Times Argus Sports Guide Winter 2018/2019 | Page 5
The Times Ar gus Winter Spor ts Guide 2018/2019
Season Athletes of the Week
LILIANNA ZIEDINS
Harwood-Northfi eld Hockey
Ziedins burned Spaulding for two goals during a 7-1
victory. Th ree days later she led HU-Northfi eld to a
5-4 victory over Mount Mansfi eld-CVU aft er her team
trailed twice early. Ziedins capped her hat trick midway
through the second period, the CougarHawks tied the
game at 4 late in the third period and Kailie French had
the fi nal word at 12:33 to boost Harwood-Northfi eld.
RENEE ROBERT
U-32 Hockey
Robert recorded a natural hat trick in the third period
against South Burlington. She carried that momentum
into a clash with Brattleboro, leading U-32 to an 8-2
victory. Aft er the Raiders fell behind in the opening
period, Robert responded by scoring fi ve goals to fuel
the comeback.
OLIVIA HOGAN
Twinfi eld Basketball
Th e fi rst-year varsity player contributed 26 points,
10 rebounds and six steals during a 63-33 rout over
Northfi eld. She returned to the gym and piled up 23
points in a 39-30 victory over Richford. Th e Trojans
trailed in the fi rst quarter against Richford and Hogan
was plagued by early foul trouble, but she re-entered
the contest and closed out the fi rst half with a crucial
3-pointer.
TYLER ORTON
Williamstown Basketball
Th e sharp-shooting guard caught fi re for the Blue Dev-
ils, leading to a pair of road victories during a 24-hour
span. Orton scored 29 points and was one of four Blue
Devils to reach double fi gures during a 76-46 victory
over Woodstock. It marked the third time Division III
Williamstown defeated a D-II opponent. A day later
Williamstown made the trek to Twinfi eld and Orton
scored 14 points in a 61-35 victory.
MIA COOPER
Harwood Basketball
Cooper went 10 of 13 from the free-throw line and fi n-
ished with a team-high 12 points and seven rebounds
during a 39-24 victory over a U-32. She recorded a
double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, spark-
ing a 49-44 victory over Lake Region.
AZWAYLA TAYLOR
Montpelier Basketball
Th e three-year standout led the Solons to one of the
biggest upsets of the season with a 29-26 victory over
previously undefeated Randolph. Taylor recorded 13
points and 18 rebounds to help Montpelier battle back
from a three-point defi cit during the fourth quarter. She
crashed the off ensive glass and made a layup with 19
seconds remaining, giving her team the lead for good.
KIANA JOHNSON
Thetford Basketball
Johnson reached the 1,000-point milestone when she
sank a pair of foul shots in the fourth quarter against
U-32. She fi nished with 14 points to help the Division
III Panthers hold off the D-II Raiders, 48-37. Two days
later Johnson dropped in 11 points to fuel a 49-29
victory over Williamstown. Last fall the three-sport
standout scored the opening goal during her team’s
victory in the soccer championships.
JORDAN HAWKINS
U-32 Basketball
Hawkins went 9 of 9 from the foul line and scored a
game-high 23 points during a 64-53 loss to Mount
Mansfi eld. Th ree days later he recorded 30 points in a
71-62 victory over Spaulding. Later in the season he
recorded 32 points and 11 rebounds to fuel an 81-31
victory over Oxbow. Hawkins was a force to be reck-
oned with again during a clash with Division I Burr
& Burton, contributing 20 points, fi ve rebounds, four
assists and four steals.
to-toe with Mount Anthony’s Landon Davis (48-9).
Even though Davis prevailed, Pierce took his opponent
to the limit and lasted 4 minutes, 23 seconds. Th e sec-
ond-place performance was the best individual result
for Spaulding.
AVA THURSTON
Harwood Nordic Skiing
Th e freshman phenom crossed the line with a 5-kilo-
meter time of 14 minutes, 37 seconds during Nordic
freestyle states, easily securing fi rst-place honors. She
fi nished 24 seconds ahead of the Division I winner,
and Th urston dominated the D-II fi eld in front of
runner-up Maggie McGee (16:21). Th urston was so
fast that she would have placed eighth in the Division
I boys race. She also raced the relay anchor leg for the
Highlanders, passing Burr & Burton and Middlebury
to help Harwood earn big points with a second-place
fi nish. Th urston’s relay split of 6:16 was almost a min-
ute faster than her closest competitor.
LEO RIBY-WILLIAMS
Montpelier Basketball
Montpelier (16-6) earned the No. 2 seed in Division
II and opened the playoff s with a 59-47 victory over
Vergennes. Riby-Williams helped limit Vergennes to
a single basket in the fi rst eight minutes, and MHS
scored the game’s fi rst 11 points en route to a 15-2 ad-
vantage aft er the fi rst quarter. Riby-Williams fi nished a
team-high 12 points, guiding the Solons to their ninth
ANDREW CROMPTON
straight victory and their 14th win in 15 games. Th ree
U-32 Indoor Track and Field
days later Riby-Williams paced his team again, drop-
Crompton followed up his cross-country running state ping in 18 points during a 51-46 loss against defending
championship by winning the 1,500 crown during state state runner-up Milton.
championships. Aft er starting out in a back-and-forth
battle for a few laps, he turned on the jets and crossed
JAKE COLBY
Thetford Basketball
the fi nish line in 4 minutes, 13.81 seconds. Crompton
also qualifi ed for states in the 3,000 and was poised to
Th e 1,000-point scorer played most of his varsity career
win another title as the top-seeded runner. However,
for Chelsea before the school closed its doors last
he decided to scratch from the race because only 12
spring. He transferred to Th etford and made an instant
athletes are allowed to run each event and one of his
impact, leading the Panthers to their fi rst state cham-
teammates was ranked 13th. Crompton quietly gave up pionship since 2004. Th etford trailed 16-4 in the fi nal
his spot to honor his friend’s hard work all winter.
before Colby put on an off ensive clinic. He drained
two 3-pointers in the second quarter, including a
NICK PIERCE
buzzer-beater that sent his team into halft ime with a
Spaulding Wrestling
28-27 lead. In the third quarter he went 3 of 3 from
Pierce placed runner-up at 106 pounds during state
the foul line and added another 3-pointer. During the
championships. He gained momentum all winter and
fourth quarter he made a mid-range jumper along the
entered the state championships as the No. 2 seed with baseline and went 8 of 8 from the foul line. Colby made
a 29-5 record. He only needed 40 seconds to pin Essex all 11 of his free-throw attempts, denying the Blue
opponent Cristian Stygles (28-18) in his fi rst match.
Devils during their eighth straight trip to the Division
Pierce faced a formidable foe in the fi nals, going toe-
III championship.