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Anyah Oatley: Woodstock Academy freshman Anyah Oatley was second for the Centaurs in the All-Around competition at a meet in Stonington last week. Photos by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
Roundup
Allard brings home 4 1st-place finishes from Coast Guard
Woodstock Academy senior Juliet Allard described the thought process when she gets into the starting blocks at a track meet.
“As soon as I get into the blocks, I take a few deep breaths, try to calm myself down and tell myself that ‘I have to give 100 percent.’ Otherwise, it’s not going to be worth it. I have to push myself to the limit,” Allard said.
Allard placed first in the 55-meter hurdles and the 300-meter at the Coast Guard Academy Invitational in New London.
Allard wants to finish sub-nine seconds in the 55-meter and is rapidly closing in on that goal as well as the school record in the event. She finished in 9.08 seconds and is currently ranked second in Class M in the event.
She would also like to get inside 40 seconds in the 300 but has a little more work to do to make that happen.
Still, her 42.79-second effort Saturday ranks her second in the state in Class M in the 300.
She also joined Emma Weitknecht, Ella Lidonde and Teagan Maloney to finish first in the 4x200-meter relay in 1:53.9. The quartet took the first-place finish by almost three seconds.
Weitknecht, Bella Amlaw, and Greysen Dery also joined Allard to win the 4x400-meter by a similar three-second difference, finishing in 4:26.
“I’m just working on getting ready to go to college and compete there. I want to do my absolute best here so that I’m as ready as I can be to compete at the Division I level,” Allard said.
The senior has committed to compete for Quinnipiac University where she will continue what has been a lifelong passion.
“I have loved running ever since I was really, really young. Even when I did soccer, which used to be my main sport, my favorite part was the running during it and what we did in practice. When middle school started and I had the option to do track and field, I fell in love with it immediately,” Allard said.
Avery Plouffe also posted a first-place finish as she took the shotput competition with a throw of 34-feet, 8 ½ inches.
Olivia Tracy placed first in the 1600-meter in 6:05 and was third in the 1000-meter.
Ava Eaton was second in the high jump, just missing a tie-breaking jump off for first place. Weitknecht also had a second to her credit, finishing right behind Allard in the hurdles and Amlaw took home a second in the 600 meters.
Those taking thirds included Lidonde in the long jump with a personal best 14-foot, 4-inch jump; Phinley Syphers was third in the pole vault where she cleared six-feet; Lily Morgis was third in the shotput (31-1); Nova Almquist was third in the 1600m and Maloney was third in the 55m dash.
The boys’ indoor track team also experienced success, picking up several first-place finishes as it continues to progress as the season gets into a more regular schedule.
“We’re improving on general fitness right now,” said coach Josh Welch. “There is a lot that goes into being competition ready and we’re just about to hit that level. That’s been coming together and so has the team dynamic. We’re more disciplined, more engaged, there have been better efforts at practice and I’m happy to see that.”
Senior Christian Menounos sped to a first-place finish in the 1000-meter race, just ahead of teammate Jackson Durrand who placed third.
Menounos also joined Colton Sallum, Lucas Hecker and Collin Teal to finish second in the 4x400-meter relay where they were just edged out at the finish line by Fitch.
Eli Manning also brought home a first-place finish as he won the shotput competition with a throw of 42-feet, 9-inches.
Sam Greene also topped the podium as he won the 3200-meter in 11:06, a little less than a minute ahead of teammate Harrison Durrand who placed second in 12:01.
Owen Williamson was second in the hurdles for the Centaurs while Sallum, Greene, and Bronson Eddy took second, third and fourth in the 1600-meter.
While the Centaurs are getting ready physically to compete in the bigger meets come February, they are also working on things that may help in other ways as the season progresses.
“One of the things that we’re working on right now is developing leadership and continuity between different athletes and groups. It’s tough when shotputters hang out with shotputters and the sprinters hang out with sprinters because they work out together. We’re really working on building the network between all of our people and a cohesive team environment,” Welch said.
Girls’ Basketball
The girls’ basketball team was hoping to finish the week with eight straight wins and a Class MM state tournament berth. Fitch had other ideas.
The Falcons kept the Centaurs off balance offensively for much of the contest on Saturday and left with a 33-27 victory.
It was the first setback of the season for Woodstock (7-1, 2-1 ECC, Div. I).
The Centaurs had closed to within one win of qualifying for the state tournament on Thursday with a 55-30 win over Plainfield in Central Village.
Junior guard Kaylee Saucier helped get the Centaurs cooking as she poured in four 3-pointers in the first quarter alone to lead Woodstock to the early 19-10 advantage.
“It was nice to see her catch fire early,” said coach Will Fleeton. “The rims were a little bouncy in that gym and she took advantage of that. Good shooters get good bounces and good rolls and her shot was on from the start. I saw her starting to heat up at the end of warmups and I was thinking, ‘I hope she just didn’t let them all go.’ She had plenty.”
Woodstock extended that lead to 19 over the Panthers at the half.
Saucier finished with five 3’s and 17 points to pace the Centaurs. Fellow guard Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain added 15 to the effort.
What made thee win even nicer was that the Centaurs were missing both Elise Coyle and Vivian Bibeau due to illness.
“That was a huge team win because it was full contribution. Everyone gave us something because we were down those two. It threw us off-balance, hurt us a little, but the bench delivered a large contribution,” Fleeton said.
Earlier in the week, the Centaurs recorded a 51-46 win over the New London Whalers.
“That game was showed who we are as we’re starting to figure it out. We haven’t fully figured it out but we’re getting a step closer. That was a quality bunch and it was a high-level game and it was just a great contest - a fight to the end,” Fleeton said.
Woodstock’s guard play was key as D’Alleva-Bochain (14 points) and Saucier combined for 27 points. Saucier, who also dished out five assists, scored seven points in the fourth quarter to keep a slim single-digit lead at the end of the third quarter for the Centaurs intact. Bibeau scored six of her 11 points in the third quarter and Allison Camara was also in double digits for the Centaurs with 10 in the win.
The Centaurs predicate a lot of their offense on their defense. When the shots don’t fall, it’s hard to force opponents into mistakes. Such was the case against Fitch (4-4, 2-1 ECC Div. I) on Saturday.
The Centaurs made just 11-of-45 from the floor and trailed for much of the game.
Woodstock took a brief lead, 16-15, in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Bibeau. Fitch quickly retook the lead but a Coyle basket made it 18-17 Centaurs.
Fitch took the lead at the end of the quarter that it would not relinquish as the Centaurs could not get closer than five points in the fourth quarter.
Saucier was the only player in double figures for Woodstock with 10 points, Sophia Sarkis added six.
Boys’ Basketball
It had not been an easy start to the season. The boys’ basketball team opened against five teams that had put together a combined 23-12 overall record.
“It was a great warmup for us as we were in the games against NFA and East Lyme; both of those games were winnable games for us. We just need to minimize our mistakes and capitalize on mistakes that they make and we will win games like that. We’re looking to build forward and when we see one of those teams down the stretch, we will get a ‘W’,” coach Donte Adams said.
But getting that first win proved to be difficult against competition that also included St. Bernard, Killingly and Coventry.
So it was a bit of a relief to go up against Plainfield on Friday, a team that had also had some troubles early in the year.
The Centaurs built a 24-point lead in the third quarter but had to hold through a rocky fourth to get the 71-67 win over the Panthers in Central Village. It was the first win in six games. And it was a relief.
“It was great to get that first win and being in that type of environment, our guys were able to get it done, It went down to the wire, came down to free throws which in the past, we were unable to make. We’ve seen the progression with the guys,” Adams said.
Woodstock made 9-of-14 from the charity stripe in the final quarter. The Centaurs generally led by near or more than 20 points until the fourth quarter.
That’s when Plainfield put down 32 points.
Brady Ericson led the Centaurs with 20 points while freshman Drake Abdullovski added 12 and Lucas Quercia 11.
“I’m still looking for even more from Brady and he’s capable of it. Drake stepped up. He stepped up with two key 3’s and some free throws down the stretch. He’s going through his growing pains but he showed he can come through for us in the clutch,” Adams said. “The work is coming along and this win should give the guys some confidence after getting the first ‘W.’ I hope we can get a little streak going over the last 14 games.”
Wrestling
It’s exactly what everyone likes to see in a wrestling match. The match being decided by the final bout. Such was the case last week as Woodstock matched up with Putnam.
The Centaurs hung in until the final heavyweight battle, trailing by just three points but a pin by the Clippers lifted them to their second win in 12 matches, 45-36.
The Centaurs were hoping to pick up their third win of the year as they had already dealt Putnam a 54-24 loss at the Killingly Holiday duals at the end of December.
There were seven forfeits in that first meeting, four by Putnam.
“We got a lot more matches in than I expected which allowed the guys to wrestle a bit more, to get more mat time, got to love that, hopefully both teams will get better,” coach Cahan Quinn said.
One person missing from that first match was Putnam heavyweight Lucas Benoit.
The senior was on a trip to Florida then but made his presence known on Wednesday. He matched up with Woodstock senior and first-year wrestler Will Papineau with the Clippers up by three points.
Benoit sealed the win as he pinned Papineau 1 minute, 41 seconds into their match.
“(Benoit is) a phenomenal wrestler. We knew that from last year,” said Quinn whose team not only had two matches with Putnam but also worked out with the Clippers early in the season a year ago. “Will held his own and I was happy. Two-hundred-eighty-five is a tough weight class for someone who weighs 220.”
The Centaurs found themselves in a hole early.
The Clippers took advantage of a pair of forfeits and quick pins by Carter Murawski, who recorded one in 1:10 and Jacob Olson, who needed only 54 seconds, to go up 24-0.
Woodstock got a pair of forfeits in return before a pin by Edy Mendez put the Clippers up, 30-12.
Ayden Angel picked up a hard-fought pin in the third period and after the Clippers’ Keivon Robinson recorded a pin, two Centaurs grapplers returned the favor in succession.
Cameron Robida got his in 23 seconds and Gunnar Basak picked up his first win and pin of the season in just 19 seconds to help the Centaurs close to within striking distance, 36-30.
“I definitely wanted to see Gunnar win. He came out, faked up high, level changed, ran a blast double to a quick half (nelson), it was a good-looking move,” Quinn said of the quick pin by his senior.
The best battle of the night followed with Putnam’s Mason Moone taking advantage of the new high school scoring. Takedowns are now worth three points and near-falls four.
Moone found himself down to fellow freshman Joseph Spring in the 190-pound duel, 11-4, in the final minute.
But Moone forced overtime, getting a takedown and near-fall to tie the match at 11 and then got the first points of overtime, a takedown, to record the win.
“Spring is wrestling 190 and went all the way to overtime. It showed me that we have to work on our cardio a bit more but that was a lot of fun to watch,” Quinn said.
That gave the Clippers a 39-30 advantage but the match came down to the heavy’s when A.J. Landreville was awarded a forfeit victory at 215 to cut the deficit to three.
A close loss sometimes can be beneficial.
“We know we’re going to be in every match as long as we put our minds to it and don’t fear anyone who steps on the mat with us. Just do our thing and wrestle our way,” Quinn said.
The Centaurs finished off the week with a visit to the Ellis Tech duals in Danielson.
The Centaurs saw their record dip to 2-11 overall as they lost to the Terryville/Thomaston Co-Op, 54-25; Killingly 69-9; North Haven 64-18 and Ellis Tech 71-12.
Aidan Soukaloun had a pair of pins in the four matches while Owen Hamilton had a pin and a win by major decision and Angel added a pin and win by decision.
Gymnastics
For the second time in four days, the gymnastics team battled the same opponents.
Just in a different venue.
The Centaurs went south to Stonington to face the host Bears and the Ledyard/Waterford/St. Bernard co-op.
The Colonels co-op was again just a slight bit better as it improved to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the ECC with a 137.7-134.1 win over the Centaurs. The Colonels also downed Killingly in the same meet.
Woodstock, which downed Stonington 134.1-127.35, is now 4-2 on the season and in the league.
Senior Olivia Aleman was best in the All-Around as she finished with a 36.85 total. Aleman was best in the floor routine (9.3) and vault (9.15), tied for first in bars (9.4) and tied for third in the beam competition (9.0).
For the senior, it’s not a case of adding much to her routines this season. Instead, the 2023 ECC champ is just trying to do what she does better.
“It’s just like little upgrades here and there. I’m trying to perfect my routines,” Aleman said. “I think the team is doing really well. I think we need to just believe in ourselves more.”
Freshman Anyah Oatley finished second with a 32.75 total. Senior Liv Gerum finished second for the team on the balance beam with an 8.5 score and also had a strong vault with an 8.3 mark.
“I’m excited about vault this year but a little nervous about my bar routine because I can be inconsistent at times,” Gerum said when asked what she is working on this season.
The nice thing is that she is a senior and has time to concentrate on her athletics a bit more.
“It can be pretty easy as a senior, my schedule is pretty laid back and gym(nastics) is a few hours after school so I have time to regroup and get all my work done,” she said.
Girls’ Hockey
Maci Corradi made it three goals in two games and the girls’ hockey co-op needed her production as it held off host Masuk, 2-0, on Friday.
The junior scored with less than two minutes to play in the first period to put the Centaurs up on the Panthers.
“Maci has stepped up her efforts in the offseason and, now, during the season and she is seeing the results. Her confidence is soaring and she is starting to take over games. I am proud of her hard work,” head coach Eric Roy said of the junior.
Corradi now has five goals on the season.
Just moments later, as the ice was not cut between the first and second period, senior assistant captain Sophia Gouveia scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season off the ninth assist of the year for junior Ellary Sampson.
Freshman goalie Josie Hatch made sure the two goals stood up as she didn’t allow a puck into the net.
“Josie was solid,” Roy said. “She made the shutout look easy. She was cool, calm and collected, stood in her perfect angles. She covered the entire net and swallowed the rebounds. It was a goaltending clinic.”
The win raised Woodstock’s record to 5-4 and broke a brief two-game losing streak.
“It was a confidence builder for sure. After squandering a win against Greenwich (the Centaurs led with 1:02 left in the game only to see the Cardinals tie it and eventually win in overtime) and being dominated by Fairfield Ludlowe, it was nice to play a game where we had three periods of hard work. The win was proof that when we play consistent, we can play with anyone,” Roy said.
Earlier in the week, the Centaurs almost crawled out of an early two-goal deficit
But the two quick ones that followed by Fairfield Ludlowe early in the second period was just a bit too much.
The Falcons exacted a little revenge on the Woodstock Academy co-op for an overtime loss on to the Centaurs on their home ice in December with a 4-2 win Wednesday.
Fairfield Ludlowe scored the first two goals of the game before Corradi tallied late in the first period off an assist from Gouveia.
But the Falcons responded with two quick goals in the second half to take a 4-1 lead and it was enough to carry them to a win.
Corradi picked up her second goal of the game in the second period on a power play opportunity for the Centaurs.
Boys’ Hockey
It was a light week for the boys’ hockey team. The Centaurs only had one foray out on to the ice as they traveled to Newington to play Wethersfield on Saturday.
Things got off on the right foot when Seamus Coleman picked up his third goal of the season just six minutes into the contest.
But as has been the trend early this season, it was a lead that Woodstock would not hold on to.
Wethersfield tied the game with three minutes left in the first period and then went on to post the 2-1 victory by getting its second goal just 27 seconds into the second period.
The loss dropped the Centaurs to 1-5 on the season.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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