Details

Category: Current Issue

caption, page 7:

Golf Tournament
Left to right: Post #13 Commander Alan R. Joslin, Brian Davis, Bruce Briere and Jon Stringer. Courtesy photos.


A record $20,000 was raised with the third edition of the Mayotte-Viens American Legion Post #13 Golf Tournament  Sept. 23 at Connecticut National Golf Club. Some 120 golfers took part.
In 2019 the American Legion national organization and Post #13 will be celebrating their 100th anniversary.  The American Legion was started in 1919 shortly after the end of World War I.  Post #13 is one of the oldest Posts in existence in the United States.
Started in 2016 to support the numerous projects for veterans, youth and education that are part of the Post’s mission, the tournament hosted some 120 golfers — the largest field in its brief three year existence. It also attracted the most number of sponsors since its onset. 
The 2018 championship foursome, Kevin Marcoux, Chad Neal, Gary Brine and Jack Cochran, all members of the Killingly High School football coaching staff, was on fire from the first tee throughout the 18-hole event.  They posted a winning score of 11 under par 60 on the par 71 CNGC scenic layout.
The group was elated over its victory and celebrated by sipping libations from the traveling Championship Trophy, which will remain in their possession until next year’s tournament.
The runner-up position went to the group of Tom Auclair, Paul Leduc, Marc Allard and Larry Ring.  They bested third-place finishers Roger Franklin, Neil Bernier, Duke Parziale and Rob Loomis.  Both foursomes finished with identical scores of 61, one stroke off the winning pace.  The finish was determined by matching scores over the final nine holes of play with the Auclair foursome shooting a 31 on the back nine.
The co-ed championship title was claimed by the foursome of Bob and Deb Darigan and Curtis and Mya Rodowicz, representing Colonial Health and Rehab of Plainfield.  They shot a 67 in the scramble format event.
“It was great to see so many golfer turn out in support of our veteran legionnaires.  Our Post has been working diligently to establish itself as a community partner in the greater Putnam area.  The success of this tournament is evidence that people recognize and appreciate the many projects we initiate and conduct every year,” said tournament chairman Ronald P. Coderre.
The closest to the pin winners were Greg Anderson on the 4th hole; Bill Neilson (7th); Marc Allard (9th); Jack Cochran (11th); and Heath Meagher (15th).
“Thanks to the many groups who played a vital role in this tournament, we have achieved the biggest financial goal in our history,” said Post Commander Alan Joslin.
 “Our tournament and major sponsors along with our numerous tee sponsors made the difference in our success.  Thanks also to golfers, volunteers and the ladies who made the baskets for our raffle,” concluded Joslin.
The tournament sponsor was bankHometown of Putnam.  The tourney attracted nine major sponsors including Gerardi Insurance Services, The G-Seven Caterers, Fluid Coating Technology, Colonial Health & Rehab of Plainfield, Weiss, Hale & Zahansky, Byrnes Agency Insurance, RPC Associates Ron and Donna Coderre, The Jeff Bond Family and Lamoureux Ford of East Brookfield, Mass.  The tourney also enjoyed a record number, 47 tee sponsors.

 

Details

Category: Current Issue

Owns cross
country record
Linsey Arends hasn’t been at the high school cross-country game too long.
The Woodstock Academy freshman already owns a course record.
Arends finished first at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme Sept. 27. 
“I was very happy. I felt very good, thought I did well for my team and maybe next year, I can break it again,” Arends said.
Arends finished in 20 minutes, 19 seconds to break the mark previously held by a former Woodstock Academy runner, Sylvia Lawrence.
Close behind Arends was Stella DiPippo who finished in 20:38.
Unfortunately for the Centaurs, the 1-2 finish was not enough.
The girls lost a close battle Eastern Connecticut Conference defending champions, East Lyme, 25-30.
It was the score that coach Joe Banas expected.
Banas asked his two top runners to go out slower than normal to try and bait the East Lyme pack into starting faster than it wanted to.
It didn’t make much of a difference.
“I had crunched the numbers from a previous race and I had it 25-30. But I figured if I didn’t do anything at all, the result was going to be obvious. I don’t like handing over a victory. We tried to push them out a little faster than they wanted but their five were solid,” Banas said.
Banas was especially impressed by the effort of East Lyme’s No. 5 runner, Brianna am Ende. She was holding her side through much of the race, battling a cramp, and never gave in.
“She gutted it out. If she had dropped out, we would have won 27-31, so I went up to her in front of (East Lyme) Coach (Mike) Flynn and told her how much I admired her effort,” Banas said.
The Rocky Neck course is one of the more scenic in the ECC.
It’s run along the shores of Long Island Sound.
“It was a really beautiful course,” Arends said. “Running by the ocean and on the boardwalk, it was the best.”
Although Arends found running in sand to be a bit on the interesting side.
“Very tough. You don’t know what kind of stride to take. You’re always sinking in. It was actually a relief to get back on the pavement to finish the race,” she said.
Shannon D’Alessandro and Iris Bazinet finished ninth and 10th and Emily McClure 14th as the Centaurs (4-1, 0-1 ECC Division I) downed Lyman Memorial, 20-39, and Waterford, 16-47, in the quad meet.
Boys take 1
The Centaurs boys had to face not one, but two defending state champion teams Sept. 27 at Rocky Neck.
Woodstock Academy beat one of those, Lyman Memorial, 24-34, but lost to the other, East Lyme, 16-40 and also fell to Waterford, 24-35, in the quad-meet.
Sophomore Ethan Aspiras, as he has all season, led the Centaurs (2-3, 0-1) with an eighth-place finish in 18:03.
Not too far behind was senior Kenneth Birlin who was just 25 seconds behind his teammate.
“I’m getting closer,” Birlin said. “I think I’m improving faster than he is so I’m hoping to get up there with him in the next couple of meets.”
That is not a bad thing.
Internal competition is important to a team and individuals in cross-country.
“I think it is. It’s always been what has motivated me since freshman year,” Birlin said.
The Centaurs also reached another important goal.
The top four runners all finished under 19 minutes.
It’s the first time that has happened in a number of years according to coach Peter Lusa.
Christian Mink finished in 18:47 with teammate Hamilton Barnes three seconds behind him as the two placed 12th and 13th.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

..
 

Details

Category: Current Issue

Final 1st
Fridays
is Oct. 5
PUTNAM — Double the fun during the October First Fridays on Oct. 5 as the Putnam Business Association focuses on Scandinavian culture, an important piece of “Mill Town Mosaics,” plus anticipates the biggest batch of Zombies ever to strut the runway during the Zombie Fashion Show.
The event takes place from 6 to 9 p.m.
Enjoy twice as much in one evening, with live music, a party atmosphere, costumes, performances, dance, arts, and more vendors than ever.
Family-friendly is ever the theme at the event and at all downtown businesses, galleries, shops and restaurants.  
The St. Joseph School singers kick off the event with the season’s newest First Fridays tradition, a 6 p.m. chorus of the National Anthem at the Congregational Church Stage, complete with an American Legion Post #13 color guard escort.
Arts, theater, and entertainment define First Fridays, with unique and exceptional experiences every month, and the season finishes with a flourish! Sarah Tretheway is the featured artist of the month,  and she will share her inspiration, creativity and love of the arts with you.
The Quiet Corner Fiddlers will perform and have your toes tapping.  These fiddlers have a strong connection to Scandinavian heritage and culture, so be sure to visit with them! More Scandinavian heritage can be enjoyed at the Cultural Celebration Station, hosted by The Last Green Valley with guests from the Finnish American Heritage Society (FAHS) and the Aspinock Historical Society of Putnam. Encourage young visitors to become artists at the Community Arts booth where they can create their own Viking shields.
Enter the Zombie Fashion Show. at:  www.discoverputnam.com.
The Complex Performing and Creative Arts Centre promises a “Thrilling” performance. The talented troupe will dazzle you with their costumes and choreography. You can be just feet away to witness local talent that is always thrilling!

Details

Category: Current Issue

Headed for
the state
tourney
The undefeated string for the Woodstock Academy volleyball team continued last week.
The Centaurs have now won 10 in a row to start this season and 30 of their last 31 matches, dating back to last season, after taking the measure of Coventry, Killingly and Bacon Academy last week.
The Centaurs reached double digits in wins with a 3-0 shutout of Bacon Academy Sept. 28 at the Alumni Fieldhouse.
The Centaurs followed a familiar pattern.
They won the first two sets handily 25-8 and 25-7, substituted often in the third, and pulled out the 25-20 win to complete the victory.
Sammie Orlowski had 19 assists while Emma Green added 10 sets in the win.
Paula Hernandez was the beneficiary of many of those sets, she led the Centaurs with 12 kills. Sophomore Gabby Garbutt added five more.
Senior Libero Maddy Gronski played well in the back row again with 21 digs.
Prior to the match with Killingly last Wednesday, outside hitter Natalie Low was honored for the week she had prior as the senior was named the Connecticut MaxPreps Volleyball Player of the Week.
“That was pretty cool,” said Woodstock Academy volleyball coach Adam Bottone.
Low had 44 kills and 42 digs in the three games the Centaurs had played against Newtown, Norwich Free Academy and Fitch.
“She’s been doing some good things lately and has been working hard. She is still having a little trouble keeping the consistency with the hitting, but she comes out strong every game and we work on the adjustments she has to make,” Bottone said. “She’s been plugging along. It was a well-deserved award.”
Some of those adjustments were in evidence in the match against Coventry last Tuesday at the Alumni Fieldhouse.
The Centaurs downed the Patriots, 3-0.
The win qualified the Centaurs for the Class L state tournament.
“I love my team this year,” Low said. “We’re really super close and that adds a lot to it.”
The Centaurs beat the Patriots (5-2) for a first time last season.
Woodstock Academy was dominant Sept. 25, scoring wins of 25-16, 25-12 and 25-19.
“We’ve made a lot of progress and it has a lot to do with coach. The way he is running practices this year is different which I really like,” Low said.
Bottone credited the improvement, meanwhile, to a player.
Hernandez made her debut last season as a sophomore against the Patriots and powered the Centaurs to a 3-0 victory.
“She makes everybody else better. It’s not just her out there on the court. The defense is making phenomenal digs. We’re starting to get our middles working more and Natalie is getting more effective and consistent,” Bottone said.
Against Coventry, Low finished with 12 kills.
But those points came in a variety of ways.
Early on, Low used her power game and got seven of those kills in the first set.
But she adjusted her outside game as the match went along, choosing to slip the ball over the block or into space rather than try to overpower the Patriot defense.
“I was struggling a little bit with the harder swings. They were going out a lot, so I wanted to switch it up a little bit,” Low said.
Hernandez was Hernandez.
“It’s so amazing playing with her,” Low said. “She’s super sweet about it. She’s never cocky and acts like everybody else and is really supportive of everyone.”
She was dominant early, getting the first 10 service points in the first set to put the Centaurs in the right frame of mind early.
She finished with 18 kills, 18 digs, 23 service points and six aces.
“She’s our best server statistically with points in and aces. I like to mix my lineup as to where I have people start serving because I figure most will try and match up with Paula in the front, maybe she is in the back row to begin with and mess up (the opponents) a little bit. I’ve talked to her about the power of her serve. She has a consistent serve that works really well which is what we want but if we can add a little extra power to it, that’s going to give teams fits and it clearly did that (Tuesday) against an extremely good team,” Bottone said.
Ostrowski was again steady at setter with 28 assists while Gronski was a rock in the back with 14 digs.
Katie Papp had three blocks and her first three aces of the season in the win.
While the Centaurs were tested a bit by Coventry, they had a much easier time with the Redgals.
Killingly (1-7) is in a bit of a rebuilding cycle after losing some of their top players including Ally Conde.
Bottone was especially happy with the team’s service game as it put together numerous strings.
“Bekah Wesler had some really nice strings that helped us out. Our middles, Katie Papp, Amelia Large and Sierra Bedard, are starting to get a lot more touches on the ball and they’re starting to make a difference. I’m happy to see that progressing,” Bottone said.
The Centaurs were able to sub liberally as they won the three games, 25-9, 25-10 and 25-21.
“It’s going to be a completely different team next year. We lose most of our players that are our significant contributors right now. Being able to get them in, even if we struggle a little and I have to put the starters back in, is the nature of the beast. They learn from it and get the reps and it gives me ideas as to what we need to work on,” Bottone said.
As a result, the individual totals were not big for the Centaurs.
Hernandez had 10 kills while Low added seven and eight service points. Orlowski (12) and Green combined for 20 assists and Gronski accumulated 20 digs.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

..