Just over a month ago the Prep Basketball Twitter feed was set ablaze when senior forward Kareem Reid of Putnam Science Academy announced he would re-class into his original class of 2019.
This left the door open for Division 1 schools with scholarships still available to reach out regarding the lefty big man on the Mustangs. Since late March, Kareem has received offers from more than a dozen D1 programs looking for size around the rim. With open gyms in full-swing for PSA, coaches have been pouring in to take a look at present Mustangs while also getting a look at future ones as well.
A frequent flyer in the Putnam Science gymnasium has been St. Bonaventure out of the Atlantic 10 conference that currently have former Mustangs Kyle Lofton and Osun Osunniyi on the roster. Coach Mark Schmidt was in April 24 along with Fairfield University to watch Reid while Villanova stopped in to watch Junior guard Hassan Diarra.
St. Bonaventure’s Schmidt said he sees Reid’s length “is truly a gift, something we saw in Osun when we evaluated him.” Schmidt added:  “He can really finish around the rim and he’s intriguing that’s for sure.”
Atlantic 10 foe VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) has been labeled as one of the front-runners to land Reid over the last couple of weeks along with the University of New Mexico. Following St. Bonaventure’s lead, Gardner-Webb, San Diego and Georgia all reached out to PSA about Reid and what he can bring to the table.
Former Mustang Jose Perez, who plays for Gardner-Webb, did his best to convince his former teammate to join him, saying on Twitter, “Come on, big fella, we already won one chip together, why not do it again?” There is no time-table on when Kareem Reid will make his decision but with the surprise announcement coming a month ago, several teams have flocked to 18 Maple St. in Putnam to see if they have a chance at getting not only a 6-foot, 10-inch big man with terrific basketball skills but an even better kid.
Josh Sanchas
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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caption:

Striding In
Tommy Li strides safely into third base in a 6-1 win over Ellis Tech last week in Danielson. Photo by Marc Allard.



Eric Preston knew the first ball he hit was going to go a long way.
He was hoping the second one would as well.
The senior catcher for the Centaurs muscled not one, but two balls, over the fence in left field at Ellis Tech in Danielson and his two homers led Woodstock Academy to a 6-1 victory April 23.
The Centaurs also played two tight games against Bacon Academy and Waterford last week, but ended up on the wrong side of both and will go into a relatively light week with a 7-4 record. The Centaurs play only two games this week against New London on Tuesday (the game ended too late for this edition) and Fitch May 3.
Last week’s game with the Eagles was moved to Ellis Tech due to wet grounds at the Bentley Athletic Complex.
That was fine with Preston who feasted on the shorter porch.
“I hit one home run last year, but not two in a game,” Preston said with a smile. “I’m pretty happy about it.”
The Centaurs took the early lead when winning pitcher Tommy Li singled, was sacrificed to second, moved to third on a Luke Mathewson base hit and scored on a Nathan John (13 RBIs this season) single.
Ellis Tech starting pitcher Cameron L’Heureux kept the Centaurs at bay until the third inning when Preston got a hold of a two-strike pitch.
“I knew that was gone for sure,” Preston said.
Three innings later, with the Centaurs up 4-0, Preston took Ellis Tech reliever Codi Beshaw deep for a two-run homer.
“I was a little nervous, it started dipping a little, but it went over,” Preston said.
Preston said he is getting more comfortable at the plate.
He was hitting over .400 until an 0-for-3 effort against Waterford dropped him back to .375.
“It’s nice when he relaxes at the plate, because then the ball travels. He gets in trouble if he tries to do too much,” said Woodstock Academy coach Brian Murphy.
Li did the rest against the Eagles.
“He’s been key for our team and for him to come out and deal for our team like he did is all we can ask for,” Preston said.
Li allowed the Eagles (6-2) just four hits and struck out six.
“He pitched well,” Murphy said. “He was around the plate all day, worked his breaking pitch nice and obviously, his fast ball looked better after the breaking pitch. It was a good team win.”
The junior added RBI singles in the fourth and sixth innings to back his pitching effort.
“Tommy helped himself out. He had some big hits and he’s a gamer. It was Tommy Li’s day,” Murphy said.
It was a game that scared Murphy.
The Centaurs were coming off a long spring break trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and had the tough games against Bacon Academy and Waterford still to come.
Fortunately, Woodstock Academy did catch a break when rain postponed its scheduled game against Fitch, moving it May 3.
“That would have stretched our pitching out a lot,” Murphy said.
Instead, he was able to throw Mathewson (4-1) against the Bobcats.
Mathewson allowed only one earned run, but mistakes cost the Centaurs.
Bacon Academy scored three unearned runs in the fifth inning and Woodstock Academy was not able to recover, losing 4-3.
Preston. Mathewson and John knocked in the runs for the Centaurs.
Preston is best known as a catcher.
But he’s done pretty well on the mound this season.
Preston has got the call in, arguably, the two toughest games of the season for the Centaurs and he has shown up.
The offense just has not backed him up.
He suffered a 2-0 loss to Ledyard, one of the top-ranked teams in the state earlier in the season, and  April 25, he held Waterford to three hits only to suffer a 2-1 loss to the Lancers.
Jacob Hernandez singled and scored the only run for Woodstock Academy on an RBI single by John in the fourth inning.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

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Luigi Boselli came into the week undefeated in singles play for the Woodstock Academy boys’ tennis team
 “I’m surprised,” Boselli said. “Coach (Ann) Rathbone, (Lauren) Gagnon and (Siana) Green have really guided me a lot. They have done a really good job with me.”
The group of coaches has done wonders with the boys’ program as a whole as the Centaurs are currently 6-1 after winning two of their three matches last week.
The Centaurs have been led by Boselli and junior captain David Fleck, both of whom sport 6-0 records in singles play.
Boselli may be a senior and is more than familiar with the game, but this is his first exposure to tennis American style.
Boselli is an exchange student from Perugia, Italy. He played tennis there for four years. But in Italy, he didn’t play for a high school.
“Here, I represent the school, In Perugia, you represent yourself. Here, we are a group. You don’t just win by yourself and if you lose, all the people lose. It’s a stronger feeling here. When you play, others cheer for you. It’s amazing. It’s just wonderful,” Boselli said.
Rathbone said Boselli recently expressed his desire of how he wants to play hard for the team, to be there for the other players.
So far, he has been, despite having to take time off from the game.
Boselli had not played tennis for the last two years before coming to Woodstock Academy.
He was involved in a motorcycle accident and broke his hand. His doctor, after an operation on the hand, told him to take a break from the game.
But when he decided to come to the U.S., he also decided he wanted to play again.
Rathbone, originally, had slated Boselli for doubles. Boselli tried it, but Rathbone quickly realized that he was a talented singles player and he has been the No. 4 singles for the Centaurs for the entire season.
“He’s pretty solid,” Rathbone said. “He has no weaknesses to attack. He’s solid on (both forehand and backhand shots). He’s mentally tough. He doesn’t relax or take points off. Some kids get sloppy or lazy. He doesn’t. I wish they were all like that.”
The Centaurs rolled to a win in their first match of the week, 6-1, over New London April 23.
Riley Douglas won, but struggled against Wesly Paulo in second singles. The sophomore eventually prevailed, 6-3,4-6,6-4 but it took three hours to finish.
The Centaurs suffered their first loss of the season, 4-3, to an undefeated Ellington team April 24.
Both Fleck and Boselli managed wins as did the first doubles team of Aidan Stewart and Stefan Chervenkova who are now 5-0 in matches this season.
“We have never beaten Ellington, but we almost pulled it off, it was a good match,” Rathbone said. The Centaurs finished off the week with a shutou t victory over St. Bernard School. Joe Zhou picked up his first singles victory in the win.
“We’re doing very well. We have good chemistry and people are stepping up like Joe did in singles,” Rathbone said.
Girls Win 1
While the boys’ tennis team was busy, the girls’ team had a pretty quiet week.
The Centaurs downed Suffield, 6-1, in their only match of the week to raise their mark to 4-1. Morgan Bassett, Hannah Darigan and Adeline Smith all captured their singles matches in straight sets.
Rachel Holden, who has been a singles player for the Centaurs, suffered an ankle injury which prompted some shifting in the doubles ranks. “(Holden) may start some playing doubles because she is always hurting her ankle in singles. So, doubles is still kind of up in the air. Rachel and Adeline can play doubles, Adeline started playing doubles with Caitlin, but she is a strong singles player for a freshman. I’m not sure how it will pan out. It’s a great luxury to have to be able to put people in different places,” Rathbone said.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

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