen as the Most Valuable Player in the Putnam Rotary Club Ray Brousseau Senior All Star Shootout for his outstanding performance in which he poured 33 points through the nylon.  Pambuku is ticketed for college on the NCAA Division II level next season.

Kaevon Safford of the Tourtellotte Tigers was a Class S selection.  He was the Tigers go-to players throughout the season, leading his team to a 12-11 record and entry into the Class S tourney.  Safford averaged 24.3 points per game to capture the scoring title in northeastern Connecticut.  He’s planning on continuing his basketball career on the prep school level in anticipation of honing his hoop and academic skills.    

All three players had one thing in common last season: they all surpassed the 1000 point plateau for their high school careers.

Familiar Face Resurfaces As Track Coach

Credit Tourtellotte athletic director Deb Spinelli with bringing a quality individual to the Thompson campus to coach the boys’ track program.  Rich Jerr of Danielson, a familiar name and experienced track coach, is looking forward to revamping the Tourtellotte program.

Jerr is a solid track coach with years of experience and knowledge.  He was the head coach at Killingly for many years before moving on to Pomfret School for a stint at the prep level.  Although he’s been absent from the coaching scene for a few years, the itch to coach got the better of him.  It’s a certainty that he’ll jump right in with the old Jerr enthusiasm.  

Biking For Bucks

Putnam resident Charlie Leach is known around town as one of the community’s good guys.  Always willing to step forward for a good cause, Leach has been instrumental in the revitalization of the Congregational Church of Putnam steeple.  Leach is now on another mission as he prepares for the popular bicycle ride known as the Pan Mass Challenge.

This is the 35th year of the PMC, which has raised a total of $414 million for the Jimmy Fund at the Dana Farber Cancer Center.  Last year more than 5300 riders participated in the event and Leach will be one of more than 5000 riders who are expected to turn out again this year.  

There are various routes that riders can select that range from 132 to 190 miles in the two-day event that will be run on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 2 and 3.  The most noted route starts in Sturbridge, Mass., and ends in Provincetown on Cape Cod.

Leach has a goal of raising $4,300 to participate and he’s looking for help from his many friends and those generous individuals who want to support his effort and the work of the doctors at the Dana Farber Cancer Center.

Get in touch with Leach at 860 924-2019 or 860 428-0050 or by e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

College Golf Career Off 

To A Great Start

A former Putnam resident is making a name for herself on the college level as a freshman at Quinnipiac University.  Nicole Scola, a member of the Lady Bobcats women’s golf team, is leading her team in just about every conceivable scoring category.

Scola, a business major who will receive an MBA in four years, has played in 16 rounds this season and carries an 18-hole average of 78.06.  Her low round of the season was 70 in the Dartmouth College Women’s Invitational.  She leads the team with the most birdies and is the proud owner of the team’s only eagle of the season.

The Lady Bobcats are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and play their home matches at River Highlands.  Among the honors Scola has received this season was being named the MAAC Player of the Month in September and October.

Quinnipiac’s golfing sensation lives in Watch Hill, R.I. with her parents, Atty. Nicholas and Jill Scola.  Her brother Bobby is a member of the Prout School golf team.

RPC’s Closing Thought For The Day: Congratulations to the University of Connecticut’s men’s and women’s basketball teams for bringing NCAA National Championships to Storrs.

(If you have sports items worthy of publication please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

 

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