Here’s a look at Upper Valley residents who played varsity college sports this winter. A recap of those competing during the spring season will run in June:
Men’s Basketball
Bowdoin (15-9) featured freshman guard K.J. Matte (Lebanon), who appeared in eight games for the Polar Bears and averaged 2.8 minutes and 2.0 points per game. … Haverford was 7-18. Junior guard Khalil Garnes (KUA) started every game, averaging 29.1 minutes and 13 points. … Senior guard Oliver Tot (KUA) played in 31 games for William and Mary (19-12), starting one. He averaged 11.2 minutes and 1.5 points. Teammate Nate Knight (KUA), a 6-foot-10 freshman forward, played every game and started in all but one of those contests. He averaged 28.7 minutes, 7.3 rebounds and 18.5 points. … Sophomore swing man Cooper Williams (Meriden/KUA) was part of Carnegie Mellon’s 7-18 season. He appeared in 25 games, started two of them and averaged 13 minutes and 4.2 points. … New Hampshire was 10-21 with sophomore forward Luke Rosinski (KUA) appearing in 12 games. He averaged 5.3 minutes, 1.4 points and 1.4 rebounds. … Sophomore forward Ross Gerber (KUA) started two of the 20 games in which he appeared for Catholic University in Washington. He averaged 9.8 minutes, 1.9 rebounds and 4.3 points. The Cardinals were 15-11. … Freshman guard Travis Valmon (KUA) got into nine games at Maryland (19-13). … Eli Frater (KUA), a junior guard at Bates (12-12), averaged 3.9 points per game while playing in 22 contests. … Senior guard Gus King (KUA) competed for Grinnell (Iowa) College, which went 13-11. King started 11 of the 18 games in which he played and averaged 9 minutes and 1.9 points. … Junior guard Andrew Cashe (Canaan/Mascoma) helped New Hampshire Technical Institute (25-5) reach win the Yankee Small College Conference title and reach the USCAA Division II quarterfinals. He started two of the 28 games in which he played, averaging 13 minutes, 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds. … Vermont Tech sophomore guard Steve Davis (Bethel) appeared in 24 games and averaged 4.1 minutes and 1.4 points per game. The Knights (20-13) reached the USCAA Division II quarterfinals. … Senior forward Abdul-Malik Abu (KUA) helped North Carolina State (21-11) reach the NCAA tournament. He started 14 of the 26 games in which he played, averaging 15.2 minutes, 3.4 rebounds and 5.4 points. … Utah State (17-17) found playing time in 16 games for sophomore guard Crew Ainge (KUA). … Colby-Sawyer sophomore guard Austin Whaley (Lebanon) appeared in seven games for the Chargers (18-9), who reached the NAC title game. … Saint Anselm (22-9) received averages per game of 7.3 minutes, 2.6 points and 1.2 minutes from freshman Spencer Cline (KUA), who appeared in 18 games. … Freshman guard Trent Noordsij (New London/KUA) appeared in 14 games for the University of Rochester (N.Y.), averaging 4.3 minutes and 1 point per game for the Yellowjackets (16-9). … Duje Radka (KUA), a freshman forward at Elon (N.C.) University, got into six games for the Phoenix (14-18) and averaged 3.3 minutes and 1.3 points per contest. … Kenyon (Ohio) College freshman Ugnius Zilinskas (KUA) played in 18 games, averaging 13.1 minutes and 3.8 points per outing.
Women’s Basketball
Skidmore (18-10) won the Liberty League title and reached the NCAA Division III title with freshman guard Caroline Merguerian (Hanover/KUA) and junior forward Taylor Ong (KUA). Merguerian appeared in 15 games and averaged 1.7 points. Ong started two of the 28 games in which she played and averaged 16.1 minutes, 3.6 rebound and 5.0 points. … Colby-Sawyer (20-6) enjoyed the services of sophomore guard Lexie Hamilton (Sunapee) and freshman forward Joslin Wainright (Plainfield/Lebanon). Hamilton hasn’t missed a game during her college career and this winter averaged 32.4 minutes, 5.1 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 13.4 points per game. Wainright appeared in 18 games and averaged 13.2 minutes, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 points per contest. … Norwich was 10-16 with senior guard Shyann Josler (Thetford), junior forward Vanessa Fleury (Lebanon) and freshman guard Regan Covey (East Corinth/Thetford). Josler started every game and averaged 36 minutes, 14.8 points and 5.3 rebounds. Fleury started 21 of 23 games in which she appeared and averaged 24.9 minutes, 5.1 rebounds and 6.3 points. Covey appeared in nine games. … Sophomore guard Lindsay LaPerle (Bethel/Whitcomb) and senior forward Mariah Ramos (Lebanon) were part of Johnson State’s 3-22 campaign. LaPerle played in 16 games and averaged 17.3 minutes and 4.4 points. Ramos, a transfer from Lyndon State, started 14 of 16 contests in which she played and averaged 23.6 minutes, 5.8 rebounds and 10.6 points. … Freshman guard Ashleay Wilcox (Windsor) appeared in 14 games for Castleton (21-5)… For a second consecutive year, the University of New England went 23-6, won the Commonwealth Coast Conference and reached the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament. Senior guard Sam McDonald (Lebanon) started every game and averaged 12.9 points and 5.7 points. … Senior forward Heather King (Lebanon) suited up for Springfield (20-9), starting every game and averaging 29.3 minutes, 8.9 points and 6.2 rebounds. The Pride reached the ECAC championship semifinals. … Abigail Kelly (KUA), a junior guard at Bowdoin (29-3), helped the Polar Bears reach the NCAA Division III tournament’s title game. She started eight of 32 games in which she played and averaged 19.1 minutes and 11.7 points. … Mikayla Hodge (Oxbow), a 6-foot-1 senior center at Lyndon State, was the Northeast Athletic Conference Player of the Year and was in the top 40 in nine statistical categories among NCAA Division III players. Hodge was second with 25 double-doubles and averaged 19.1 points and 15.1 rebounds per game. The Hornets (14-12) enjoyed their first winning season since joining the Division III ranks in 2009. … Vermont Tech was 8-22 with Madison Distel (Tunbridge/South Royalton) starting one of the 25 games in which she played and averaging 10.6 minutes. … Bates was 7-17 with freshman guard Meredith Melendy (Grantham/Lebanon) appearing in five games. … Lasell (Mass.) College senior guard Morgan Church (New London) started every game for the Lasers (5-20) and averaged 35.5 minutes, 6.4 rebounds and 18.3 points. … Eileen Daley (Hanover), a senior guard at Middlebury (17-8), started one of the 17 games in which she played, averaging 6.1 minutes. … Madelyn Whipple (Claremont/Stevens) was a junior guard at Lesley (Mass.) College and a transfer from nearby rival Suffolk. She started three of the 22 games in which she competed, averaging 14.5 minutes and 1.5 points.
Men’s Hockey
Wesleyan senior Cam McCusker (Canaan) concluded his career at Wesleyan (13-7-5) with six goals and eight assists in 25 games. His college totals were 18 goals and 20 points in 91 contests. … Brown doubled its win total from last season but was still only 8-19-4, the fourth consecutive campaign during which the Bears have posted fewer than 10 victories. Senior forward Tyler Bird (KUA) played in every game and posted seven goals, four assists and a minus-16 rating… Norwich (19-7-2) uncharacteristically missed the NCAA Division III playoffs after losing in the inaugural New England Hockey Conference title game. Junior defenseman Cam Beecy (KUA) had a goal and an assist in eight games. Sophomore forward Jack Griffin (KUA) had five goals and three assists in 20 games. Senior defenseman Connor Evangelista (KUA) had three goals and nine assists while playing in every contest. … Buffalo (N.Y.) State was 17-7-3 with senior goaltender Ryan Lund (KUA) seeing seven minutes of action in one game. … Junior goaltender Eric Bogart (KUA) appeared in 13 games Fredonia (N.Y.) State, posting a 2-7-1 record with a 3.42 GAA and .894 save percentage. The Blue Devils were 13-11-4. … Sophomore goaltender Paul Leger (KUA) started three of the four games in which he played for Southern Maine (3-19-4). He was 0-3 with a 4.99 GAA and an .845 save percentage. … Army was 16-15-6 with sophomore forward Dominic Franco (KUA) as its second-leading scorer with 12 goals and 18 assists. … Brendan Riley (KUA) was a sophomore forward who played in 19 games and had three goals and two assists for Mercyhurst (Pa.) University, which was 21-11-4. … Jacob Paluch (KUA), a junior defenseman at Nazareth (N.Y.) College, played in 22 games and had eight assists as the Golden Flyers went 10-13-2. … Boston College junior forward J.D. Dudek (KUA) played in 35 games, producing seven goals and 12 assists and a minus-4 rating for the Eagles (20-14-3). … Connecticut College (10-11-4) featured junior forward Matt Michaud (KUA), who played in 13 games. … Middlebury freshman forward Alex Heinritz (KUA) endured a 4-17-3 campaign, playing in 19 games and producing two goals and an assist. … Nicholas Godin (New London) was a sophomore forward at Stonewall (Mass.) College, which was 7-16-2. He had two goals and seven assists in 24 games.
Women’s Hockey
Northeastern (19-17-3) won its first Hockey East title and made its second NCAA Division I tournament appearance, losing at No. 3 Colgate. Sophomore forward Matti Hartman (Etna/Hanover) played in every game and produced eight goals, four of them game-winners, and four assists with a minus-7 rating. … Amherst (16-7-4) featured Hanover High graduates and juniors Sarah Wagner and Miriam Eickhoff and sophomore Eliza Laycock. The Mammoths lost in the NESCAC finals to Middlebury. Wagner, a forward, played in two games. Eickhoff, a defenseman, appeared in every contest and had seven goals and seven assists. Laycock, a forward, also played every game and had four goals and an assist. … Sophomore defenseman Amanda Nelson (White River Junction/Hartford) appeared in nine games for St. Michael’s College (5-22). … Sophomore forward Megan Hayes (Hartford) played in every game for Rensselaer (9-19-6) and, for a second consecutive season, had a goal and two assists. … Dartmouth (5-19-3) missed the ECAC playoffs for a third consecutive season and set a program record for fewest victories in a season. Sophomore forward Sabrina Huett (Plainfield) had a goal and an assist while playing in every game… Trinity (Conn.) College was 7-16-1 with senior defenseman Caroline Howell (Lyme/Hanover) playing in every game and scoring thrice. Her college totals were 99 games, seven goals and eight assists.… Angela Augusta (KUA), a junior forward for Salve Regina (R.I) University, played in 24 games and had two assists. The Seahawks were 4-21-1. … Colby junior goaltender Katie Fenton (Norwich/Hanover) appeared in a single game as one of four goaltenders for the Mules (8-13-4). … UVM (10-20-5) featured freshman defenseman Greta Close (Norwich/KUA), who played in 24 games. … Hobart-William Smith received a goal and eight assists from freshman defenseman Lexi Nottke (KUA), who skated in every game. The Herons were 16-6-4. … Bowdoin was 13-9-3 with freshman forwards Julia Surgenor (KUA) and J.J. Taube (Hanover) and junior forward Meade Avery (Lyme). Surgenor played in every game and had five goals and eight assists. Taube played in 15 games and Avery played in seven games and had a goal.
Skiing
Castleton’s men’s alpine team featured sophomore Andrew Borden (Woodstock) and sophomore Michael Hirschbuhl (Woodstock). The Spartans were second at the USCSA national championships. … University of New Hampshire freshman Ava Mattsson (Bridgewater) competed in two carnivals for the Wildcats in the giant slalom. … Courtney Couture (Lyme/Hanover), a sophomore at Colby-Sawyer, competed in five alpine skiing festivals and was 46th in the slalom and 38th in the giant slalom at the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association championships. … University of Vermont freshman Spencer Smith (Woodstock) competed in two carnivals, his best finish a fifth-place, slalom showing at Williams in 1:53.82. … Zane Fields (Woodstock), a junior at Maine’s Colby College, was the top-ranked freestyle skier in the EISA and first team All-East. He was first in six competitions and in the top 10 in all but one outing. … Colby’s Kristen Miller (Norwich/Hanover) was 15th in the 10-kilometer race at the St. Michael’s carnival. At Dartmouth, she was 22nd in the 5K and 23rd in the 10K. … Saint Anselm senior Taylor Cudhea (Thetford/Thetford Academy) led the Hawks with eight top-15 finishes in 10 races. She earned All-American honors at the USCSA national championships in Lake Placid.
Indoor Track and Field
Lauren Kaija (Reading/Woodstock) is a Worcester (Mass.) Polytechnical Institute freshman who competed in two events in the New England Division III indoor championships. She was ninth in the 600 meters (1:42.43) and her 4×800 team was sixth (9:55.90). WPI was 12th out of 30 teams. … Earlham (Ind.) College senior pole vaulter Annalee Wilson (Lyme/Hanover) cleared 9 feet, 9.25 inches at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championships, good for eighth in the event. The Quakers were fifth out of 10 teams. … Aparma Alavilli (Hanover) is a junior at Carnegie Mellon who ran a career-best 17:38.51 in the 5,000 meters during the University Athletic Association championships. That was good for third place out of 14 competitors. The Tartans tied for sixth and last place among the seven teams. … Junior Martin Gradijan (Lebanon) helped Franklin Pierce finish sixth out of 11 teams at the Northeast-10 Conference championships. He was part of a 4×800 relay team that finished third out of eight quartets in 7:58.03. … Plymouth State freshman Leanne Burgess (Bradford/Oxbow) was 16th out of 20 competitors at the NCAA Division III New England championships in 11:54.54. Teammate and Panthers junior Kayla Gould (Orford/Rivendell) was 11th out of 14 competitors in the pole vault at the same meet, clearing 8.05 feet. … Colby-Sawyer sophomore Ben Jones (Enfield/Mascoma) ran a personal-best 9:16.58 in the 3,000 in early February. Doing the same, but in 9:24.29, was classmate Liam Fleming (Orford/Rivendell). The Chargers were 21st out of 28 schools at the NCAA Division III New England championships. … Vermont was seventh out of nine teams at the America East Conference championships, but sophomore Chris Gish (Sharon/Sharon Academy) was part of a second-place distance medley relay team that came in at 10:01.19. … The UVM women were sixth at the conference meet, senior Margaret Gish (Sharon/Sharon Academy) finishing 17th out of 17 competitors in the 5,000 in 19:05.27. … University of Chicago junior Ben Chaimberg (Hanover) was part of a 4×400 relay team that finished first at the University Athletic Association championships in 3:22.77. … John Henry Vansant (Hanover/KUA), a Wesleyan senior, cranked out a personai-best time of 16:00.51 and finished eighth at the Fast Track Last Chance meet in late February in Staten Island, N.Y. … Southern New Hampshire women’s senior sprinter Taylor Downs (West Lebanon/Lebanon) ran 10.21 in the 60 meters during her last outing of the season, at the Middlebury Invitational in late January. … Dickinson (Penn.) College featured freshman Ben Sobel (Hanover) and sophomore Conor Beaupre (Meriden/KUA). Sobel helped their team finish fourth out of nine teams at the Centennial Conference championships. He was ninth in the high jump (5-7), tenth in the long jump (17-8.25) and 21st in the 60 meters (7.66). Beaupre competed twice for the Red Devils this winter, soaring 18 feet, 5.25 inches in the long jump and 37 feet, 11.5 inches in the triple jump in the latter outing. … From the coaching realm, Lebanon High graduate John Wallin guided Southern Connecticut State to a Northeast-10 Conference championship in February and was rewarded last week by being named the league’s indoor track coach of the year. Three of Wallin’s athletes made the NCAA Division II meet this winter and one earned All-American status.
Other Sports
The University of Pennsylvania’s men’s squash team went 11-7 with junior Max Reed (Lebanon) going 13-4 overall and 5-2 in Ivy League play, mostly at the No. 9 slot. … Hannah Nice (Hanover) was a senior and captain of the squash team at Vassar (15-8). She went 16-3 in the No. 1 slot and won each of her three matches at the national team championships. The Brewers were fifth in the Epps Cup at the CSA Nationals and set a program record with 15 victories during a season. … Amherst freshman squash competitor Margaret Werner (Etna/Hanover) was 10-1 for the Mammoths (11-9), playing in the seventh, eighth and ninth slots. … Mason McNulty (Hanover) is a Haverford (Penn.) College junior who helped the squash team to an 8-10 record. She went 3-1, playing in the lineup’s lower three slots. … Brothers Austin and Noah Viens (Hartford) competed for Castleton’s wrestling team, which finished 11th out of 17 teams at the Northeast Regional championships. Austin, a sophomore, was 5-18. Noah, a junior, was 15-15. … Trinity sophomore Steve Cerrone (Quechee/Hartford) wrestled mostly at 174 pounds and was 15-12. The Bantams were 13th out of 17 teams at the NCAA Division III Eastern Regionals. … The Franklin Pierce women’s bowling team features sophomore Katey Comstock (Hartland/Windsor) and entered the East Coast Conference championships in late March with a 49-41 record. The Ravens finished sixth out of 17 teams at the Hawk Flight tournament in New Jersey in early March. Comstock had four games of better than 200 pins. … Franklin Pierce junior bowler Connor Bean (Oxbow), a transfer from Union College, helped the Ravens end their season with a second-place finish out of four teams at the Suffolk (N.Y.) Community College tournament. He captured the all-events title by dropping 1,236 pins, a program record for a six-game series. … Sophomore Georgia Houde (Meriden/Lebanon) was on the Middlebury College swimming team, which finished seventh out of 11 schools at the NESCAC championships. Houde was 14th out of 37 competitors in the 1,000-yard freestyle in 10:41.15. … Plymouth State junior swimmer Emily Wadlinger (Lebanon) posted the Panthers’ best times of the season in the 200 (2:09.07), 500 (6:03.17), 50 back (30.86), 200 back (2:22.85), the 50 breast (34.84) and the 100 breast (1:18.55). PSU was fifth out of seven teams at the Little East Conference championships. … Brittany Kainen (White River Junction/KUA) is a Hamilton (N.Y.) College freshman swimmer who was part of the Continentals’ 10th-place finish at the 11-team NESCAC championships. She was 36th in the 50 fly (34.28), 46th in the 50 free (30.10) and 57th in the 100 (103.12).
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.