By Ron P. Coderre

This week’s RPC column is dedicated to former Woodstock Academy three-sport standout Chris Mayhew.  Mayhew, who is the athletic director for the Woodstock public school system, was one of the best pitchers to grace the diamond for the Centaurs and the TriTown American Legion baseball programs.  On March 21 Mayhew blew out 50 candles on the birthday cake.

Woodstock Academy athletes recently brought northeastern Connecticut to the forefront of the sports pages thanks to the performances of its gymnastics program and the school’s hockey team.

The gymnasts, after sweeping through the Eastern Connecticut Conference, State Class “S” and State Open competition, moved on to Dracut, Mass., with the goal of coming home with the New England Gymnastics Championship.  Last year the Centaurs were edged out by Barnstable High School by .125 of a point.  Coach Kasey Fillmore’s ladies desire to bring the first-place trophy back to Woodstock fell just shy once again.

Barnstable repeated as the champion for the second year in a row.  The Bay Staters posted a winning team score of 149.075 while the Acads once again were the bridesmaids, finishing second with a score of 147.2.  

As they’ve done all season the Centaurs were led by the one-two punch of Paige Stuyniski and Grace Logan.  Stuyniski finished second in the individual All-around behind Adnerys Dejesus of Greenwich, who posted a winning score of 38.825 compared to 38.15 for Stuyniski.  Logan finished third at 38.025.

In individual events Logan finished on top in the Bars with a near perfect performance, which garnered her a score of 9.8 and won the Vault with a score of 9.725.  She also finished tied for fifth place in the Floor exercise.  Stuyniski tied for first with Dejesus in the Floor exercise with a score of 9.675, grabbed a fourth-place finish in the Beam and fifth in the vault.

From the mats and gymnastic equipment to the ice, the Centaur icemen, in just their third year of varsity competition, made it all the way to the Division III semifinals before losing in overtime.  Woodstock a #2 seed was beaten 6-5 by Staples-Weston-Shelton, which held a #3 seed, after playing to a 5-5 tie in regulation at Yale’s Ingalls Rink.

SWS opened the game with a first-period offensive burst taking a 3-1 lead at the first stop.  The lone Woodstock goal was recorded by Bill Liscomb.  The Acads showed resiliency by scoring three goals in the second period.  All three Woodstock goals came off the stick of Ryan Black who posted the “hat trick” in one stanza, an unusual feat.

Woodstock looked like it was in position to win the contest when Zack Burnham tallied a goal to open the third period but the hockey gods weren’t in the Centaurs corner as SWS scored two late third period goals to send the game to overtime.

Woodstock goalie Cal Wilcox was immense in the net.  SWS peppered Wilcox with 56 shots on goal while the Acads could only come up with 24 shots on goal.  The 50 saves by Wilcox are unheard of on any level.

Nathan DeLuca and Doug Gerrity each had a pair of assists for Woodstock while Black and Jon-Luc Cournoyer also contributed one assist apiece.       

Woodstock, which closes out its season at 20-5, reached the semifinals with a convincing 6-1 victory over Housatonic-Northwestern in the quarterfinal round.  The Centaurs won on the strength of another Black “hat trick,” two goals from Burnham and one from Deluca.  Wilcox had 13 saves as Woodstock outshot Housatonic-Northwestern 32-14.

Headed to the Dark Continent…

Africa is often referred to as the Dark Continent but shortly it will receive a ray of sunshine in the form of Brooklyn resident Megan Gaudreau.  The St. Michael’s College senior and captain of the women’s basketball team is part of a group headed to South Africa in a leadership and personal growth program.

According to Gaudreau, she’ll initially spend a few days traveling around the beautiful sights of Cape Town.  The group will then spend some time in the townships and schools coaching kids in basketball.  The time in Africa is also spent building relationships and forming bonds with the children and coaches they come in contact with during the sessions.

“The people I have met from South Africa or from the U.S. who went on the trip with me have impacted me much more than I have impacted them.  I’ve learned so much from each person I’ve come into contact with and take a piece of them with me wherever I go.  I’m going with an entirely different group of people this year and can’t wait to learn even more from those I meet this year,” said the humble Gaudreau. 

At St. Michael’s the former Pomfret School standout never missed a game during her four years on the Winooski, Vt.  She led her team in three-point baskets all four years and led the Northeast-10 Conference in threes this season.  The two-year captain also was the team leader in assists her final two seasons.

As her college career comes to its close, Gaudreau is taking the things she’s garnered not only from basketball but from life and the education she’s been blessed to receive and putting it to work helping others.

From the Where Are They Now Files…

Former Woodstock Academy basketball player Todd Blodgett, who played for coach Greg Smith, is now a member of the coaching staff of DME Academy located in Daytona Beach, Fla.  The 22 year old Blodgett is a graduate of UConn.  At DME, Blodgett served as an assistant coach during the National Prep Championships, which were held at Albertus Magnus University.  The DME Lakers were beaten 93-66 by Putnam Science Academy in a first round game.

Blodgett, who professes to love basketball, wants to be a college coach in the future.  He’s the son of Sid and Nancy Blodgett of Woodstock.

Honor For Espo…

Next Up Recruits an NCAA approved organization that follows prep school basketball announced its Coach of the Year recipients for the recently concluded season.  Putnam Science Academy coach Tom Espinosa was named as the Northeast Region Coach of the Year.  Espinosa had probably the best team in the history of the school as the Mustangs posted an impressive 37-4 record and lost in the semifinals of the National Prep Championships.  This year Espinosa passed the 200 career victory mark during his time at Putnam Science Academy.

American Legion Honor…

 The American Legion State Baseball committee made a special presentation at its annual Coaches Summit on Saturday, March 12.  Woodstock resident Everett Shepard, who has served as the Department of Connecticut State Adjutant for the past nine years was presented a plaque in appreciation of his outstanding service to the Connecticut American Legion Baseball Program.  Shepard has also served as the treasurer for the TriTown American Legion team for the past decade.

Prep Tourney Late News…

Referees from Board #8 and Board #35 were well represented at the recent National Prep Championships.  Board #35 members Roberto Marquez and Charlie Lee worked as did Board #8 member Davey Cruz.  It’s great to see referees from East of the river being selected for prestigious tournaments.

Also on hand was former PSA Mustang Aaron Robinson, currently a member of the Quinnipiac University Bobcats.  Robinson noted that he’s gradually assimilating himself to the college game as well as performing well in the classroom. 

Mat All Stars…

The Eastern Connecticut Conference recently announced its wrestling all star selections for the recently concluded season.  Killingly High School placed three of its members on the Small Division All Star unit.  Selected were Austin Caffrey in the 182-pound class; Conner Lemley in the 195-pound class; and Josh Angel in the 285-pound category.  Two other Redman matmen, Dillon Knupp and James Lantigua received Honorable Mention honors.   Knupp and John Currie of Woodstock Academy received the Sportsmanship Award.

RPC’s Closing thought For The Day: When dealing with people, learn to walk in their shoes, not step on their toes.

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