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.