Woodstock’s Charles Green fires a shot at the Barre goal during the U14 Red Wasps’ 8-0 win over the Blades on Saturday at Woodstock’s Union Arena.
Woodstock’s Charles Green fires a shot at the Barre goal during the U14 Red Wasps’ 8-0 win over the Blades on Saturday at Woodstock’s Union Arena. Credit: Courtesy photograph

Worcester, Mass. — The Upper Valley Aquatic Club swim team raced to a 12th-place team at last weekend’s New England Senior Championships at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, as one member of the UVAC squad left with a signficant honor.

Kristian Hansen, 17, won the meet’s long-distance award for points earned with results in the meet’s distance events. Hansen scored 74 points in those races to edge out a pair of competitors from the Raynham, Mass.-based Bluefish Swim Club.

Hansen raced to runner-up finishes in two races: the 1,000-yard freestyle (9 minutes, 16.37 seconds) and 1,650 free (15:42.13), and made the A final in two other races. He took fifth in the 200 free (1:41.77), fifth in the 500 free (4:35.31) and ninth in the 400 individual medley (4:07.28). Hansen finished with 93 points in all competitions to place fifth out of more than 100 athletes.

Two other UVAC boys scored points in their races. Jack Wadsworth, 14, netted 15 points, highlighted by a 10th-place result in the A final of the 100 backstroke (51.92 seconds). Erik Hansen, 15, notched one point with a best finish of 20th in the 1,000 free (9:53.86).

Three UVAC girls also showed up on the point-scoring charts. Catherine Gavell, 17, produced 22 points, topped by a sixth-place finish in the 50 free (23.83). Clare Brown, 15, had 17 points with a highlight finish of sixth in the 100 breaststroke A final (1:06.67). Isabelle Hiller, 13, picked up five points topped by an 18th place in the B final of the 100 breast (1:08.16).

UVAC posted 259 points as a team, one of more than 30 that scored at the meet. Crimson Aquatics, of Cambridge, Mass., won the meet with 1,404.5 points.

Hansen Competes atWinter Junior Nationals

Columbus, Ohio — The UVAC’s Kristian Hansen warmed up for the recent New England Senior Championship with a visit to the USA Swimming Speedo Winter Junior Nationals at Ohio State University.

Hansen raced in three events. He finished 29th in the 1,650 freestyle (15:46.98) and also took part in the preliminaries of the 500 free (52nd, 4:32.77) and 200 free (96th, 1:42.77).

On the Ice Squirt Green Gets Bronze

Lake Placid, n.y. — The Hanover Squirt Green youth hockey team came away with a bronze medal during its trip to the USA Miracle Holiday Classic at the Olympic Center last weekend, surrendering just five goals during a 3-1-0 tournament performance.

Hanover started with a 6-1 win on Friday over the Ithaca (N.Y.) Bears. John Murphy’s two-goal, two-assist game included a shorthanded strike, and Wyatt Seelig scored once with three helpers. Henry Cotter, Gavin Nartowicz and Jack Clary also scored.

In Saturday’s early game, Hanover built a 3-0 lead on goals from Maeve Lee, Nartowicz and Seelig before holding on for a 3-2 win over the Plattsburgh (N.Y.) Roadrunners. Oliver Sperry stood out in goal, making 19 saves. The Wild later dropped a 2-0 game to the Adirondack (N.Y.) Thunder to land in the tournament’s bronze-medal game.

With Sperry posting the shutout in goal, Hanover beat the Cambridge (Mass.) Falcons, 3-0, for bronze honors. Clary broke up a scoreless contest with the game-winning goal in the second period. Drew Hemenway and Murphy scored in the third.

Reid Gueldenzoph, Parker Broughton, Andrew Rudd and Cayden Van Dolah also provided important offensive and defensive contributions to the Wild’s weekend success.

14U Wasps Blank Two

Woodstock — Woodstock 14U Red put on a scoring and defensive clinic in its two games last weekend, both of them shutout victories.

The Wasps opened on Saturday with an 8-0 win over Barre at Union Arena. Andrew Gubbins had a goal and three assists while Field Willis had a goal and two assists to lead Woodstock.

Hanover got a crack at the Wasps on Saturday afternoon and fared little better in a 7-0 Woodstock win. Owen Coates had a hat trick and Charles Greene tallied twice to front the Wasps’ attack.

Woodstock, Wild Tie

Woodstock — The Woodstock 14U Whites skated to a 1-1 tie with Hanover White on Friday at Union Arena.

The Wasps earned plenty of attack-zone time and shots on goal but could only put a Dylan DeSchamp puck behind the Wild goaltender. DeSchamp tipped in a point shot from Silas Bohen for the marker.

Saturday saw the Wasps beat the weather but not the Rutland Spartans in a 3-1 loss at Spartan Arena. Bohen got the sole goal with a drive from the blue line.

Woodstock Girls Stopped

Rutland — The Woodstock 13U girls dropped an 8-2 decision to Rutland 12U at Giorgetti Park on Saturday but came away with some impressive performances in spite of the result.

Ellie Stedina stood out in goal for the Wasps, making a number of saves that kept Rutland from piling more goals on the board.

On the Mat

Aldrich, Miller Win for NLG

Essex Junction, Vt. — Northern Lights Gymnastics’ Whitney Aldrich and Sarah Miller claimed all-around wins for their divisions at the Vermont Sectional meet on Dec. 11.

Aldrich, of Lebanon, prevailed in Level 4 for 9- and 10-year-olds with an all-around score of 33.625 points. Aldrich won the bars (8.525) and floor exercise (8.55) as well.

Miller, of Hanover, prevailed in Level 5 for athletes age 13 and older with 33.60 all-around points. Like Aldrich, Miller also earned two implement wins, taking the beam (9.10) and floor (8.50).

NLG’s Emma Sablan, of Norwich, finished just behind Miller in the same division with 33.50 points. Sablan pipped her teammate in the vault (8.45) and bars (8.95) to complete a Northern Lights sweep of the division.

South Strafford’s Emme Jenisch also won an implement for Northern Lights, taking the vault (8.70) in Level 4 among 12-and-older athletes. White River Junction’s Geneva Durgin (Level 4, ages 9-10) took second place in the bars (7.70) in her age group. Northern Lights also saw Hartland’s Karina James (Level 4, ages 12 and older) finish second in the vault (8.65) for her division.

Norwich’s Katie Genzer, Hartland’s Karina James, Hanover’s Janina Li and Alicia Sanyal, White River Junction’s Reilly Slusser and Lebanon’s Ana Goodwin also represented Northern Lights at the sectional championship.

On the Slopes

FSA Starts Season

Hanover — Ford Sayre Academy skiers got their competitive seasons going in the past week with races at Stratton Mountain and Waterville Valley.

FSA’s Alex Purcell and Colin Rozzi competed in four races, two giant slaloms and two slaloms, as part of an FIS Eastern Cup at Stratton this week. Sunday’s GS found Purcell placing 34th and Rozzi 42nd, while Purcell followed with a 47th-place finish in Tuesday’s GS. Hanover’s Brian Seltzer, racing for Waterville Valley Academy, was 18th; another Hanover native, Max Wonsavage, took 58th skiing for Killington Mountain School.

Racers competed in a pair of two-run slaloms on Wednesday. Purcell took 39th in the morning race and 63rd in the afternoon; Rozzi failed to finish in both events.

FSA competitors also heads to Waterville Valley for Saturday’s Pat Harty Memorial Slalom. Caitlin Blinkhorn posted Ford Sayre’s best finish, taking 13th place. Eva Schiffman (18th), Sadie Lingelbach-Pierce (20th) and Elaine Taylor (23rd) hit the top 25 for FSA. Meriden’s Maia Garfield, competing for Maine’s Gould Academy, was sixth.

Kyle Rozzi led FSA in the boys slalom, taking 19th place. Ford Sayre’s Frans Luttmer was 25th, Finn Hackett took 29th and Ethan Ross was 30th.

Lebanon Recreation Hosts Burke Trips

Lebanon — The Lebanon Recreation and Parks Department is set to host a pair of ski and snowboard trips for youths in grades 5-8 to Burke Mountain this winter.

Lebanon will sponsor a pair of trips on Jan. 17 (register by Jan. 10) and March 24 (register by March 17). Both trips leave Lebanon City Hall at 9 a.m., with a planned return of 5 p.m. Participants can either bring their own gear or rent at the mountain for an additional cost; they also may carry their own lunch or bring money to purchase something at the lodge.

For costs and other information, contact Lebanon Rec at 603-448-5121.

To the Hoop Smart Start Basketball

Quechee — The Hartford Parks and Recreation Department will begin a new session of its Smart Start basketball programs for children ages 3-5 on Jan. 7 at the Ottauquechee School gymnasium.

Smart Start gives children and their parents a starting point for learning the game of basketball. Participants will work on the basic motor skills necessary to play organized basketball while also getting to work one-on-one with instructors and their parents.

Dribbling, ball handling, passing, catching, shooting, running and agility all have a part in Smart Start. Parent participation is a requirement of the program.

Smart Start runs for six consecutive Saturdays from 8:30-9:15 a.m. through Feb. 11. (Snow date: Feb. 18.) The cost of the program is $25 for Hartford residents and $40 for nonresidents. Call 802-295-5036 to learn more or reserve a spot.

On the Trails Wednesday WalkersIn the Winter

White River Junction —The Hartford Parks and Recreation Department will revive its regular Wednesday Walkers hiking series with a trio of outdoor events this winter.

Wednesday Walkers features easy morning hikes at sites around the Upper Valley.

Each hike begins by meeting at the Hartford Municipal Building at 9 a.m. for transportation to that day’s hike. The winter schedule:

Jan 25: Mill Road Trail, Lebanon.

Feb. 8: Storrs Pond, Hanover.

March 1: Mink Brook Marsh, Hanover.

Participants are asked to bring snacks, bottled water, properly layered clothing and proper footwear to handle winter conditions. Wednesday Walkers is open to all ages, and each hike is done by noon.

Contact Hartford Rec at 802-295-5036 to find out more.