Here’s a look at some Upper Valley residents who played varsity college sports this winter (a recap of those competing during the spring season will run in June):
Norwich was 7-18 with junior guard David Hampton (Lebanon) playing in 20 games and starting once. He averaged 4.8 points per contest. … Vermont Tech finished 6-20 with senior forward Logan White (South Royalton) in the lineup. … Trinity (Conn.) College was 19-8 with senior guard Rick Naylor (Kimball Union Academy) starting every game and averaging 5.6 points per outing. … Keene State (20-11) reached the NCAA Division III round of 16 with freshman forward Andrew Houde (Newport) getting into eight games and averaging 2.8 points per contest. … Arizona (25-9) was upset by Wichita State in the NCAA Division I tournament’s first round. Senior center Kaleb Tarczewski (Claremont/Stevens) started 24 of the 26 games in which he played, averaging 9.4 points and 9.3 rebounds for the Wildcats.
Elizabeth Turco (Windsor) was a freshman guard for the College of St. Joseph in Rutland. The Lady Saints won the USCAA national title, going 31-1 and winning each playoff game by at least 20 points. That included a title-game rout of Penn State-Beaver, which defeated CSJ in last season’s championship contest. … Green Mountain was 1-23 and is 5-87 during the last four seasons. Senior guard Keelin Banks (Kearsarge) and freshman guard Suzie Moses (Strafford/Sharon Academy) were two of the nine players listed on the Eagles’ final roster, which featured six freshmen and three seniors. Banks played in 22 games and started six, averaging 3.6 points per outing. Moses played in five games, starting four, and averaged 4.2 points per contest. … Norwich was 14-12 with sophomore guard Shyann Josler (Thetford) starting every game and averaging 12.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Freshman forward Vanessa Fleury (Lebanon) appeared in every game and started all but four, averaging 7 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest. … Lyndon State (5-19) enjoyed the services of sophomore center Mikayla Hodge (Newbury/Oxbow) and sophomore guard Brittney LaFreniere (Randolph). The former started every game and averaged 12.5 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. The latter played in 21 games and started 17 of them, averaging 4.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per outing. … Sarah Illingworth (Quechee/Hartford) was a senior forward at St. Rose (N.Y.) College. She started 10 of the 25 games in which she played and averaged 2.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game as the Golden Knights went 14-13. … Castleton State went 23-5 and reached the NCAA Division III playoffs, losing in the first round. Junior forward Lacey Stever (Orford/Rivendell) appeared in 14 games and averaged 1.9 points per contest. … The University of New England went 25-4 and lost in the opening round of the Division III postseason. Sophomore guard Sam McDonald (Lebanon) played in every game and averaged 4.5 points and 2 rebounds per outing. … Freshman guard Lindsey Clark (Cornish/Lebanon) helped Maine-Augusta go 23-10 and reach the consolation game of the USCAA national tournament, the program’s most successful season in history. Clark, one of only seven Moose on the roster, played in 32 games and started one, averaging 4.6 points and 3 rebounds per game. … St. Joseph’s (Maine) College won the GNAC title at 23-6 and lost in the opening round of NCAA tournament play. Sophomore guard Emily Kehoe (Lebanon) started 11 times in the 27 games in which she played. She averaged 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds. … Clarkson (22-6) won the Liberty League before bowing out in the NCAA tournament’s first round. Junior guard Stephanie Grobe (White River Junction/Hartford) was the Golden Knights’ third-leading scorer with an average of 10 points per contest. … Colby-Sawyer was 12-14 with freshman forward Anna Richardson (Sunapee) appearing in nine games. … Johnson State freshman guard Lydia Leitschuh (Thetford/Thetford Academy) was part of the Badgers’ 12-13 season, appearing in two games. … Vermont Tech finished 4-22 with freshman guard Madison Distel (Tunbridge/South Royalton) part of the program. … Sophomore guard Eileen Daley (Hanover) helped Middlebury go 12-13. She started every game and averaged 6.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest. … Springfield (Mass.) College was 17-10 and sophomore forward Heather King (Lebanon) played every game and started all but one, averaging 8.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per outing. … Amherst (30-2) reached the NCAA Division III tournament semifinals with freshman guard J.J. Daniell appearing in 24 games and averaging 8.5 minutes and 1.8 points.
Norwich had to play its first road league playoff game in 18 years and lost that semifinal to conclude a 17-8-2 season. Freshman defenseman Cam Beecy (KUA) appeared in 12 games for the Cadets. … St. Michael’s struggled to a 6-18 finish. Senior forward Brodie McCusker (Canaan) played in every game and had four goals and an assist. His brother, sophomore forward Cam McCusker (Canaan), skates at Wesleyan (2-14-8), where he had appeared in 16 games and had a goal and two assists. … Brown (5-19-7) received six goals and two assists from sophomore forward Tyler Bird (KUA), who played in 31 games. … Bowdoin was 13-8-4 with sophomore forward Peter Bensen (Norwich/Hanover) skating in six games and producing two assists. … Daniel Webster (3-18-1) won three of its first five games and tied its finale during its second varsity season. Freshman defenseman Ben Perron (Hartland) played in 18 games and had three assists. … Boston University reached NCAA regional action with a 21-12-5 record. Junior defenseman Doyle Somerby (KUA) played in every game and had five goals and eight assists. … St. Lawrence (19-14-4) advanced to the ECAC tournament semifinals and its leading scorer was junior defenseman Gavin Bayreuther (Canaan), who played every game and had 12 goals and 17 assists.
Senior forward Taylor Steadman (Hartford) and her fellow seniors left Castleton with the most victories of any Spartans class and a record of 56-43-11. The team was 17-8-2 this winter and Steadman led it with 21 points and 15 goals. … Senior defenseman Hadley DesMeules (North Pomfret) helped Williams finish 12-12-1. She had one assist in 22 games. … Sophomore defenseman Caroline Howell (Lyme/Hanover) was part of Trinity’s 15-9-2 campaign. She had a goal and four assists in 23 games. … Senior defenseman and forward Maddie Dewhirst (Hanover) skated every game for Colby (6-16-3). … Senior forward Kyra Herbert (Lebanon) was Manhattanville’s second-leading scorer with nine goals and four assists in 26 games. The team finished 9-17.
Junior Ian Weider (Thetford/Thetford Academy) won the America East indoor long jump title with a bound of 7.21 meters. He soared 7.35 meters at the New England championships, good for second place. … Southern Connecticut finished fourth out of 36 teams at the New England indoor championships. Graduate student Ethan Chapman (Post Mills/Thetford) was fourth in the heptathlon. … Freshman Kerry Swartz (Woodstock) finished fifth in the 200 meters in 28.40 for the Williams women’s team at the Middlebury Invitational in late January. … Senior Dylan Pelletier (Lebanon) was part of New Hampshire’s fifth-place finish out of nine teams at the America East indoor championships. He was 19th in the 60 meters in 7.21 seconds and 20th in the 200 meters in 22.93 seconds. … UNH junior Crista Hargbol (Sunapee) helped the Wildcat women finish second at the same meet. She was 18th in the 60-meter hurdles in 9.73 seconds.
CeCe Arrison (Weathersfield/Stevens), a senior diver at Smith (Mass.) College, broke a 12-year-old program record on the 1-meter board and qualified for the NCAA Division III championships after placing fourth in northeast regional competition. She was 21st at the national meet. … The University of Pennsylvania’s men’s squash squad finished fifth at the CSA team finals, its highest finish since 2007. Freshman Max Reed (Lebanon) was part of the Quakers’ 11-6 season and finished 8-7, playing primarily at the No. 5 slot. … Castleton State’s men’s alpine team posted its fifth consecutive top-ten finish at the USCSA National Championships in mid-March. Junior Matt Couture (Lyme/Hanover) earned All-American honors for a third consecutive season and finished 14th overall. He was 22nd in the giant slalom and sixth in the slalom and also earned academic All-America honors. … Chris Washington (Hanover), a 174-pound wrestling competitor at Williams, improved to 5-14 this season after going winless as a freshman walk-on last winter. Washington earned two victories by fall and three by decision. … Vermont was fifth out of 36 teams at the New England indoor championships. Junior Romario Bailey (Claremont/Stevens) reached that meet’s 60-meter semifinals with a time of 7.02 seconds, a tenth of a second out of reaching the finals. He was also part of the Catamounts’ 4 x 400 meter relay team, which was sixth in 3:17.52. … Bates finished third out of 11 teams at the NESCAC championships. Sophomore Nell Houde (Meriden/Lebanon) was seventh in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 17:35.18… Senior Alex Vutech (Woodstock) helped the Simmons (Mass.) College swim team finish third out of 21 teams at the New England Division III championships. She was 12th in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a personal best of 19:33.74. … Freshman Katie Aman (Hanover) swims at Middlebury, where she was second in the 200-meter fly in 2:11.64 during the Middlebury Invitational.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.