Roundup
3 WA school records fall in Providence
Three Woodstock Academy indoor track school records fell Saturday at the East Coast Invitational meet in Providence.
Senior Abraham McGregor now owns the boys’ indoor track school record in the long jump as he cleared 21-feet,10-inches to finish fourth in the competition.
Fellow senior Emma Weitknecht broke her own school record in the 55m hurdles, placing third in 8.68 seconds.
Freshman Emelia Langevin broke Linsey Arends’ record in the mile, set in 2020 also at the East Coast Invite, as Langevin finished fourth in 5 minutes, 24.31 seconds.
Avery Plouffe had a good finish in the shotput as she finished second with a toss of 39-feet, 10.75 inches and the boys’ 4x800m relay team finished fifth.
The boys’ and girls’ track teams also had some of their members competing on the other side of Connecticut in the Bethel Pentathlon, distance and pole vault Invitational on Saturday.
Melanie Dipippo finished second in the 5K race in 22 minutes, 17 seconds in Bethel and Finnley Syphers was second in the pole vault as she qualified for state competition by clearing the bar at 7-feet.
Girls’ Basketball
The girls’ basketball team is more than capable of stringing some wins together and have started to do so. The Centaurs made it four wins in the last five games as they strode past Somers, 59-20, in a non-league game Thursday.
The win raised the Centaurs record to 6-4 overall.
“I hope so,” senior guard Kaylee Saucier said when asked if she thought the team was on a little bit of a roll. “We didn’t expect to have this many losses so early but we have had good competition every game so we’re just hoping to keep it going.”
Saucier came off the ill list from the game before and finished with 11 points. Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain paced the team with 21 points and is now averaging a team-best 15.3 points per game.
“Confidence is growing,” D’Alleva-Bochain said of her offensive output. “It has been awhile since I’ve scored like this. I just want to keep it going.”
The Centaurs also benefitted from the continued resurgence of Allison Camara.
The senior forward was off to a slow start offensively but finished with 13 points in the win over Somers after having scored 10 the game before.
“When I could, I was watching the Ledyard game from home and I saw her knock down a couple of 3’s and that was good to see. It’s nice to see her catch the ball and look at the rim, because it’s going to help us a ton,” Saucier said.
January brings all sorts of tests for high school athletic programs.
One never knows what the weather will bring and illness is always lurking around the corner.
The latter struck the Centaurs on Tuesday as Saucier was unable to make the trip to Ledyard. Saucier was stuck at home but recovered quickly.
“It’s been a while since I haven’t played with Kaylee, maybe my sophomore year or something, but we handled business, we just came up short,” said D’Alleva-Bochain.
It made things a bit more difficult for the Centaurs without their quarterback on the floor and the close game went in the host Colonels' favor, 45-44.
“They’re good,” D’Alleva-Bochain said of Ledyard. “We’re going to see them again, in the (Eastern Connecticut Conference tournament final), hopefully.” D'Alleva-Bochain led Woodstock with 11 points.
Boys’ Basketball
Cold. Ice cold. And it wasn’t the weather that could be described in that fashion --- it was the offense for the boys’ basketball team in the first half against East Lyme.
Fortunately, a January thaw crept back in during the second half and allowed the Centaurs to forge their way back into the game and prevail in overtime, 61-53, early in the week.
“It was definitely a character-building win,” said coach Donte Adams. “These are the moments that you look for as far as coming together as a team. We struggled throughout the game and were able to tough it out so whenever you are able to pull out an overtime win like that, it’s good for the team.”
Unfortunately, the Centaurs had another bout of cold shooting on Friday, this coming in the second half and they could not recover as they fell at Norwich Free Academy, 54-42.
Woodstock is now 4-4 on the season overall, 2-0 in Div. II of the ECC.
The Centaurs had not been on the court in eight days and played like it at the start against East Lyme.
They clung to a two-point lead, 16-14, at the end of the first quarter thanks, in a big way, to Vuk Lisancic who scored nine of his 13 points in the first eight minutes.
But Mert Coker (10 points) was the only player to convert a field goal in the second quarter as the Centaurs made only one of 14 attempts from the floor.
“When we’re not scoring, it affects our defense and we have to get better at that,” Adams said. “I tell them not to let their offense affect their defense. We knew if we could get past that little stretch that we would be fine and I’m proud of the guys because they stayed connected down the stretch and were able to pull it out.”
The Centaurs found themselves down six at the half and cut that to four at the end of the third quarter.
It was a seven-point differential when Javi Mangual (11 points) hit a 3-pointer with five minutes left in regulation.
That’s when Drake Abdullovski hit the ‘on’ button. The sophomore guard, who came in averaging 20.2 points per game, had just two points through the first three quarters.
With 4:40 left in the game, he hit his first 3-pointer and then followed with three more. When his barrage came to an end, Woodstock Academy owned the 52-49 lead.
“It was great,” Abdullovski said of watching his 3’s find their way to the bottom of the basket. “I was just trying to find some confidence in the fourth quarter and it helped the team win.”
Reggie Schwartz did send the game into overtime when he matched Abdullovski’s last 3 with one of his own to tie the game at 52 with 1:36 left and no one got the game-winning point.
“I think our defense picked up in the second half. We got like five blocks which raised our energy and helped our offense,” Abdullovski said.
Abdullovski hit a basket in the extra four minutes to finish with a team-best 16 points, Coker added a hoop and the Centaurs went 5-for-6 from the free throw line to outscore the Vikings 9-1 in overtime.
“I told him (in the locker room), it’s not about the first half, it’s about the second, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. I had to do a lot of coaching from the sidelines with him but he is my guy, I’ve coached him for the last two years and he knows where I am at with him, that I trust him. Him taking those shots down the stretch, I knew they were going in.”
Lisancic was the defensive star for the Centaurs as he blocked six shots.
“I didn’t know he could do that,” Adams said with a laugh. “He surprised me and he and Jamie (Dean-Stewart) came up with some big plays.”
Karch Kaczor led the Vikings (1-7, 0-3) with 18 points.
On Friday, the Centaurs picked up where they had left off against the Vikings.
Xawier Matwiej found his range early as he scored 14 first-half points, Abdullovski added seven and the Centaurs made 8-of-9 from the free throw line to take a 27-26 lead into halftime.
That’s where the good times ended.
The Centaurs could only muster 15 second half points with Matwiej held scoreless and Abdullovski able to get only one three-pointer in the final 16 minutes.
Josh Lavoie was the only player in double figures with 23 for the Wildcats (4-5) who won their third straight game.
Wrestling
It was never easy to battle back from behind. It was the situation the wrestling team found itself in Wednesday.
The Centaurs surrendered the first 27 points to Bacon Academy and the Bobcats used that boost to score the 48-30 victory.
“It’s tough to give up three forfeits to start the match and then we lost the first two (matches) but we just have to rally back from that,” said coach Cahan Quinn.
After those three forfeits, Owen Hamilton lost a match by major decision and Olivia DiGregorio suffered a technical fall loss.
Senior Aidan Soukaloun put the Centaurs on the board with a pin that took just over one minute to accomplish at 138 pounds.
“I just got in the right position at the right time, tried my best to muscle through it,” Soukaloun said. He almost wanted to finish it a bit took quick.
“I went a little too fast and almost gave him an opportunity to flip over but I was luckily able to slide back in time,” the senior described.
Quinn liked what he saw.
“He sprawled out well, went to the front headlock and then just ran the cement mixer. He did it all beautifully. Three years of hard work was showing there which was really nice to see,” the coach said.
The Centaurs needed two more of those but saw Jake Henderson lose a hard-fought three-point decision and Bacon followed with three pins.
“Unfortunately, we could not get more but I did see a lot of improvement from a lot of our kids. Owen Hamilton has been having a tough year to start but he’s going to turn it around especially with (the ECC championship) coming up in February. I saw a lot of good things from (215-pound) Hunter LaChappelle,” Quinn said.
The loss dropped the Centaurs to 2-9 overall and 1-2 in Div. II of the ECC.
“Even though we lost, it was pretty close, everyone tried their hardest so I’m not upset about it,” Soukaloun said. “We’re all getting together as a family. We all listen to each other.”
Boys’ Hockey
The boys’ hockey team had a rally fall just short against the North Branford co-op on Wednesday and then saw the Suffield-Granby-Windsor Locks co-op put together a dominant effort against it on Saturday.
The 5-4 loss to the Thunderbirds and a 5-1 defeat on Saturday to the Wildcat means the Centaurs (0-9) are still looking for that first win of the season.
“We need a win badly,” coach Drew Beaupre said. “We’ve been so close a couple of times, a couple of overtime losses, we had the near comeback so we’re right on the precipice of breaking through. We’ve seen the improvements coming through, the fight that we had against North Branford. We just need to do that for three periods.”
The boys’ hockey team scored four goals in the last 10 minutes of the third period but it just wasn’t enough to produce its first victory of the season as the North Branford Co-op hung on for the win.
“It was fantastic,” Beaupre said of his team’s effort to try and rebound from a 5-0 deficit. “Especially given that we gave up the fifth goal early in the third period, for them to rally after that and really mount what looked like was going to be a comeback was fantastic to see.”
Charlie Dee scored that fifth goal for the Thunderbirds, which proved to be the game winner, and also had one of the three North Branford first period tallies.
After Dee scored 1 minute, 57 seconds into the final 15 minutes, Camden Marshall was able to find the net for the Centaurs just about three minutes later off an assist from Owen Murdock.
Right wing Anthony Malone got into the act five minutes later with help from Bruce Walker and the Centaurs started to get a little excited when Marshall added his team-leading fourth goal of the season with 3:18 left to play.
Just eight seconds later, Patrick Griswold converted off the faceoff on assists from Tucker Faber and Malone.
“We wanted it then,” Beaupre said.
It was not to be, but, it did serve to lift spirits.
“The walkaround with the team (after the game) and the vibe was just so much improved than it was between the second and third period. We won the third period, even though we didn’t win the game, it was a high note and that was huge,” Beaupre said.
Unfortunately, that good vibe did not carry into Saturday.
The Wildcats established their dominance early as Brendan Morden scored just 1 minute, 19 seconds into the contest. Jack Ziemba added a second halfway through the period as the Wildcats outshot the Centaurs, 24-6.
Marshall did cut the lead in half when he scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season off assists from Walker and Murdock 5:18 into the second period. But the Suffield co-op re-established its two-goal lead when Maxwell Demers scored 3:20 later.
The Wildcats put the game away early in the third period when both Ziemba and Demers scored their second goals of the game in the first 3 ½ minutes.
Brady Hebert had 55 saves for Woodstock in goal.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
IMG 6273, . IMG 6276 and IMG 6277:
Abraham McGregor, Emma Weitknecht and Emelia Langevin not only brought home strong finishes from the East Coast Indoor Track Invitational in Providence, they also set school records in the boys’ long jump, girls’ 55m hurdles and girls’ mile. Photos by Gerry LaMontagne/Woodstock Academy.
IMG 3754:
Cam Perreault skates up the ice on Saturday. Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy)
IMG 3743
Gabe Flannery battles an SGWL player for the puck as forward Bruce Walker, left, looks for a way around the fray. Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
IMG 3728:
Cooper Harris shoots atop his opponent. Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy)
IMG 3694
Olivia DiGregorio gets taken down. Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
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Owen Hamilton works from the top in his 126-pound match. Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
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Generosity: Time & donations
Putnam Area Foundation awards $30k
PUTNAM — The Putnam Area Foundation, Inc. (PAF) approved $30,000 in community grants supporting organizations that serve families and residents across northeastern Connecticut — strengthening youth opportunities, improving community access to local history, supporting volunteer service, and providing practical public-safety and veteran resources.
This year’s grant recipients include: The Hale YMCA Youth & Family Center, to enhance programming for the Cutler Summer Day Camp, supporting a stronger summer experience for local children and families; the Putnam Aspinock Historical Society, to add additional walkways at the Gertrude Chandler Warner Boxcar Children Museum site, improving accessibility and the visitor experience; the Putnam Police Department, to help fund the purchase of a FLIR Scout Pro thermal imaging monocular—a tool commonly used to support nighttime and low-visibility operations such as search-and-rescue and situational awareness; the Rectory School, to support its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, helping students contribute meaningful volunteer hours and hands-on service in the region; the Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse, to support fellowship and ongoing community support for local veterans, including the purchase of a box truck from the Midwest Food Bank New England to aid in the distribution of food to the community; the Theatre of Northeastern Connecticut to support 2026 programming at the Bradley Playhouse in Putnam.
“Community foundations should be practical: we listen locally, then fund what improves daily life,” said Thomas A. Borner, president of the Putnam Area Foundation. “This set of grants back programs that matter—summer opportunities for kids, better access to local history, support for veterans, and tools that can help keep residents safer when it counts.”
PAF - MuralFest
PUTNAM — MuralFest Putnam, a historic public art project planned for June 2028 in Putnam, received its first major donation from the Putnam Area Foundation (PAF), a local charitable organization that supports nonprofit organizations and community initiatives serving the Putnam area and northeastern Connecticut.
PAF President Tom Borner was the first to pledge $10,000 to the initiative when MuralFest Putnam planning launched in May 2025.
“I was excited from the moment I learned of the project, and we are pleased to be a lead sponsor,” he said. “We look forward to Putnam hosting the many artists from all parts of the country who will celebrate our long and rich history with educational and engaging murals that will have a lasting impact for years to come.”
Borner recently presented MuralFest Putnam Community Coordinator Elaine Turner with a check for $3,400, representing the first installment of the $10,000 pledge.
“We are grateful for the leadership of Tom Borner and the Putnam Area Foundation,” said Turner. “We are proud of the close relationships we share with the members of our business community and appreciate their generosity and kindness. Muralfest Putnam 2028 is taking shape one donation, one meeting, one volunteer at a time...and these early donations help to jump-start our efforts.”
If you would like to be part of this historic, community-building and beautification public art project, email
Grant to Rectory School
POMFRET — The Putnam Area Foundation, Inc. (PAF) has awarded Rectory School a community grant in support of the school’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, part of a broader $30,000 investment in nonprofit organizations serving families and residents across northeastern Connecticut.
The grant will support Rectory’s 2026 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, a schoolwide initiative that engages every student K-9 in meaningful, hands-on service while helping them better understand their role in the communities they belong to—locally, nationally, and globally.
This year’s program reflects a thoughtful evolution of Rectory’s long-standing commitment to service, guided by the theme “Cultivating a Beloved Community,” inspired by Dr. King’s vision of a society grounded in care, fairness, and mutual responsibility. Through a combination of a keynote presentation, interactive workshops, and community-based service projects, students will explore how service is not a single act, but a way of living thoughtfully and responsibly alongside others.
Throughout the day, students will be encouraged to see themselves as members of many interconnected communities—from their families, dorms, classrooms, and teams to their towns, their country, and the wider world. The experience is designed to help students understand that meaningful change does not require grand gestures, but begins with everyday choices, compassion, and action.
“Dr. King believed that everyone can serve, and this grant allows our students to bring that belief to life,” said Head of School Julie Anderson. “With the support of the Putnam Area Foundation, our students will take part in service that strengthens local organizations while deepening their understanding of what it means to belong to—and contribute to—a caring community.”
“The Putnam Area Foundation is pleased to fund Rectory’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service because it connects students with real needs in northeastern Connecticut,” said Kyle Borner, Putnam Area Foundation (PAF) Board Member. “By partnering with local organizations and taking on hands-on projects, students see that Dr. King’s call to serve starts right here—through practical action that strengthens the community around them.”
The Putnam Area Foundation’s community grant program supports organizations that strengthen youth opportunities, preserve and share local history, promote volunteer service, and provide critical public-safety and veteran resources across Northeastern Connecticut. Rectory School was selected in recognition of its commitment to developing young people who lead with empathy, responsibility, and purpose.
Captions:
From left: Kyle Borner, Putnam Area Foundation (PAF) board member; Julie Anderson, Rectory School Head of School; and Melissa Zahansky, Rectory School MLK Day of Service Lead.
Putnam Area Foundation President Tom Borner presents MuralFest Putnam Community Coordinator Elaine Turner with a check for $3,400, representing the first installment of a $10.000 pledge to the historic public art project.
Community Service
Fifty-five members of the Woodstock Academy community took part in the annual Martin Luther King Day community service project on Saturday. Members of the wrestling team, girls’ hockey team and Residential life program rucked the donated food in backpacks from the Hale YMCA in Putnam to the Daily Bread food pantry. Members of the girls’ basketball team, the indoor track teams and competition dance team all donated food to fill the backpacks. Photos by George Vangel, Cahan Quinn and Will Fleeton of Woodstock Academy.
Reward on the Flip Side
... of shoveling. When the blue skies hit, it was like the snowstorm never happened. Expanded photo array Wed. nioght on our FB page. More photos on page 4. Linda Lemmon photo.
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Hometown Heroes
Lt. Col. Allen Thayer, U.S. Army (1905-1945) – died in captivity
By Michael Rocchetti
By December of 1944, Allied Forces were closing in on the home islands of Japan, and General MacArthur’s forces had returned to the Philippines to liberate those islands from the Japanese occupation. The Japanese forces were retreating, but they were not allowing their Allied prisoners to remain in the Philippines.
There were thousands of U.S. troops that had been captured by the Japanese after the fall of Corregidor in early 1942, and these prisoners were forced to endure brutal and inhumane treatment during the infamous Bataan Death March and during the long years of captivity in the Philippines.
In late 1944, the Japanese started transferring U.S. and Allied POWs from prison camps in the Philippines to slave labor camps in Japan – and they were using unmarked troop ships to transport these POWs. These troop transport ships were seen as legitimate military targets by U.S. aircrews and were bombed repeatedly. Unfortunately, in the fog and friction of war, more than 1,600 U.S. POWs were killed in these air attacks. Among them was Lt Colonel Allen Thayer from Putnam.
Allen Thayer was born June 7, 1905, in Willimantic, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Thayer of 19 King St., Putnam. He graduated from Putnam High School in 1924. He was later commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army upon graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1928. As an Army officer, he served in various parts of this country and was then detailed to the Philippine Islands. Although his wife and three sons had evacuated the Philippines, he was still in the Islands when war with Japan broke out. He was active in the entire defense of the Philippines and was not taken prisoner until the end of the resistance.
Allen Thayer was captured by the Japanese during the fall of Corregidor in May of 1942 while assigned to the 62nd Infantry Regiment of the 61st Infantry Division, the “Philippine Scout Division”. According to information obtained from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Lt Col Allen Thayer was lost during the sinking of the Japanese transport ship Brazil Maru while in transit as a POW from the Philippines to Japan. He was lost somewhere in the China Seas near the Tsushima Straits of Japan.
His death date is officially listed as Jan. 18, 1945. He has a cenotaph at the Riverdale Cemetery, in Columbus, Ga. Lieutenant Colonel Thayer is also memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
In addition to his parents, he was survived by a brother Henry, a sister Martha, his wife Marjorie (Roberts) Thayer of Columbus, Ga, and three sons – Allen, David, and John.
He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star Medal. The citation which accompanied the award said that Lieutenant Colonel Thayer won the Silver Star Medal “For gallantry in action while commanding the 62d Infantry in the vicinity of Dalirig, Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippine Islands, during May 7 and 8, 1942. During periods of heavy shelling of the 62d Infantry by the Japanese, Colonel Thayer made a number of personal visits to his front-line units, thereby inspiring confidence in the unseasoned troops of his command.”
Hometown Heroes books can be purchased online at: https://hometown-heroes-of-the-quiet-corner.myshopify.com/ - all proceeds benefit the local American Legion Post. Hometown Heroes is a series published in the Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger with this mission: We owe it to our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to make sure that they are never forgotten, and that the memory of their service and sacrifice will forever live on in the hearts and minds of the grateful people of Putnam.
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