Boys’ outdoor track
Getting back into shape a priority for Centaurs
In the mind of veteran Woodstock Academy boys’ track coach Peter Lusa, it’s just another spring. “There is definitely excitement. I see so many people just so happy to be outside in general since we’ve been in our houses for the last year. Everyone is just pumped to work out and to socialize again,” said senior Ethan Aspiras.
There will be some differences.
Woodstock Academy will compete in Division II of the ECC this season and will face only one Division I school, NFA.
That meet will open the season for the Centaurs April 14.
“We have to play the schedule that is dealt to us,” Lusa said. “It will be tough starting with NFA.”
“I hear from people, saying they are out of shape, I tell them that we have a world pandemic so I think you have a good excuse,” Aspiras said. “There is definitely work that will be needed by every school out there. We will be working a little harder than most years.”
The Centaurs do have one advantage coming into the season.
Those athletes who competed in indoor track have not had the last month off.
Instead, indoor track rolled into March with a couple of outdoor competitions.
“(Indoor track coaches) Josh (Welch) and Joe (Banas) did a great job molding a competitive team. It was great to roll right from indoor track with all available athletes conditioning for a week in between seasons versus having a majority of the athletes having a month off,” Lusa said.
Aspiras said the lack of an offseason may have helped and because there was little in the way of competition, those who competed in indoor track, were able to concentrate on conditioning.
It may have also helped the turnout.
Lusa was concerned that a year away from the track may spell fewer numbers this spring.
Instead, his numbers are in the 40s, giving it some substantial depth especially considering the competition this spring will come from like-size or even smaller teams.
Aspiras, once he gets a wrap off his leg which has held up his training a bit in the early spring, can be counted on for points in the distance events and he will have help from Vincente Bastura.
Other points will come from Adam Schimmelpfennig in the hurdles and Eric Phongsa in the sprints with Seamus Lippy adding points in that event and mid-distance running.
River and Scout Favreau and Jack Marshall are also nice additions to the squad according to Lusa.
The Centaurs will enjoy their first four meets of the season at home before ending with two on the road at Plainfield and Windham in May.
Lusa said the goals are probably more individual than team-oriented.
He would like to see 10-15 of his athletes qualify for the Class MM state championship.
Schedule: Wed., April 14: NFA, Home, 3:30 p.m.; Wed., April 21: Killingly, Home, 3; Wed., April 28: New London, Home, 3; Wed., May 5: Bacon, Home, 4; Wed., May 12: Plfd., Away, 3:45; Thurs., May 20: Windham, Away, 4; Wed., June 2: Class MM championship, Away, 10 a.m.
Girls’ Preview
No break is a good thing
Woodstock Academy girls’ outdoor track coach Josh Welch didn’t exactly have the winter off.
Even though his boys’ and girls’ indoor track teams had very few meets, they still worked out both inside and outside over the course of the winter.
They also benefitted from some late winter outdoor meets against the likes of Plainfield and NFA.
In addition to the physical aspect of continued conditioning, Welch thought the indoor season, especially the end, helped his team’s mental outlook as well.
“Just getting the core of our team back into the swing of competing, and the pacing and structure of a meet is a huge help,” he said.
The Centaurs have over 35 athletes out this spring which is about 10 more than the team sported in the 2019 season.
The other good thing about those numbers is that there are less than a handful of seniors among them meaning there is the chance for youngsters, like sophomore Bella Sorrentino, who was also recently named a 1st team All-State gymnastics performer by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association, to develop over the next three seasons.
Sorrentino came in from Brooklyn Middle School last year but didn’t get a chance to enjoy outdoor track which was canceled.
The sophomore, during the indoor track season, was working on events that would prepare her to compete in the state heptathlon.
She’s been working on throwing the javelin, something she had never done before and was also getting ready to begin working on the 800-meter. “I’m not excited about that,” she said with a laugh about the lengthy running event.
Welch is just happy to see members of his team willing to try new things since many of the freshmen and sophomores have to figure out where they fit in.
Sorrentino and freshman Lillian Edwards put up a lot of points in the outdoor meets the Centaurs had against Plainfield and NFA and will be needed to do so again in the outdoor season.
“Both compete in sprints, hurdles, relays, and jumps depending on the meet.  Bella is also a factor in the throws.  They are two of the most diverse and focused athletes I have seen since coaching at Woodstock Academy,” Welch said.
Junior Linsey Arends and senior Iris Bazinet will be the mainstays of a distance group that Welch hopes will form a very competitive 4x800-meter relay team. Arends, a cross-country standout, will likely also run the 1,600 or 3,200 meter.
Junior captain Leah Castle (1,600m and shot put) and sophomore Lauren Brule (distance) will also be members of the 4x800m team.
Freshman Talia Tremblay also runs distance events and may help in the high jump this season.
“The distance program has always been a core for our team but I think in this season, we are going to see a lot more talent and depth in sprints and jumps than we have in the past few years.” Welch said.
The team will also only face one team with huge numbers, that being an opening meet in Norwich against NFA April 14.
Welch said he would like to see his team run the table and sweep its regular season meets, which he admits may be a lofty goal but he’s happy with what he sees as a winning attitude beginning to develop among the members of his team.
Schedule: Wed., April 14: NFA, Away, 3:45 p.m.; Wed., April 21: Killingly, Home, 3; Wed., April 28: New London, Home, 3; Wed., May 5: Bacon Academy, Home, 4; Wed., May 12:  Plfd., Away, 3:45; Thurs., May 20: Windham, Away, 4.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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On its Way Out
The non-functioning scoreboard at Murphy Park was taken down. A new scoreboard will be put up. More photos on page 9. Linda Lemmon photo.

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Getting Ready
Clockwise from top: When the non-functioning scoreboard was taken down, the damage from insects and weather was apparent. Volunteers cleared out numerous wasps' nests when taking down the old scoreboard. They litter the grass. The whole old scoreboard and above: Sean Dempsey, league president, smooths one of the infields.


By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — When the “boys of summer” return to their field at Murphy Park, after the 2020 season was struck out by COVID-19, they’ll be greeted by a brand new scoreboard.
The Putnam Little League parents and officers April 10 took down the scoreboard to get ready for the new one. The original scoreboard was installed in 2003 and hasn’t worked for the last four years, according to league president Sean Dempsey. They had to take care, taking it down, because it was loaded with wasps’ nests.
The new scoreboard was donated by Walmart. Chris Gustavson, last year’s president, said the group approached the Putnam Walmart last year and corporate headquarters in Arkansas approved it.
The new one will be the same “Clipper Blue” but it won’t have wasps’ nests. It will have bright LED lights and can be controlled by remote control. An electrician will be donating his time to hook up the scoreboard when it’s here.
This year, equipment, like bases, etc., was donated by Cargill Chevrolet and Chevrolet Inc., Dempsey said.
The numbers aren’t bad this year, considering there was no baseball last year, according to Dempsey. There are 10 Major division players, 13 Minor, 15 in Coach Pitch and 30 in T Ball. In softball, there are 13 in the Major division and 7 in the Coach Pitch. Softball will be combined with Thompson and Dempsey said they hope to have a Senior Division.
COVID-19 not only knocked out the 2020 season, it also knocked down the number of donations and sponsorships. Dempsey said sponsorship signs that line the fence at the edge of the field are “down a bit” Businesses were hit hard, Dempsey said, so it’s understandable that sponsorships would be down as well. “We’re down eight or nine sponsorship signs,” he said. This year the sponsorship signs went to the middle of centerfield. Dempsey said some years the signs circle the whole field.
If you or your business is interested in supporting the Putnam Little League, go to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

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Working Around
Woodstock Academy senior Alex Wojciechowski works his way around the Norwich Tech-Windham Tech defense on Saturday. Wojciechowski had a goal in the Centaurs 13-1 win. Photo by Marc Allard.


Roundup
Centaurs split
with NFA
Woodstock Academy may have lost its softball season opener against Norwich Free Academy April 10. It was largely forgotten by the end of the day.
The Centaurs rallied from a 15-7 loss to the Wildcats in the opener to the doubleheader for a 5-3 win in the nightcap.
It was Woodstock Academy’s first win over NFA in the sport since May 6, 2015, and was only the second time in 17 games dating back to 2011 that the Centaurs emerged victorious.
“I think the first game gave the kids a little confidence. We had one inning (the fourth) where we gave up a bunch of runs (six) with two outs and that was the game,” said Woodstock Academy coach Jason Gerum. “I think it was mental. We got a little quiet and that affected our bats, but we knew we could hit their pitcher; they just outhit us in the first game. I’ve got three freshmen and three first-year sophomores, we didn’t scrimmage anyone, so that will happen. But (in the second game), they just got comfortable and started to play well.”
And they rallied behind sophomore pitcher Lexi Thompson.
Thompson, one of those first-year sophomores who didn’t get the opportunity to play in her freshman year due to the pandemic, made her varsity debut a memorable one.
She allowed just six hits and struck out seven, helped to strand five NFA runners in scoring position, and gave the Centaurs the confidence they needed to rally from an early 3-0 deficit.
Meg Preston had an RBI single and Delaney Anderson drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth inning to reduce the deficit to one, 3-2.
Emily Goodell, Jenna Bankowski, and Mia Pannone all bunted and reached safely to open the sixth for the Centaurs.
Goodell scored on a bases-loaded walk to Preston and both Bankowski and Pannone came home on an infield throwing error.
Boys’ Lacrosse
Favreau leads Centaurs to win
The biggest thing for Woodstock Academy senior Guerin Favreau was not only the 13-1 season-opening win over the Norwich Tech-Windham Tech cooperative program, but the fact that it occurred on the Bentley Athletic Complex turf and people were there to watch.
“During hockey season, we had only one game with fans. It’s very different. It’s nice to have the crowds back. After every goal, you can hear the energy. During hockey, we would score and it was a dead rink. The bench would be going nuts but it’s not the same,” Favreau said.
Fans in the stands, no masks required on the field of play, a sense of normalcy crept over the opening to the high school spring sports season on Saturday.
And there were plenty of smiles on the Woodstock Academy sideline after the win.
None bigger than that of first-year head coach, Jason Tata who did not sleep much the night before.
“I think I shut my eyes for about a half-hour, woke up around midnight and then (assistant) Coach (Chris) Green sent us a big email around 1:30 a.m.  and I was watching film after that for the rest of the night,” Tata said.
Favreau made Tata’s life easy. The senior scored four times in the first half to lead the Centaurs to a 6-1 halftime advantage. He added two more goals in the second half and four assists in the game.
“Guerin is going to go out and get his, he is, he is that kind of player, with that kind of drive. He’s that kind of maniac. It’s whether or not the defenses will let him do whatever he wants,” said first-year Woodstock Academy coach Jason Tata.
 Jonah Libby and Everett Michalski added two goals apiece.
“Everett is one of my closest friends and I love seeing him out there on attack. He played defense his whole life and now he’s doing well on attack,” Favreau said.
Brandon Richards, Riley Chapuis and Alex Wojciechowski also scored for the Centaurs.
Gymnastics
Sorrentino named All-State
Woodstock Academy sophomore Bella Sorrentino had not been a part of a gymnastics program for a couple of years.
But she returned this past winter season to compete as a member of the Centaurs gymnastics team and found success.
Sorrentino was recently named 1st team All-State by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association.
“It’s totally different, so much less stress and really fun,” Sorrentino said of her first year in high school competition.
For the most part, the gymnastics season consisted of virtual meets with Killingly with judges coming in person to the gym only a couple of times.
Sorrentino said she felt she excelled on the balance beam and in the floor exercise.
“Beam is terrifying,” Sorrentino said with a laugh. “But I only fell twice. It used to be my worst event, I did not like it at all, but this year was a lot better.”
Sorrentino admits she doesn’t have any goals for next year because she really hasn’t experienced a true high school season, something she is hoping will happen come this winter.
Baseball
Centaurs fall to NFA.
The Woodstock Academy baseball team, despite missing five players due to pandemic protocol, hung in for the first three innings against Norwich Free Academy April 10.
Eight runs in the fourth inning by NFA, five of them unearned, proved to be the Centaurs downfall as they lost their season opener, 12-2.
Brendan Hill had an RBI double and Norm Warcholik added a single to account for the only hits for Woodstock Academy.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy


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