On Wednesday, November 29, the Williston Northampton community gathered in the Phillips Stevens Chapel for the Fall Athletic Awards assembly. Below are the remarks from Director of Athletics Mark Conroy.
Happy Winter everyone! I hope everyone is back in the swing of things after a wonderful break.
Welcome to the Fall Athletic Awards Assembly! My goodness, what a fall season we enjoyed! I wanted to start off by congratulating all of the 346 students who pulled on a blue and green jersey this fall! To a team you represented Williston with distinction. We certainly won our share of contests again this fall but beyond this I am most proud of the manner in which our teams represented Williston.
This morning I will be recognizing each of our 9 fall programs by sharing a few highlights of each and then recognizing the individual award winners that were announced at our Banquet Night gatherings before our Thanksgiving break.
Horseback Riding
A number of our students traveled out to the Amethyst Farm in Amherst this fall to ride for the Infinity Equestrian program. Coach Laura Etzel said that it was a great pleasure working with our riders who brought a range of riding experience to the program from novice to advanced. Sophia DiTerlizzi and Avery Blumberg have been competing on the secondary school team earning points for their team as well as individually. Avery has qualified individually over fences with one more show to add more points to her flat ride points. Sophia has one more show to get qualified for regionals! Good luck to both riders!
I want to recognize the individual award winners in the Riding program this fall. Please stand when I read your names. We will applaud you as a group at the end. Thanks!
Riding Awards:
- Most Valuable Riders: Avery Blumberg ’27, Sophia DiTerlizzi ‘25
- Most Improved Rider: Cici Cao ‘25, Melanie Famania Maaya ‘27
- Sportsmanship Award: Sadie Crampton ‘25
Congratulations Riders!
Girls Volleyball
Comprising three teams, a record number of 49 girls came out for volleyball this fall!! Coach Rohan and Penalver’s Thirds team demonstrated great improvement and comradery all season including sweeping two matches with Cheshire and exciting wins over Eagle Hill and Stoneleigh Burnham!
Led by Coaches Blaesing and Johnson, the JV team enjoyed a competitive season finishing with 6 wins including a thrilling Family Weekend win over Worcester and shutouts of Pomfret, Cushing and rival Suffield.
Led by coaches Tyla Taylor and Jonathan Curtis-Resnick, varsity volleyball competed valiantly all fall earning some exciting wins during their season. Highlights of their season included shutting out Worcester in our annual Pink Game during Family Weekend, a big win over Class A NMH 3-1, shutting out rival WMA 3-0 at their Family Weekend and sending our seniors out on a high note on Senior Day shutting out Ethel Walker 3-0.
One team member received postseason recognition. Junior Annika Song was named to the All NEPSAC Honorable Mention Class B team for the second year in a row.
I would like to ask the individual award winners in the volleyball program to stand and remain standing after I read their names. We will applaud them as a group at the end.
Thirds:
- MVP: Silvia Lynch ’27, Rachel Xing (See-en) ‘29
- MIP: Aiyana Karanja ‘26
- Sportsmanship: Alia Ghaoui (Alya Gow-wee) ‘27, Karuna Kalyan ’27
JV:
- Most Valuable Player: Kat Martini ’26, Isabel Sorkin-Camacho ‘26
- Most Improved Player: Ava Howard ‘25
- Sportsmanship Award: Ruthie Butler ‘26
Varsity:
- Most Valuable Player: Annika Song ‘25
- Most Improved Player: Bella Marinello ‘26
- Sportsmanship Award: Daliah Elvin ‘24
- Next year’s captains will be Hazel Jacobs ’25, Annika Song ‘25
Girls Soccer
The girls’ soccer program enjoyed a successful season. The 20 member JV team demonstrated great improvement and esprit de corps during their season! Led by Coaches Jesus Lopez Diez and Egla Ochoa-Madrid the girls count terrific games with Cushing and a season ending thriller with NMH as their biggest highlights!
The varsity squad led by coaches Sara Reid and Karla Schaffer enjoyed a very competitive season with notable improvement and exceptional team camaraderie! The girls finished with a record of 7-8-1 narrowly missing out on a tournament berth. The team finished in second place in Western NE in Class B. Highlights of their season included notching 6 shutouts led by goalie Skyler Walker who had 98 saves during the season. Amongst their shutouts, three stood out – a 1-0 win over rival WMA under the lights on a beautiful late September night, a 3-0 win at home over Deerfield and a terrific 1-0 win at Class A Hotchkiss. The season ended on a high note when the girls defeated NMH 2-1 in its final game. With only three seniors graduating, the future is very bright for varsity girls soccer!
In terms of postseason individual recognition, two girls received honors. Alyssa Frazier and Viktoria Vladimarskottir were both chosen to participate in the Western New England all-star game. Additionally, senior captain and leading scorer Monique Lyons earned All NEPSAC Honorable Mention recognition.
I would like to recognize the award winners in the girls’ soccer program
JV:
- Most Valuable Player: Maya Vulakh ‘26
- Most Improved Player: Audree Edmunds ‘25
- Sportsmanship: Rinka Okuno ‘25
Varsity:
- Most Valuable Player: Alyssa Frazier ’25, Skyler Walker ‘26
- Sportsmanship Award: Emily Hamann ’24
- Most Improved Player: Mia Daley ‘27
- Alumnae Award for outstanding contribution to the program: Catie Spence ‘24
- Next year’s captains will be: Olivia Ferebee ’25, Alyssa Frazier ’25
Water Polo
Led by Coaches Bill Berghoff and Teddy Schaffer, this fall’s boys water polo team enjoyed a rebuilding season of tremendous growth. The team demonstrated significant improvement, finishing with a record of 9-9! The team enjoyed more than its share of thrilling wins including sweeping Westminster 16-14 and 14-12 in both of our contests, two nail-biting one goal wins – one over Andover 12-11 and the other over Hopkins 16-15 and sweeping rival Suffield 18-11 at their Family Weekend and a come from behind thriller at home 16-14. The future looks bright with the ENTIRE team returning next fall!
One boy garnered postseason individual recognition—junior captain Beckett Collins was named All NEPSAC Honorable Mention.
I do want to recognize two boys who had terrific seasons setting new school records this fall. The first boy broke the school record for field blocks in a season with 25. Could I ask Herrick Stevenson to come forward so we can recognize this achievement?
The second boy I want to recognize had the greatest scoring season in the history of Williston water polo breaking the single season school records for goals, assists and points!!! Wow! Could I ask Beckett Collins to come forward so we can recognize him?!
I would like to ask the following award winners to stand and be recognized. We will applaud them as a group at the end.
- Most Valuable Player Award: Beckett Collins ‘25
- Most Improved Player Award: Jumpei Ro ’26, Dario Rodriguez ‘27
- Sportsmanship Award: Teppei Morita ’26, Herrick Stevenson ’25
- Captains for next year: Beckett Collins ‘25, Herrick Stevenson ’25, Kei Imai ’25
Girls Cross Country
Led by Coaches Allison Tucker and Christa Talbot Syfu, the 18 girls who ran cross country at Williston this fall enjoyed another strong season recording our 36th winning season in the past 37 years finishing at 8-3. There were many highlights during the season including the fact that 12 out of our 18 runners ran PRs (personal records!) during the season – many of these PRs took place at the tri-meet with KO and Westminster. The team enjoyed some great races during the season including wins over Kent, Berkshire, Suffield and Westminster.
At the season ending NEPSAC championship held at Roxbury Latin, freshman Addie Eakin finished at #39 to earn All NEPSAC honorable mention.
I would like to ask the individual award winners to stand and remain standing after I read their names. We will applaud them as a group at the end.
- Most Valuable Runner Award: Lucy Hoyt ’25
- Most Improved Runner Award: Lea Rubin-Esposito ’29
- Sportsmanship Award: Maya Zesiger ’25
- Captains: Gabi Bobiak (Bow-beeak) ‘25, Lucy Hoyt ’25, Maya Zesiger ‘25
Football
The 64 boys who participated in football this fall enjoyed a terrific season out on Sawyer Field. The JV squad, led by Coaches Ketcham and Choo, played their hearts out this fall but came up short in several heart-breaking losses. They did, however, earn an exciting win up at Eaglebrook late in the season.
Building on the success of last year’s bowl season, varsity football had it’s third winning season in a row finishing at 5-4 competing with many of the best prep programs in all of NEPSAC. The team had an explosive high scoring offense leading Class A football by averaging 35 points per game. There were a number of highlights during the season including decisive wins over Hotchkiss and Andover, and thumping rival Suffield under their lights on a late October Saturday night. Two victories stood out this fall as thrillers – the first was a tremendous 37-20 win at Salisbury during which the boys rallied from being down 20-14 in very tough weather conditions and the second was an incredible game at bowl champion BB&N when the boys won a thrilling see saw battle 64-49!
A number of boys distinguished themselves this fall including two who set new school records. Junior quarterback Davi McDonald had an outstanding season completing 72% of his passes (yes, you heard that right!) for 2,462 yards including 27 touchdown passes – both school records. Could I ask Davi to come forward so we can recognize his record setting season?
Senior James Elliott finished his exceptional career by breaking two school records, one of which was his own! James now stands alone as the single season record holder in both total receptions and touchdown receptions. Can I ask James to come forward so we can acknowledge these school records?
In terms of postseason individual accolades, four boys were recognized. Earning All NEPSAC honorable mention were Trent Merriman and Colin Larson while Davi McDonald and James Elliott were both named to the prestigious All NEPSAC football team. For James this was his second selection in two years.
I would like to ask the individual winners in football to stand…
JV:
- Most Valuable Player Award: Richard Kimball ‘27
- Most Improved Player Award: Keith Wan ‘26
- Sportsmanship Award: Jonas Auguste (just like the month) ‘27
Varsity:
- “Jim Purce Memorial” Award for Overall Excellence: James Elliott ’24
- “Edward Stimets Jr. Memorial” Defensive Excellence Award: Malik Diaby ‘24
- “Lindy Hanson Memorial” Offensive Excellence Award: Colin Larson ’24, Davi McDonald ’25
- “Richard R. Francis” Most Improved Player Award: Rowan Martin ‘27
- Mills Kicking Game Award: Hudson Fulcher-Melendy ’24 (second year in a row)
- Sportsmanship Award: Trent Merriman ‘24
Field Hockey
Under Coaches Klumpp and Haas’s guidance, the JV team enjoyed a spirited season highlighted by sweeping Bement in both of our matches and 1-0 shutout of Miss Porters at home!
The varsity field hockey team, led by Coaches Alex Tancrell-Fontaine and Sarah Sawyer, enjoyed another excellent season finishing its regular season with a record of 9-6. There were many highlights during their season including 5 shutouts including wins over Pomfret, WMA and Kent as well as shutting out a tournament bound team from Berkshire 6-0 over there on a very tough weather day. The team’s excellent regular season record earned them the #7 seed in the NEPSAC Class B tournament facing off against #2 BB&N. In a terrific see-saw battle, the girls came up just short 4-3 to end their season. Remarkably, this was field hockey’s 13th tournament appearance in the last 14 years! Despite the loss, it was another special season for Williston field hockey as they went undefeated against their Class B opponents in Western New England winning the league title for the 11th time in the past 13 years.
Can I ask captains Camille and Anna to come forward to make a presentation to Mr. Hill?
In terms of individual recognition, four girls earned All NEPSAC recognition. Megan Carey and Violet Carroll were both named Honorable Mention while Camille Armaganian and Zola Piekarski were both named All NEPSAC. For Camille, this was the third team she garnered this honor – quite an accomplishment! Congratulations Camille!
I would like to ask the individual award winners to stand and remain standing after I read their names. We will applaud them at the end.
JV:
Most Valuable Player Award: Jillian Lavallee ‘28
Most Improved Player Award: Erin Reilly ‘27
Sportsmanship Award: Niamh Cleary ‘25
Varsity:
Most Valuable: Camille Armaganian ’24 (for second year!)
Most improved: Kat Mayer ‘26
Sportsmanship: Anna Sawyer ‘24
Next year’s captains will be Violet Carroll ’25, Zola Piekarski ’26, Gemma Polino ‘25
Boys Soccer
78 boys came out for soccer at Williston this fall comprising our four teams. The Junior team, led by Coaches Hanford and Lucia, enjoyed a season of great improvement highlighted by wins over WMA and Eaglebrook. The JV B team, led by Coaches Garcia and Borges, finished with a winning record at 5-3-2 highlighted by a 6-0 shutout over Salisbury and an exciting 3-1 win at Berkshire. Coach Johnson and Whipple’s JV A team played competitive soccer all fall with three wins and five ties highlighted by wins over WMA, Pomfret and Eaglebrook!
The varsity boys soccer team, led by Coaches Chiavaroli and Syfu, had a rebuilding job this fall with only six returning players off of last year’s NEPSAC finalist squad. The boys improved tremendously across the course of the season playing their best soccer in late October and early November. Highlights of their season included a 4-0 shutout at Westminster, a 3-1 win over rival WMA and 0-0 tie with a strong Choate team. The biggest season highlights were two big 1-0 road wins – the first over Class A tournament bound Loomis Chaffee and the second over rival Suffield – always sweet!
The team’s strong finish to their regular season earned them a #4 seed in the NEPSAC tournament and a chance to host #5 seeded Kimball Union Academy on Sawyer Field. Despite their valiant effort the boys came up short 2-1 to eventual NEPSAC champion KUA. This was our fifth tournament appearance in a row.
Four boys finished the season competing in all-star games – Brian Manon, Austin Briggs and Manuel Gonzalez competed in the senior game while Danny Argueta competed in the junior game.
In terms of individual recognition, Brian Manon and Austin Briggs were both named All NEPSAC while Maks Zebic and Danny Argueta were named honorable mention.
I would like to recognize the award winners at all the different levels. Please stand and remain standing while I read your name. We will applaud you at the end.
Junior:
- Most Valuable Player Award: Nam Vu ‘27
- Most Improved Player Award: Patrick McCarthy ‘27
- Sportsmanship Award: Campbell Keenan ‘29
JV B:
- Most Valuable Player Award: Graham Williams ’25 (second year in a row!)
- Most Improved Player Award: Toby Peterson ‘25
- Sportsmanship Award: Joe Zhou ‘24
JV A:
- Most Valuable Player Award: Chase Livingston ‘24
- Most Improved Player Award: Durgin Shields ‘24
- Sportsmanship Award: Est Sukcharoenyingyong ‘24
Varsity:
- Most Valuable Player: Brian Manon ‘24
- Most Improved Player: Tristan Kokoszka ‘26
- 12th Man Award: Adrian Ruiz Boughton ‘26
- Sportsmanship Award: Austin Briggs ‘24
- Captains for next fall: Maks Zebic ‘25 and Danny Argueta ‘25
Boys Cross Country
The 32 member boys cross country team enjoyed another outstanding season! Led by captains Jeremy Dube and Calvin Klumpp, there were many highlights during the dual meet season including beating Kent in the season’s first race, defeating KO and Westminster at KO and our second win ever over Division 1 NMH. At our own Shaler Invitational in late October the boys had another terrific day finishing in 3rd out of the 12 teams competing! It is also worth mentioning that eight members of this year’s team made it on to our course Honor Roll for the top 15 times ever run on our course: Brody Richardson, Jonah Berry Brown, Calvin Klumpp, Jeffrey Warner, Jackson Ayers, Jeremy Dube, Carter Cleary, and Jackson Estes.
At the Division II NEPSAC championships held at Roxbury Latin on the final Saturday of the season, the team ran their hearts out coming in 4th out of the 18 teams that competed. Individually, all seven varsity boys earned recognition for their races – Calvin Klumpp, Jeremy Dube, Jackson Ayres, Jeffrey Warner and Carter Clearly all earned All NEPSAC honorable mention while sophomore Brody Richardson coming in 6th and senior Jonah Berry Brown coming in 20th earned All NEPSAC honors. We were the only school at the championships that had all 7 varsity runners earn honors. Because of their top 20 finishes Brody and Jonah both competed at the NEPSAC all-star meet at St. Mark’s against the top runners in all three NEPSAC divisions. Both boys had outstanding races with Jonah coming in 14th and Brody in 3rd with a time of 16:55.
Another example of the depth of this year’s boys cross country program was the outstanding performance of our JV team that finished 3rd at the Shaler and 5th at the NEPSAC championship meet. It was indeed a special season for boys cross country at Williston with both the varsity and JV teams going undefeated in their dual meets for a combined record of 20-0! Could I ask all boys who ran cross country program this fall to stand so we can congratulate them on their undefeated season?
I would like to ask the individual award winners to stand and remain standing after I read their names. We will applaud them as a group at the end.
JV:
- Most Valuable: Kyle Seltzer ‘27
- Most Improved: Kamal Sergeev ‘27
- Sportsmanship: Max Kellogg ‘27
Varsity:
- “Alan Shaler” Most Valuable Runner Award – Brody Richardson ’26
- Most Improved Runner Award – Jonah Berry Brown ‘24
- Sportsmanship Award – Jeremy Dube ’24, Jackson Estes ‘24
- Next year’s captains will be Jackson Ayres ’25, Carter Cleary ’25, Christopher Doubleday ‘25
Good luck to all the winter teams!!!
Thanks very much for your attention.