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caption, page 9:
Above: The Woodstock Academy senior Matt Tiffany, right, received the Cliff Spellman boys’ tennis sportsmanship award from Cliff Spellman. Right: Senior Ethan Holcomb, left, was presented the award for Outstanding Male Athlete of the Class of 2019 by athletic director Sean Saucier. Photos by Jeremy Useted/The Woodstock Academy.
The Woodstock Academy seniors Ivy Gelhaus, left, and Heather Converse were named the Most Outstanding Female Athletes of the Class of 2019.
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Left to right photos: Seniors who participated in all 12 athletic seasons in their four years at The Woodstock Academy. Senior Ashleigh Angle, right, receives the Alfred C. Warren Soccer Award from Associate Head of School, Holly Singleton. Senior Arielle Johnson receives the Evelyn and Arthur Weinmann Award from baseball head coach Brian Murphy. Jeremy Useted/The Woodstock Academy
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The annual Woodstock Academy Senior Awards Night was held last week at the Loos Center for the Arts on the school’s South campus.
Three seniors received the Most Outstanding Senior Athlete Awards:
Ethan Holcomb, who is heading to Keene State where he will be a member of the men’s lacrosse team, was named the Most Outstanding Male Senior Athlete.
Holcomb was a member of the soccer and lacrosse programs in all four years at The Woodstock Academy.
This past season, he led the team to an Eastern Connecticut Conference boys’ soccer tournament championship with 11 goals and four assists.
He scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over Stonington in the ECC boys’ soccer semifinal match.
Holcomb went to on to finish with 57 points (28 goals, 29 assists) in the lacrosse season. He helped the team back to the .500 mark at 8-8 for the regular season and also helped it qualify for the state tournament for the first time since 2016.
The Most Outstanding Female Senior Athlete was shared by two athletes, Heather Converse and Ivy Gelhaus.
Both were three-sport, three-season athletes in all four of their years.
The two were teammates in the fall on the soccer team.
Converse also played basketball and softball while Gelhaus switched from basketball to indoor track and in the spring played lacrosse.
This past season, Converse scored the game-winning goal with 52 seconds left in regulation in a 1-0 win over Plainfield in the ECC girls’ soccer tournament championship match.
Converse was also given the Most Memorable Play Award for her last-minute heroics in that match.
It was the first goal of the fullback’s high school career, but not her last.
She also scored in the Centaurs’ loss to Daniel Hand in a second round Class L state tournament match.
Converse went on to lead the girls’ basketball team with a 12.2 point per game average, 209 rebounds and 22 blocks. She was second on the team in assists (35) and steals (40).
The senior started a little slow on the softball field but it was understandable since she hadn’t faced live pitching in a year due to her commitment to the other sports.
She finished well, however, and led the team in runs batted in (25) and triples (4).
She was second on the team in batting average with a .407 mark.
Gelhaus was the sniper on the soccer pitch for the Centaurs.
She attacked opposing defenses who could rarely cope with her speed.
She finished with a team-best 19 goals and added five assists.
On the track, Gelhaus finished fourth in the ECC Division I indoor championship meet in the 600 and was also a member of the sprint medley team that also brought home a fourth-place finish.
Gelhaus qualified for the Class L indoor track state championship and barely missed qualifying for the State Open by one second when she put together a personal-best time of 1:46.19 in the 600. It netted her a fifth-place finish in the Class L championship.
Gelhaus was a key reason why the Centaurs beat East Lyme for a first time in the history of the girls’ lacrosse program at home on April 27.
She scored two goals early in the second half of that game that gave the Centaurs a three-goal lead and they held on for the 5-4 win.
Gelhaus finished with 60 goals and nine assists on the season.
The John Suleski Jr. Memorial golf awards went to Mason Stewart who received the Most Valuable Senior golfer award while Owen Borski earned the Most Improved award.
The Bertrand Golf Award, significant of the golfer who shows uncommon determination and dedication to make the most of his/her ability, was given to Katherine Harrington.
The Cliff Spellman tennis sportsmanship award was given to Matt Tiffany.
The Alfred C. Warren soccer sportsmanship awards, given to senior players who show a true love for the game, went to Ashleigh Angle and Holcomb.
The Marvin M. Sherman Award given to a senior male athlete who has displayed a high level of sportsmanship, character, desire and determination both on and off the field was won by Eric Preston.
The Evelyn and Arthur Weinmann Award given to the senior athlete who has done the most for the athletic department and has exemplified the spirit of athletics at Woodstock Academy went to Arielle Johnson.