As the 2022-23 school year comes to a close, it was one for the record books for many teams in the state. From August to June, we saw several amazing moments and countless title wins that will be remembered for years to come. Before we turn the page to 2023-24, here are my picks for the top 10 moments of the entire season.
Honorable Mentions:
🏈-Mount Anthony's defensive stand wins D2 crown
🏐-Essex girls, Burlington boys repeat
⚾-Thetford capture first state title since 1986
Boys 🥍-Hartford finishes undefeated season
Girls Lax-Burr and Burton comes through in the clutch; nab first D1 state title in double OT
🎾-Burlington boys, MMU girls (D2) end title droughts
Unified Basketball takes center stage; Seahorses win state title
Also, congratulations to all other state champions in 2022-23.
10: CVU's year to remember
In 2022-23, no school had a better run than Champlain Valley.
Girls soccer returned to championship glory after falling to South Burlington the last two years, defeating Mount Mansfield for the title; both basketball teams went to Patrick and claimed championships (the boys first ever title); baseball had their redemption story culminate at Centennial Field with their third title in four years, and field hockey won their first title since 2008, beating South Burlington in OT.
But the biggest moment came in football, where the Redhawks defeated Middlebury for the D1 crown in an intense battle at Rutland. The win capped off an undefeated season and an amazing journey for everyone involved (players and coaches, including HC Rahn Fleming)
CVU continues to be the team to beat in many sports in Vermont and this was another banner year for the school.
9: Winooski boys win D4 soccer, D3 basketball titles
While some schools offer nearly every VPA sponsored sport, smaller schools like Winooski only offer the noteworthy ones. The Spartans were able to find success in 2 of those sports this year: In the fall, the soccer team took home the D4 state title and in the winter, boys basketball got revenge by defeating defending D3 champs Hazen for the state title.
While other small schools had successful seasons in other sports during the school year, seeing Winooski's run was one we'll remember for years to come.
8: A new venue for #VTPlayoffs
In 2022, it was announced that Ed Hockenbury would take over the role as athletic director at Norwich University in Northfield, a school that has seen its fair share of VT high school title games in the past (most notably hockey games at Kreitzberg Arena). As someone who's known Mr. Hockenbury for years, I know that his love for high school athletics is insurmountable, especially with one of his kids playing at South Burlington.
That's why it came as no surprise when Norwich was used for a few title games during the season. The D1 soccer and D2 lacrosse title games were held at Sabine Field, while the school also hosted the unified basketball final (a true north/south division matchup). While it is a long distance for some, it definitely seemed like a successful run and one that could lead to future games being held at Norwich.
7: Borrazzo shines, but Comets fly to title
The South Burlington Wolves softball team came into the 2022-23 season with hopes of repeating as state champions. But while they had Emily Borrazzo returning for her senior season in the circle, many other programs got better and for one, revenge was on their mind.
Borrazzo did have a great run, including getting to 500 strikeouts for her career, but it wasn't enough as the Wolves were lost twice at home to Missisquoi, including in the quarterfinals of the D1 softball tournament to end their season.
That led to BFA-St. Albans, the division's top team, to run the table and put last year's title loss behind them. A no-hitter by Sierra Yates in the title game against Mount Anthony at Castleton completed the undefeated season for the Comets and the D1 softball title's return to St. Albans.
6: More fan issues, both verbally and physically
Issues with fans (both students and adults) was a major story during the 2021-22 season, with many student-athletes being verbally called out because of race, gender, or religious views. The hope from the VPA was an announcement made prior to all games would lead to less of these this year. Instead, it led to more issues, including one at a middle school game that turned physical.
I can confirm that on more than one occasion at Essex during the winter season, physical and verbal abuse of fans did take place. I don't know the outcomes of those incidents, but one in a region I'm very familiar with garnered local and national attention.
At a basketball game in Alburgh, a fight broke out that led to one man dying from heart issues afterwards and several people facing assault charges. The exact outcome of the latter is unknown, but it is important to know that more needs to be done on this topic before it gets worse.
5: A Redhawk dynasty ends
Higher up on the list, I discussed the success of the CVU sports season. But for one team, what happened late in the season led to the end of a decade-long run at the top of the mountain.
The Champlain Valley Boys lacrosse team were 9-time defending state champions coming into this season and looked destined to continue that run. But close calls against Essex, Middlebury and South Burlington early on and a loss to Rice late had them fighting for first in the standings going into the contest against South Burlington. Once the Wolves pulled away in the second half, I knew that this could be it for the Redhawks.
Sure enough, in the semifinals against Middlebury, that thought became a reality. The Tigers kept CVU at bay for the entire game and shocked the state, ending the dynasty with a 9-5 win. But Midd was no match for SB in the title game as the Wolves won their first title since 2012 in convincing fashion.
But make no mistake about it, CVU will be back in 2024 and a return to their championship form could be on the horizon.
4: Baseball Game of the year? MAU/SB Semifinal
If you were at South Burlington High School on June 6, 2023, you were witnesses to a game that had a little bit of everything. Excitement, drama, a weather delay of nearly an hour and a bit of controversy was what made the Mount Anthony/South Burlington D1 Baseball semifinal a game to remember.
Tanner Bushee hit a home run over the left field fence for a 1-0 lead, but James Chagnon would hit one that looked to have one hopped the fence in center field, but was ruled a 3-run homer by the umpires, giving SB the lead.
Evan LaMothe looked good early besides the homer in the first, but gave up 5 runs in the fourth, giving the Patriots the lead. Lucas Van Mullen would go deep in the bottom of the inning to make it 6-5, but that was when the rain came.
Nick Kelly and Bushee (who would relieve MAU starter Connor Hannan) were lights out in the fifth, but a rumble of thunder stopped play and when they came back, the two pitchers kept being lights out. Bushee would get Kelly to flyout in the seventh to preserve a Patriots win and trip to the D1 final (which they would lose to CVU).
It definitely was a game to remember and one that SB will look back at when the 2024 season comes around.
3: D1 Boys soccer's month to remember
On October 19, 2022, the CVU Boys soccer team was atop the D1 standings and en route to their first state title since 2019. Then the red-hot Essex Hornets went to Hinesburg and gave them what seemed like the game of the year. Scoreless after 80 minutes, the game went into double OT before Essex shocked the Redhawks, putting CVU's top seed hopes in danger with a trip to Munson Field up next.
3 days later, CVU and South Burlington would meet up in the Soccer game of the year. After a scoreless first half, the teams would trade goals a few minutes apart (CVU's came on an SB own goal). Then, in the final seconds, Jackson Adams scored the game winner for the Wolves to beat the Redhawks and clinch the #1 seed in the boys soccer tournament.
CVU would lose in the semifinals to Colchester while South Burlington faced Essex in the other semifinals at Munson Field. While my bias for Essex was in full gear on November 2nd, the game really was another instant classic. Both teams score in the first half, but with 1:39 left in the game, Hammad Ali scored to give the Wolves the win and a spot in the title game, getting revenge from last year's title game loss.
In the final, Ali would again score the game winner, this time with about 9 minutes left in regulation to capture SB's first boys soccer title since 2017. The win capped off one of the most exciting times I can remember in the sport and one that we won't soon forget.
2: Bowling takes center stage
In 2022, as a way to promote high school sports in Vermont, I started doing something called Twitter spaces. In addition to that, I wanted to cover lesser known sports in the state and saw someone posting about high school bowling and it started a discussion that led to weekly discussions about the sport. While I wasn't able to be at the championship tournament in 2022, I knew I had to get there in 2023.
With some convincing, that dream became a reality, but not without a minor setback. A snowstorm in the region postponed the tourney to Sunday and moved it to Spare Time in Colchester. But in the end, 10 teams still competed to become state champions in a tournament I won't soon forget.
I went through the entire tournament
here, but here are some of the highlights:
Fair Haven and South Burlington won first round matchups early in the day
Craftsbury and Windsor went to a tiebreaker during their quarterfinals match
Burlington had a run of seven straight strikes in game 3 of their semifinal against Brattleboro
Brattleboro defeated Essex 4 games to 2 to claim the state title
Being able to be part of this event was one for the memory book (even if I didn't take a lot of photos there). Whether this becomes an annual thing remains to be seen, but it's definitely something I would do again down the road.
1: Game of the year! U-32/MMU Boys Hockey final
March 9, 2023 will go down as one of the greatest days in Vermont high school hockey history.
Then again, we probably said that last year when Milton came back from 3 goals down to defeat Hartford in OT to win the D2 Boys hockey crown (which was followed by the D1 final with Essex and Rice).
The U-32 Raiders and Mount Mansfield Cougars boys hockey teams were in a great battle early. MMU had a 3-1 lead in the second when they went on a 5 on 3 PP, but couldn't capitalize and kept the Raiders in the game.
After Hazen Stoufer scored to make it 3-2, it came down to one final possession in regulation and it would be Tae Rossmassler scoring the go ahead goal with 2 seconds left in regulation to force OT. After a scoreless first OT session, the Cougars would go on the power play midway through the second OT. But Brendan Tedeschi would steal the puck and find the back of the net to win the title for U-32, capping off the craziest game of the entire school year.
No matter where you were this year (from Burlington to Barre; Norwich to Castleton; Rutland to Manchester and everywhere in between), there's a great chance you saw a classic game no matter the sport. The ones on this list are the ones I had the distinct honor of being there live to see. The other moments are ones that I think should be addressed as it could be significant in future years.
If you think there is something I missed out in this list, let me know either on here or on my twitter page. Thank you for the fun year that happened in Vermont high school sports and Congratulations again to the players and coaches who won state titles during the season. I'll catch you in the fall to start another sports season.
Until then, enjoy the summer.
