There were plenty of hugs and tears but also a lot of smiles after the final buzzer of the season sounded on Friday.
The Woodstock Academy girls’ basketball season had come to a close as the seventh-seeded Centaurs fell short to No. 10 Windsor, 59-39, in a Class L state tournament second-round game.
“This season has been amazing,” said senior Reegan Reynolds. “I could not have imagined going through senior year with any girls other than these. I know our coach (Will Fleeton) talks a lot about family, it’s right on our warm up jerseys, and I think that is the most important thing to me. That’s what is truly remarkable about this team. We are a family, we don’t just say that, we’re all best friends in and outside of school and I know this group of girls is going to do some special things in the future.”
Reynolds and Kerry Blais will be the only players who graduate from the Centaurs who finished 15-7 on the season.
“I’m happy with the growth and development of the players within the program, learning the system, executing, those types of things. I think if we do the things that we want to do or we know how to do, I’m always happy and satisfied with that. In most cases, those things took care of things and gave us the success we had this season,” Fleeton said.
It was also a season of growth as the freshmen players a year ago, like Kaylee Saucier, Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain, Vivian Bibeau and Sidney Anderson, were now solid sophomores.
“I think we got better every minute of every day in some type of way. I think this was a high-character, tight-knit group that truly cared about each other. They pushed each other positively daily and we got results daily,” Fleeton said.
Unfortunately for Woodstock, it ran into a hot team.
Windsor started the season 1-4 but when transfer student Kamaria Bowens came aboard, the fortunes of the Warriors (19-7) changed.
She helped stabilize a team that already included a Div. I-level talent in senior Ayanna Franks who averaged nearly 30 points a game this season and committed to play for the University of Rhode Island in November.
The Warriors had won their last 10 games including the Central Connecticut Conference tournament championship but their slow start left them as a very dangerous tenth seed coming into the Alumni Fieldhouse.
The Centaurs hung tough early. They held the high-scoring Franks, who has scored over 2,000 points in her high school career, to just four first-quarter points and Windsor owned only a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Warriors did extend the lead to double-digits midway through the second quarter but Saucier scored all five of her points and Bibeau, who finished with 10 points, added a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to cut the deficit to eight, 23-15, at halftime.
“We went into the locker room and were proud of what we were doing, the energy was high and we were playing really well. They made some tough buckets, props to them, but that first half was good for us,” Reynolds said.
The third quarter, however, belonged to Windsor.
The Warriors scored the first seven points and outscored the Centaurs, 20-6, over the eight minutes.
“I think they changed a few things up in the locker room and we changed a few things to deal with them but they are a good team,” Reynolds said.
Despite trailing by 22 going into the fourth quarter, there was a spark to be had.
D’Alleva-Bochain got hot early and scored all 10 of her points in the first 2 ½ minutes of the fourth quarter to help Woodstock pull within 13, 47-34, with 5 minutes, 16 seconds to play.
“I think that definitely brought a spark to us which (D’Alleva-Bochain) tends to do. I think that’s a great thing about our team, depending on the night, somebody will have a spark and we will be right back in it and that is what happened there,” Reynolds said.
Windsor, however, was able to extinguish that spark.
The Warriors held the Centaurs scoreless until just under a minute was left to play in the quarter while scoring 10 points of their own to put the win away.
Franks was held to only 10 points but Bowens finished with 16, Mikaela Williams added 11 and Tyler Welsh also contributed 10 for Windsor.
It meant that, for Reynolds and Blais, the season and high school career had come to an end.
“I’ve been playing basketball longer than any other sport, it’s what I grew up playing. I stuck with it and will definitely be the one I will miss the most because I grew up playing it. It was good spending the last moments of my high school career on the court. It was very special,” Reynolds said.
Indoor Track
Four members of the girls’ indoor track team traveled to Boston on Saturday to compete in the New England High School Indoor Track championships.
They brought home a pair of school records from the Reggie Lewis Center.
The 4x400-meter relay team of Julia Coyle, Talia Tremblay, Emma Weitknecht and Juliet Allard finished in 4 minutes, 8.02 seconds to place 10th.
The time also broke a school record that has stood since 2012.
Allard also bettered her own school record in the 300-meter where she placed 12th in 40.88 seconds.
“I was super-excited to see where they finished in the region,” coach Josh Welch said. “Allard, as a junior, to be up there and both her and the 4x400 team hitting personal bests when it counts shows they have been doing everything right.”
There is still one meet left in the indoor track season before the attention turns to the outdoors.
The Nationals will be held in NYC this weekend.
Christian Menounos has qualified in the 1000m, Allard in the 400m and Jillian Edwards will compete in the high jump.
“I’m really looking for Menounos to make some big drops in time and improve on his school record. Allard will be taking what is only her second swing at the 400m this season and she’s hoping to improve on her school record as well,” Welch said.
The 4x400m girls’ relay team also qualified for the Nationals but the field was full when they did so and they will not be able to compete.
The ECC Indoor Track All-Stars were recently announced.
The 4x400-meter girls’ relay team earned ECC Div. I All-Star status as did Allard in the 300m and Edwards in high jump.
Allard was an honorable mention in the 55m hurdles; Coyle was honorable mention in the 1600m and Avery Plouffe was honorable mention in the shotput. The 4x720m girls’ relay team of Coyle, Avery Schaefer, Kira Greene and Olivia Tracy also earned honorable mention.
The girls’ team ECC Scholar-Athlete is Tracy with Greene getting the ECC Sportsmanship award.
On the boys’ side, Charlie Caggiano was the ECC Scholar-Athlete and Chandler Folkerts was the ECC Sportsmanship award recipient.
Scholar-Athletes
The Scholar-Athlete Honor Society grew by 26 last week.
All of those inducted were members of the junior class.
The new members and their primary sport are: Juliet Allard (track), Madison Bloom (softball), Liliana Bottone (volleyball), Garrett Bushey (soccer), Sam Clark (football), Abby Converse (field hockey), Sam Desmond (hockey), Brady Ericson (baseball), Tanner Graham (baseball), Kira Greene (track), Sophie Gronski (volleyball), Cassidy Ladd (volleyball), Chyanne Machamer (cheer), Christian Menounos (track), Dorisabel Mojica (volleyball), Eva Monahan (basketball), Grace Pokorny (field hockey), Macy Rawson (soccer), Colton Sallum (track), Sophia Sarkis (basketball), Isabella Selmecki (soccer), Mia Sorrentino (track), Michael Susi (track); Eli Susi (soccer), Kaelyn Tremblay (field hockey).
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

The newest members of Woodstock Academy’s Scholar-Athlete Honor Society were inducted last week. Photo by Collin Singleton/Woodstock Academy.

The 4x400-meter girls’ relay team of, from left: Talia Tremblay, Emma Weitknecht, Julia Coyle and Juliet Allard finished 10th and set a school record at the New England Indoor Track championships. Photo by Josh Welch/Woodstock Academy.

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