Harwood Roundup: Girls X-C chases CVU; girls golf lands 3rd in state
October 10, 2020 | By Katie MartinFour years since the tragic wrong-way crash on Interstate 89 that claimed the lives of five area teens, Harwood Union athletes this past week marked the anniversary to celebrate the lives of Mary Harris and Cyrus Zschau of Moretown; Liam Hale and Janie Cozzi of Fayston, and Eli Brookens, of Waterbury.
At Harwood home and away games this week, players remembered the five Mad River Valley area students who died Oct. 8, 2016. Whether it was a silent moment before a game, or a “Harwood Strong” cheer in between quarters, the student athletes remembered and celebrated the lives of the students who remain a part of their school community.
Bass Fishing
The Harwood Bass Fishing teams had just one competition this season, sanctioned by the Vermont Principals Association as the State Championship. The competition was held Saturday, Oct. 3, on Lake Champlain in South Hero.
Harwood’s varsity team placed sixth out of 20 teams, with a weight of 15.73 lbs. for its six fish, according to Coach Scott Green. The Highland junior varsity team placed fourth in its division, he said. “The team as a whole did an outstanding job with the shortened season to prepare for the state tourney,” Green said.
The White River Valley Wildcats from Royalton took home the state title trophy after catching six fish with a combined weight of 22.93 lbs. Second- and third-place finishers were Randolph and Essex respectively, also with six fish apiece but with weights trailing Royalton significantly: 18.74 lbs. for Randolph and 18.67 lbs. for Essex, according to WCAX-TV results.
According to the final results, in the JV group Harwood weighed five fish at 11.72 lbs. The top finishers with six each were Milton in first place at 20.09 lbs., White River Valley at 17.04 lbs. and Danville with 13.95 lbs.
Bass fishing is now in its second year as a varsity high school sport in Vermont.
Golf
Two more short seasons wrapped up this week with championship competitions. The following results were reported by the Burlington Free Press:
Girls Golf: On Tuesday, the Vermont State Girls Golf Championships were held at the Champlain Country Club in Swanton. In Division II, Harwood took third place with a combined score of 222. Jordan Hunter shot a 99 and Maddie Cheney shot a 123.
Lake Region Union High School took first place with a score of 190; Otter Valley Union won second place with a 203.
Boys Golf: On Thursday, the State Boys Golf Championships were held at the Country Club of Barre where Harwood finished fifth out of six teams in Division II with a foursome score of 381: Jacob Green with an 84, Parker Davey with a 93, Liam Guyette with a 101 and Adyn Oshkello with a 103.
Top honors for the boys trophy went to Stowe with a score of 345; U-32 finished in second place with a 360.
Cross-Country
The Essex-Burlington Invitational meet was held Saturday, Oct. 4, at Catamount Family Center in Williston.
Harwood Girls came in second place out of 10 teams with a score of 81; Champlain Valley Union took first place with a score of 54; U-32 was in hot pursuit of Harwood though, taking third with just one point over the Highlanders at 82.
Harwood junior Ava Thurston led the way on the 5,000-meter course finishing first in 19:19; her sister, freshman Julia Thurston, was Harwood’s next fastest finisher in eighth place in 20:14.9. CVU’s Alicia Veronneau took second place with 19:41 and Scarlet Stimson from Essex placed third with a time of 19:42.
Harwood boys finished eighth out of 10 teams with a score of 195. Senior Carlton Cummiskey was the Highlander’s top finisher in the boy’s 5,000 meters, finishing 14th in 17:29.9. U-32 took first place with a score of 31; CVU was sescond with 66 points; Burlington’s 106 won third. The top three individual runners were Brady Martisus from Essex who won the heat with a 15:56 time, followed by CVU’s Caleb Nye with 16:43, and U-32’s Jacob Miller-Arsenault with 16:56.
Field Hockey
Harwood 1, Lyndon 2
Celebrating the team’s three seniors: goaltender Kaylee Camerson, captain Charlotte Cook, and defender Gwyneth Clough, the Highlanders went into overtime resulting in a 2-1 upset against Lyndon Institute on Monday.
The Oct. 5 game was back and forth as both teams made numerous runs up the field just to have the ball redirected back again with no shots on net. The first goal came in the third quarter when Highlanders’ Maggie Aiken found the back of the net after teammate Rachel Goodwin and Izzy Hubble crossed the ball for the assist.
The 1-0 lead would only hold until the last two remaining minutes of the fourth quarter when Lyndon’s Sadie Bora got one past the Harwood defense, taking the teams into overtime.
In OT, Lyndon made quick work getting the ball down into the Highlanders defensive circle and fired off shot after shot on Cameron. After three back-to-back rebound shots, Lyndon’s Jamie Fenoff scored just two minutes into the overtime round. Cameron had five saves for the game.
Senior Gwyneth Clough gets under the ball in Monday's senior day match against Lyndon. Photo by Sarah Milligan.
Harwood 0, St. Johnsbury 1
Following the close OT upset, Harwood hit the road for a windy, cold game against St. Johnsbury Academy on Thursday, Oct. 8.
Before the game started, both varsity and junior varsity players honored the five students who died in the 2016 crash with a moment of silence and taping their sticks with the students’ initials, five stars, or the phrase “Harwood Strong.” The team also made special hair ties for their team members and for the St. Johnsbury players to honor the students.
Heading into the game, the Highlanders were 0-2, while the St. Johnsbury Hilltoppers were undefeated. Both teams were able to end the first quarter evenly, with no corners for or against, no shots, and nothing on the board.
In the second with 13:30 on the clock, the Highlanders had an ample scoring opportunity that led to their first offensive corner of the game. Sending the ball to the top of the circle off the insert, the ball ended up in Hilltoppers’ feet resulting in a second corner, and eventually a third corner off of a third party call. St. Johnsbury was able to clear the ball successfully and move it back to the field.
With two minutes left in the second, St. Johnsbury earned their first offensive corner. With the ball inserted to the top of the circle and a quick shot in, the Hilltoppers’ Taylor Farnsworth earned the game-winning goal with 1:36 left.
Harwood had a scoring opportunity in the third quarter where a scramble in front of the net left the ball just inches from crossing the goal line. With the ball touching a Highlander foot, the Hilltoppers took advantage of the foul to clear the ball.
Final buzzer score, 1-0, sent the Highlanders home to prepare for their next game away against the U-32 Raiders at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10.
Boys soccer
Harwood 3, Lyndon 0
Last Saturday, Oct. 3, boys varsity soccer traveled Lyndon Institute for a game that resulted in a 3-0 victory, adding on to the Highlanders’ winning streak.
They made quick work of it as the first goal of the game came early on from Senior Hayden Adams, assisted by junior Skylar Platt. Not stopping there, Platt was able to get the ball over the line himself, scoring the second goal of the game with an assist from Senior Gavin Thomsen.
The final goal came later in the game from junior Finn O’ Hara, assisted by Adams. Coach Joe Yalicki said the team played well defensively, and after a halftime adjustment, stepped up to the offense.
“We had a good attacking second half from the outsides of the field. I liked the way Jack Birmingham controlled the middle of the field. Hayden Adams’ first goal was fast and from a tight angle -- something he does better than just about anybody. Finn O'Hara didn't stop working all game and we came alive once he got it going. Skylar Platt was so good on the outside left side,” he said.
Harwood 4, Thetford 0
Tallying up another shut-out win, Harwood boys soccer kept the show (and ball) rolling against Thetford at home on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Harwood scored their first goal in the 37th minute of regulation when Hayden Adams was fed a pass from Junior Chris James. Sixty-eight minutes into the game, sophomore Jordan Schullenberger scored the second goal with an assist from Adams. Minutes later, O’Hara scored his first of the game with another assist from Adams, the playmaker of the game.
Commenting on the game, Yalicki said that the team had a lot of space to dribble, but turned simple two-vs.-one players in three-vs.-three battles in the first half. “We couldn't quite connect quickly enough to exploit opportunities. We also missed a ton of chances in the box in both halves,” he said.
When asked how he feels about the season so far, Yalicki was upbeat. “The season is going great! Happy to be out there playing. We have some tougher games coming up so it's time to buckle down and see where we really are at,” he replied.
Harwood senior Hayden Adams denies St. J the ball during Thursday's match at home. Photo by Sarah Milligan.
Harwood 1, St. Johnsbury 2
On Thursday, October 8, St. Johnsbury Academy snapped Harwood’s winning streak by giving Highlanders a neck-and-neck match, resulting in a OT victory for St. J. .
Before the game, the Harwood boys took a moment to remember the five students on the anniversary of the crash.
“I remember Cyrus Zschau and Eli Brookens very fondly as two attack-minded, creative, and energetic players. Most importantly, they were great teammates and awesome kids. There's a reason why we don't have their jersey numbers in our lineup and why we vote on an end of season award called the 6/11 award for the player that portrays positive character on and off the field,” Coach Joe Yalicki said afterward. “It's a tough day for a lot of people in the Harwood community, but I felt fortunate to be involved in a game which makes lots of people happy.”
Highlander Finn O'Hara keeps his eye on the ball during Thursday's varsity match against the St. J Hilltoppers who pulled out a 2-1 win in OT. Photo by Sarah Milligan.
After a scoreless first half, St. Johnsbury was the first on the board in the 58th minute with a goal by Gardner Auchincloss. Ten minutes later, the Highlanders answered back with a goal from sophomore Jordan Schullenberger, assisted by Jack Birmingham. All tied up, neither team scored in the rest of regulation play, taking them into overtime.
In OT, St. Johnsbury found the back of the net first, ending the Highlanders’ winning and shut-out streak. The goal came in the 83rd minute of play by Auchincloss again, assisted by Tucker Chapman.
“They (St. Johnsbury) are very well-coached and many quality players all over the field. That's a given with them, so there were no surprises there. I thought we more than held our own in a pretty back-and-forth game. Maybe a little better execution and we could have earned the lead. Ultimately, it says a lot to just play evenly with them, win 50/50 balls and make them work. I was proud to come back and equalize to force OT,” Yalicki said after the match.
In the run-up to their away game at Peoples Academy Saturday, Oct. 10, the Highlanders were working on decision-making, recognition of surroundings, and simple execution, the coach said.
Volleyball
Harwood 0, South Burlington 3
On Monday, Oct. 5, Harwood Volleyball hosted South Burlington High School for a match that ended with a 0-3 loss for the Highlanders. Head coach Peter Arsenault said that his team showed strong signs of improvement, and said that his players know what they need to work on.
“Offensively the team showed strong signs of improvement based on their total aces in serving (14) and ability to set up plays to provide more opportunities to hit leading to more kills than what we saw last week,” Arsenault said.
Defensively, Aresenault said that his team did a good job of keeping the ball in play to gain more hitting opportunities to get the ball over the net allowing their opponents to make mistakes. Aresenault noted that Teras Wood and Ava Lawson both played well overall offensively and defensively.
Looking ahead, when asked what his team will be working on specifically, Arsenault said working on reducing the number of errors from serving the ball, receiving serves and not letting mistakes or errors get to them.
For their next match on Wednesday, Oct. 14, away at Lyndon, Aresault said the focus will be on accuracy and power in serving, and “more consistency in our passing while we are using drills that focus more on pressure in serve receive and serving so that they can be more resilient mentally after mistakes and moments of pressure.”
Katie Martin is the JV and middle school field hockey coach at Harwood Union High School and a member of the Waterbury Select Board.