Roundup
New year, same look for Centaurs and others
Groundhog Day. Remember the movie?
That’s what Woodstock Academy coach Will Fleeton says not only his team, but the entire ECC is comparable to this upcoming girls’ basketball season.
Rinse and repeat.
“Everybody is saying to me, ‘You must feel good with all your returners’ but the whole league returns,” Fleeton said.  “If you look at all the other schools in our division and throughout the ECC, most of them all return. It’s the same thing. It’s Groundhog Day. I feel great that everyone is back but the other teams are all back as well so we have a battle on our hands every night.”
There were some losses to graduation for Woodstock after a 16-8 season of a year ago. Sophia Sarkis, Macy Rawson, Madison Bloom and Abby Converse have graduated and will not return this season but eight players who saw significant varsity time will.
 “It’s the same group that has been here the past couple of years, but they’re just a little older. You may remember me saying a couple of years ago that we’re young, need to develop and get experience, well, we’re now at the end of that road,” Fleeton said.
The top three scorers are all back with senior Kaylee Saucier, who will move on to play at the University of Hartford, leading the way with a 13.7 point per game average and 52 3-pointers a year ago.
Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain (8.3 ppg) and Vivian Bibeau (7.6) are also back as are fellow seniors Allison Camara (4.7), Campbell Favreau, and Avery Danis. Junior Elise Coyle and Anna Hernandez, who saw significant time at the varsity level as sophomores, round out the top eight.
“I don’t think there is a lot of pressure (to win). I think the people who create that type of pressure are outside the locker room,” Fleeton said. “I think we have a good vision of what we want. Our vision is a little different than that of other teams because we look at the importance of other things as well, things like life, unity and team. I think my kids should be pressure-free. The pressure is the outstanding (grade point average); basketball is the release and the freedom.”
The Centaurs would like to go a bit further than they did a year ago, naturally.
They finished 4-4 in Div. I of the ECC, tied for third behind Norwich Free Academy and New London and were ousted in the Div. I tournament quarterfinals by the Whalers. They did capture a pair of Class MM state tournament victories over Amistad and Ledyard, before falling to Sheehan in the quarterfinals.
“Obviously, we want to do better as far as the record but while that is important, it is not the top rung on the ladder. We’re not worrying about everyone else; we try to worry about ourselves. We want to do what we want to do, the best we can do it, and if we do that, I’m satisfied and so is the team.” Fleeton said.
The word for the 2025-26 season: Execution.
“We want to be who we are, we want to defend. We want to execute our game plans, whether they are right or wrong, we still want to execute it because that’s what we planned for. If we do all those small things, it probably results in a win. If we have a good game plan and execute it, we have a good shot at winning,” Fleeton said.
Labels are gone. There are no strict 1-2-3-4-5 position players. While most may consider Saucier and D’Alleva-Bochain guards, Fleeton calls them basketball players.
That’s because his team is pretty uniform throughout. The height is consistent and so is the talent.
“Everyone does whatever job is in front of them. We don’t have a point guard, we have ballhandlers. I feel confident with all the positions, really, because they are interchangeable. It doesn’t matter who rebounds the ball or catches the outlet or who brings the ball up the floor, obviously some players do some things better than others, but it doesn’t mean that they can’t do it. That’s my mentality and the girls have followed suit,” Fleeton said.
The Centaurs will have a few new faces this season.
Junior Simal Illhan, sophomores Addison Shaw and Sam Cote and freshman Olivia White will all see varsity time.
One good thing for the Centaurs. The home court is back up and functioning as practice began at the Alumni Fieldhouse. The Fieldhouse had been closed since August due to a water pipe break but it reopened last week with a new floor and scoreboard.
“I never doubted that it would be ready. I’ve always thought it was a beautiful venue and now it has a little of that brand new, sparkly clean aspect to it. I’m not shocked it’s ready, I was a little concerned as to when it was going to be ready. In my mind, I was hoping it would be ready by January and we would play in there after Jan. 1 and I was going to be a happy camper. The company we hired did a great job and we’ve been in there since Day 1. I’m ecstatic about that,” Fleeton said.
The season begins against a familiar, but tough, non-league opponent.
The Centaurs host Class S defending state champ, Coventry, at 6 p.m. Dec. 12. Woodstock Academy prevailed a year ago over the Patriots, 47-41. And, guess what, Coventry has everybody back.
“They’re a winning program, a confident program and it’s the same two teams playing each other,” Fleeton said.
Gymnastics Preview
It’s not  easy when a team loses one of the top athletes in the state in its sport to graduation.
It is the scenario that the gymnastics team finds itself in this year.
Olivia Aleman, second in the CIAC State Open championship, fifth overall in New England and the ECC Player of the Year has moved on.
“Every year is different,” said coach Kasey Fillmore. “We’ve been through this before, just go back to Grace (Logan) and Paige (Stuyniski), and there have been so many others. This will definitely be a building year but, at least, we still have numbers and I hope the underclassmen can just learn how it goes and become leaders and the team can keep growing.”
Fillmore does have a little advantage. Many of her athletes come up through her programs at Deary’s Gymnastics.
But where they will go to school is the big question. 
“You never know, it all depends on what town they live in and what school they choose to go to. We find out at the end of eighth grade,” Fillmore said.
Some go to Woodstock Academy, some go to Killingly and some, go elsewhere.
Fortunately for the Centaurs, three freshmen, Brianna Beck, Molly Morrissette and Maelin Lisee, opted to go to Woodstock Academy,
That softened the blow of losing not only Aleman but also Allie Boyd and Livia Gerum from last season’s Centaur team which finished second in the ECC with a 7-3 dual meet record.
The Centaurs will be led this season by senior Emma Long who has battled health issues for her first three seasons but comes into the season the healthiest she has ever been.
“I’m extremely happy,” Long said. “I’ve had so many injuries and sicknesses. Hopefully, that continues to be the case and I don’t get sick again.”
She is the only senior on the roster.
“Everybody is coming to me with questions. I just have to answer all those and show them that no matter what happens, I will still be with them and be proud of them,” Long said.
For Long, it will her final year of competition as she does not plan to pursue the sport in college.
“I want to be more consistent but I also want to come out with all the upgrades that I can do,” she said.
Junior Rhea Desota is the only other upperclassman and the junior is also looking at upgrading her routines.
“Bars, definitely bars,” Desota laughed when asked which upgrades in specific. “I’ve been working really hard on my routines.”
The Centaurs also have sophomore Anyah Oatley back.
As a freshman last year, Oatley competed in the State Open and performed well with an 8.9 vault and an 8.7 routine in bars. Lillian Frechette and Scarlett Hogarty also return as sophomores.
The expectations are to see progress over the course of the season.
“I think we’re just going to give ourselves goals for a team score and that kind of thing and hope to build from there. It’s hard to say especially with a team that has lost so much from last year. I always like to stay realistic so being able to qualify for States is always a goal and being to place and show what we can do there,” Fillmore said.
In the league battle, the Ledyard co-op would appear to still be the team to beat as the Colonels finished undefeated a year ago.
“They have a pretty small team this year but my guess is that they’re probably still strong with what they have,” Fillmore said.
The season starts for Woodstock Academy against Killingly at Deary’s Gymnastics on Dec. 19.

Wrestling Preview
The return of the Alumni Fieldhouse to use also affects the wrestling team which holds its dual matches in the facility and also practices there.
However, their time slot for the gym is on the early side --- like 5:30 a.m. on weekdays.
“I don’t mind them. I don’t mind waking up early. I just don’t like having to go to bed earlier,” said Centaur senior Owen Hamilton. “It gives you the afternoon off so I like that.”
For coach Cahan Quinn, it’s not as important to him as to his counterparts in basketball.
 “It really wouldn’t have affected us. If it was still concrete, we would have just rolled out the mats and told the guys to ‘be careful around the edges,’” Quinn said. “It’s great to see for basketball but for us, it didn’t matter as much. Wherever we can roll out a mat, we can wrestle.”
The Centaurs, in their second year back as a program a year ago, did pick up their first dual meet victory since 2017 when they downed Bacon Academy early.
But success in the win column was hard to come by at times as the Centaurs got only one more through the course of the season.
Fortunately, they lost only four seniors to graduation and had a strong turnout for the first week of practice as Quinn had 25 wrestlers come out.
“It’s awesome to have the numbers and a lot more experience. I had my older guys working with my younger guys for the first week. It’s good to see the development of the younger wrestlers. They have picked things up quick, are asking a lot of questions and are interested in the sport and it’s phenomenal to work with everyone in the program. I’m so excited,” Quinn said.
In addition to Hamilton, Olivia DiGregorio, Andrew Landreville and Aidan Soukaloun return as seniors with Jake Henderson and Jaiden Bowers coming back for their junior years. Sophomore Colby Deary is also back for a second year.
“I’m hoping to do better in the ECC and state tournaments because last year I did not do very well in those, hopefully, I improve,” Hamilton said.
In addition to the veteran wrestlers, juniors Max Kopp and Rosano Rodrigues, sophomore Joe Spring and freshman Parker Bannon should make an impact from what Quinn has seen early.
“I think there is a growing interest in the program and what has helped that is the word of mouth from the athletes and from my assistant coach, Jesse Credit, really helps get the word out around campus. Honestly, parents from around the area want to start getting their kids involved with a different winter sport that’s not basketball or hockey and that’s really helping,” Quinn said.
Quinn said he would like to see improvement in the dual matches where the Centaurs will have a bit more chance to compete this season.
They are still in Div II of the ECC, however, that division has changed.
Instead of being partnered with Killingly, Ledyard, Windham and Waterford, all strong, established programs, the Centaurs will now be alongside Griswold/Wheeler, Fitch/Stonington, Bacon Academy, Montville/Plainfield, Lyman/Windham Tech and Putnam.
“We need to get rocking early with everyone but as long as I see individuals improve throughout the season, so that when we get to the ECC and state tournaments, everyone will be at their peak physically, mentally and emotionally. We need to make sure that they go through the rigors of the season, stay at the top of their game and (tournament time) is when it peaks,” Quinn said.
Hamilton and Soukaloun will function as team captains this season.
“I need them to lead the charge through some of the earlier matches. They really need to show what they have learned over these past three years and I need to rely on them,” Quinn said.
Hamilton was within earshot when Quinn said about how much he will be relying on the two seniors.
“I will do whatever the team needs me to do,” Hamilton said. “I have to be a good leader for them, bring experience and guidance for the younger guys. I’m just happy to see all the younger guys come out so we can continue to grow the program.”
The season begins for the Centaurs with a match against Montville in the Alumni Fieldhouse on Dec. 17.

Fall Sports Awards Night
Many fall student-athletes were recognized for their achievements both on and off the field last week at the Fall Sports Awards Night.
One of the highlights of the evening was the annual handing out of the Coaches Awards by each program: 
Boys’ Cross-Country: Varsity: Harrison Durand, Lucas Hecker; JV: Keegan DeNolfo
Girls’ Cross-Country: Varsity: Olivia Tracy, Emelia Langevin; JV: Brianna Beck
Dance Team: Varsity: Molly Mead, Chloe Vogt
Girls’ Volleyball: Varsity: Lily Morgis. Emma Raymond; JV: Adriana Saenz Ortega; Freshman: Georgianna Young
Football: Varsity: Logan DelFarno, Cayden Menor; JV: Carter Grassi
Unified Soccer: Athlete: Jessica Palmerino, Partner: Colby Plouffe
Prep Soccer: Prep 1: Daion Swan-DaSilva, Alex Tevez; Prep 2: Jacob Gollop, Zion Simms
Boys’ Soccer: Varsity: Aiden Bachand, Collin Teal; JV: Collin Charette
Girls’ Soccer: Varsity: Claire Anderson, Jaelyn Knox; JV: Marley Hutchings
Those who were chosen as All-State or ECC All-Stars were also recognized:
Class L All-State and ECC All-Star in Volleyball: Kaylee Bundy; Class MM All-State and ECC Div. I All-Star in Girls’ Cross-Country: Emelia Langevin; Prep Soccer All-American: David Cho; Prep Soccer All-American: Ozzie Pearman.
Also: ECC Div.I All-Star in Boys’ Cross-Country: Lucas Hecker; ECC Div. II All-Star in football: Cooper Harris; ECC Div. II All-Star in football: Dylan Phillips; ECC Div. II All-Star in football: Alec Nunes; ECC Div. II All-Star in football: Elijah Poh; ECC Div. II All-Star in football: Caydem Herlihy; ECC Div. II All-Star in football: Owen Lyons; ECC Div. I All-Star in boys’ soccer: Zach Armbruster; ECC Div. I Honorable Mention in boys’ soccer: Nate Couture; ECC Div. I Honorable Mention in girls’ soccer: Elise Coyle; ECC Div. I Honorable Mention in girls’ soccer: Lily Mioduszewski; ECC Div. II honorable mention  All-Star in football: Wyatt Voter; ECC Div. II honorable mention  All-Star in football: Griffen Bloom; ECC Div. II honorable mention  All-Star in football: Aidan Soukaloun; ECC Honorable mention All-Star in boys’ cross-country: Sam Greene; ECC Honorable mention All-Star in boys’ cross-country: Harrison Durand; ECC Honorable mention All-Star in girls’ cross-country: Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain; ECC Honorable mention All-Star in girls’ cross-country: Claire Bruneaux; ECC Honorable mention All-Star in girls’ volleyball: Gianna Musumeci.
ECC Scholar-Athletes: Boys’ Soccer – Thatcher Paterson; Girls’ Soccer – Kaylee Saucier; Boys’ Cross Country – Eli Manning; Girls’ Cross Country – Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain; Girls’ Volleyball – Vivian Bibeau; Football – Alec Nunes. 
ECC Sportsmanship recipients: Boys’ Soccer – Nate Couture; Girls’ Soccer – Avery Danis; Boys’ Cross Country – Harrison Durand; Girls’ Cross Country – Melanie DiPippo; Girls’ Volleyball – Alexa Delmonaco; Football – Cayden Menor
The dance team came in first place in the team grade point average award competition with the boys’ cross-country team chosen as the best dressed team of the night.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

captions:
2025-26 Gymnastics: 
The Woodstock Academy gymnastics team will be led this season by, from left: junior Rhea Desota, coach Kasey Fillmore and senior Emma Long. Photo by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy

2025-26 Wrestling: 
Owen Hamilton, left, will be one of the captains for the wrestling team. Coach Cahan Quinn is at right. Photo by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.

2025 girls’ basketball: 
Senior Kaylee Saucier, left, who led the girls’ basketball team in scoring a year ago, is one of the many returning players. Photo courtesy of Woodstock Academy.

2025 Fall All-Stars:  
A large number of student-athletes who earned All-American, All-State and ECC All-Star honors this past fall athletic season and were recognized at the Fall Sports Awards Night. (Photo by Holly Singleton/Woodstock Academy. 

Sportsmanship Awards:
From left: Cayden Menor, Avery Danis, Harrison Durand and Melanie DiPippo were among those who received ECC Sportsmanship Awards at the Fall Sports Awards Night. Photo by Holly Singleton/Woodstock Academy.

Scholar Athlete
From left: Alec Nunes, Thatcher Paterson, Kaylee Saucier, Eli Manning, Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain and Vivian Bibeau were recognized as ECC Scholar-Athletes at the Fall Sports Awards Night. Photo by Holly Singleton/Woodstock Academy.

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