ADDISON COUNTY INDEPENDENT
B Section
THURSDAY, Â FEBRUARY Â 14, Â 2013
MATT DICKERSON
SPORTS
ALSO IN THIS SECTION:
t 4DIPPM /FXT t -FHBM /PUJDFT
t $MBTTJĂŤFET t 3FBM &TUBUF
Extremes  and moderation  in the  outdoors I’ve  been  thinking  lately  about  ex- tremes.  It  may  have  been  the  New  England  weather  this  past  month.  We  had  one  stretch  with  two  or  three  of  the  coldest  days  we  have  had  in  the  past  several  years,  and  we’ve  also  had  a  streak  of  very  warm  weather.  (Neither  of  these,  it  should  be  noted,  is  very  conducive  to  cross-Âcountry  skiing.)  Down  in  M a s s a c h u s e t t s  the  recent  bliz- zard  was  appar- ently  one  of  the  worst  in  recorded  history  —  at  least  according  to  radio  reports.  While  here  in  Vermont,  just  one  state  away,  we  got  next  to  nothing  and  most  of  the  little  we  did  get  has  since  melted  or  washed  away.  Feast  or  famine,  it  seems.  More  than  the  weather,  though,  I’ve  been  thinking  about  extremes  in  human  behavior.  I  was  recently  read- ing  a  National  Geographic  article  about  early  20th-Âcentury  Antarctic  explorers.  The  focus  of  the  article  was  on  one  small  team  of  three  men,  part  of  a  much  larger  expedition  known  as  the  Australasian  Antarctic  Expedition,  led  by  Douglas  Mawson.  Mawson,  his  two  partners,  and  their  team  of  sled  dogs  set  out  with  the  intention,  it  seemed,  of  covering  as  much  distance  as  possible  in  a  short  period  of  time.  They  weren’t  trying  to  reach  the  South  Pole  like  other  ex- plorers  of  the  day  (Roald  Amundsen  and  Ernest  Shackleton  to  name  two  of  the  most  famous  ones)  but  just  to  cover  a  lot  of  ground  and  gain  a  tre- PHQGRXV DPRXQW RI VFLHQWLÂżF NQRZO- edge.  They  accomplished  both  feats,  traveling  some  300  miles  outbound  LQ ÂżYH ZHHNV $QG WKH\ GLG VR RQ one  of  the  coldest,  windiest  and  harshest  places  on  the  surface  of  the  planet.  An  extreme  outdoor  mission  in  an  extreme  outdoor  environment.  Which  is  why  Mawson  was  the  only  one  of  the  three  men  to  return  alive,  and  only  with  severe  frostbite  and  bodily  damage  —  and  without  any  of  his  photographs.  None  of  the  dogs  made  it  back  either.  Meanwhile  we  had  a  guest  at  our  house  this  past  Sunday.  The  paltry  amount  of  snow  left  in  our  yard  by  the  much-Âhyped  blizzard  was  just  enough  to  tempt  us  to  go  sledding,  (See  Dickerson,  Page  3B)
PANTHER  SENIOR  PETER  Lynch  pulls  down  an  offensive  rebound  during  Tuesday  night’s  game  against  Amherst.  Middlebury  lost  the  game  in  triple  overtime,  104-Â101. Independent  photos/Trent  Campbell
Middlebury  men  fall  in  3-ÂOT  epic Tournament  season  starts  on  Satuday By  ANDY  KIRKALDY MIDDLEBURY  —  In  a  Tues- day  night  college  men’s  basketball  game  with  more  twists  and  turns Â
Schedule
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Girls’ Hockey 2/16  MUHS  at  Rice   ......................  1:05  p.m. 08+6 DW 1RUWK¿HOG  ..............  8:30  p.m. 2/23  Rutland  at  MUHS   .................  4:45  p.m. Boys’ Hockey 2/16  MUHS  at  Spaulding   .............  5:45  p.m. 2/20  Colchester  at  MUHS   .................  7  p.m. 2/23  N.  Country  at  MUHS   .................  7  p.m. Boys’ Basketball 2/14  Bellows  Falls  at  OV   .............  7:30  p.m. 2/15  Mt.  Abe  at  MUHS   ......................  7  p.m. 2/15  VUHS  at  St.  Albans   .............  7:30  p.m. 2/19  MUHS  at  VUHS   ........................  7  p.m. 2/19  Arlington  at  OV   .....................7:30  p.m. 2/19  Mt.  Abe  at  Missisquoi   ...........  7:30  p.m. 2/22  Milton  at  Mt.  Abe   .......................  7  p.m. 2/22  Rochester  at  OV   .......................  7  p.m. 2/22  St.  Albans  at  MUHS   ..................  7  p.m. 2/22  VUHS  at  Missisquoi   .............  7:30  p.m. Girls’ Basketball 2/14  Mt.  Abe  at  S.  Burlington   .......  5:30  p.m.
(See  Schedule,  Page  3B)
cord  in  league  play  and  home  court  The  No.  3  Panthers  fell  to  21-Â2  and  advantage  for  the  NESCAC  postsea- dropped  to  third  in  NESCAC  behind  son,  and  will  at  least  preserve  their  Williams  (21-Â3,  9-Â1  in  league  play).  No.  2  ranking  in  NCAA  Division  III.  (See  Panthers,  Page  2B)
Boys’  hoop:  VUHS,  MUHS,  OV  win
By  ANDY  KIRKALDY MIDDLEBURY  —  The  Middle- bury  College  women’s  basketball  team  on  Sunday  defeated  visiting  Trinity,  81-Â71,  a  result  that  enhanced  the  Panthers’  NESCAC  playoff  pros- pects. Â
By  ANDY  KIRKALDY ADDISON  COUNTY  —  In  local  high  school  boys’  basketball  play  on  Tuesday,  Vergennes,  Middle- bury  and  Otter  Valley  posted  wins,  but  Mount  Abraham  came  up  short Â
Score
COLLEGE SPORTS Women’s Hockey 2/12  Norwich  vs.  Midd.   ...........................5-Â3 Men’s Basketball 2/12  Amherst  vs.  Midd.   ........ 104-Â101  (3OT) Women’s Basketball 2/10  Midd.  vs.  Trinity   ...........................81-Â71
than  Route  125  on  the  way  to  Rip- 104-Â101,  triple-Âovertime  win  over  ton,  Amherst  made  the  last  in  a  series  Middlebury. The  win  gave  the  22-Â2  Lord  Jeffs  of  incredible  plays  and  left  a  packed,  roaring  Pepin  Gymnasium  with  a  the  NESCAC  title  with  a  10-Â0  re-Â
Panther  women  top  Trinity,  to  open  NESCAC  postseason  this  weekend
Tiger  senior  BOARD wrestler  earns  100th  career  win
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Boys’ Basketball 2/12  OV  vs.  Bellows  Falls   ..................  68-Â65 2/12  St.  Albans  vs.  Mt.  Abe   ................  61-Â40 2/12  VUHS  vs.  Milton   .........................71-Â29 2/12  MUHS  vs.  Missisquoi   .................  57-Â39 Girls’ Basketball 2/11  Mt.  Abe  vs.  Missisquoi  .................54-Â12 2/11  Colchester  vs.  VUHS  ...................58-Â28 2/11  S.  Burlington  vs.  MUHS  ..............  43-Â15 29 YV 6SULQJÂżHOG  ........................56-Â49
PANTHERS  JAMES  JENSEN  and  Chris  Churchill  team  up  to  defend  against  a  shot  by  Amherst  senior  Willy  Workman  Tuesday  night  in  Pepin  Gymnasium.
By  ANDY  KIRKALDY BRISTOL  —  Middlebury  Union  High  School  senior  wrestler  Gabe  LaBerge  won  his  100th  career  match  on  Saturday  at  the  NVAC  team  championship  meet,  which  was  hosted  by  Mount  Abraham. LaBerge,  a  195-Âpounder,  earned  the  landmark  victory  in  dramatic  fashion.  He  avenged  a  defeat  from  a  week  before  to  0RXQW 0DQVÂżHOGÂśV John  Sirois,  5-Â3,  and  scored  the  win- ning  points  on  a  third-Âperiod  take- down  as  the  clock  hit  0:00.  Sirois  had  bested  /D%HUJH LQ WKH ÂżQDO GABE of  MMU’s  tourna- LABERGE ment  on  Feb.  2.  The  win  could  also  improve  LaBerge’s  seeding  for  the  upcoming  state  championship  meet,  which  Ver- gennes  will  host  on  Feb.  22  and  23. 7KH 7LJHUV ÂżQLVKHG ÂżIWK LQ WKH NVAC  meet.  MUHS  defeated  Spaulding  in  a  forfeit-Âdominated  ¿UVW URXQG ,Q WZR FRQWHVWHG matches,  Tiger  James  Whitley  won  at  132,  while  Kyle  Desabrais  lost  at  113.  MMU  then  defeated  MUHS,  48- 27,  with  eight  matches  contested,  four  won  by  each  team.  Whitley,  Jakob  Trautwein  at  182  and  Tyler  LaPlant  at  220  all  won  by  pin  for  MUHS  to  go  along  with  LaBerge’s  big  win.  Nate  Gebo  at  106,  Desa- brais  at  113,  Nick  Beauchamp  at  160  and  Walter  Odell  at  285  lost  (See  Wrestling,  Page  3B)
The  Panthers’  weekend  game  vs.  ¿UVW SODFH $PKHUVW ZDV SRVWSRQHG until  Wednesday  evening  and  was  played  after  the  deadline  for  this  edi- tion  of  the  Independent.  Sunday’s  win  left  the  Panthers  (See  Hoop,  Page  4B)
at  home.  COMMODORES The  Commodores  remained  un- defeated  by  crunching  Milton,  71- 29.  Balanced  scoring  again  boosted  VUHS,  which  led  by  19-Â2  after  one Â
Eagle  girls  tune  up  for  tourney
period.  Zach  Ouellette  led  the  way  with  14,  and  Cody  Quattrocci  (12)  and  Stanley  Salley  (11)  also  hit  GRXEOH ÂżJXUHV VUHS  (17-Â0)  has  three  games  (See  Wrap,  Page  2B)
Sports BRIEFS
Challenges  await  after  easy  victory Youth  speedskater  By  ANDY  KIRKALDY races  to  medals BRISTOL  —  Like  most  nights Â
for  the  Mount  Abraham  Union  High  School  girls’  basketball  team,  Monday  lacked  drama:  The  Eagles  rolled  to  a  25-Â2  second-Âquarter  lead  over  visiting  Missisquoi  and  coasted  to  a  54-Â12  win  over  the  1-Â14  T-ÂBirds.  That’s  the  way  With it’s  been  in  most  Monday’s of  the  15-Â1  Ea- victory, gles’  games:  They  Mount have  won  10  of  their  15  games  Abe has by  20  points  or  all but more,  and  14  by  clinched at  least  12.  Ot- a topter  Valley  is  the  four seed exception  —  OV  in the came  within  46- 38  back  on  Dec.  Division II playoffs. 19. With  Monday’s  victory,  Mount  Abe  has  all  but  clinched  a  top-Âfour  seed  in  the  Di- vision  II  playoffs.  To  do  so,  the  Ea- gles  must  win  half  of  their  remain- ing  games,  and  two  of  them  are  against  teams  they  have  already  defeated  by  at  least  33  points. But  the  Eagles  would  like  to  GR EHWWHU WKDQ WKDW VSHFLÂżFDOO\ against  the  two  best  teams  left  on  their  schedule. They  play  at  10-Â5  South  Bur- lington  this  Thursday,  and  the  Rebels’  eight-Âgame  winning  streak  includes  a  52-Â48  victory  at  Mount  Abe.  Another  game  against  a  D-ÂI  team  on  the  road,  Colchester  (9- MOUNT  ABRAHAM  UNION  High  School  senior  guard  Chelsea  Rublee  dribbles  out  of  trouble  during  Monday’s  game  against  Mis- 6),  also  will  pose  a  challenge,  al- though  the  Eagles  defeated  the  sisquoi.  Photo  by  Mark  Bouvier (See  Eagles,  Page  3B)
LAKE  PLACID,  N.Y.  —  Lacey  Greenamyre  of  Middlebury  this  past  weekend  competed  in  two  different  categories  at  the  2013  Empire  State  Winter  Games  in  Lake  Placid,  N.Y.  —  long  track  and  short  track  speeds- kating.  7KH \HDU ROG PDGH LW LQWR Âł$´ Âż- nals  in  all  seven  events  offered,  mean- LQJ WKDW VKH DGYDQFHG IURP WKH VHPLÂż- nals  into  the  medal  round  in  each  one. In  long  track  speedskating  Greena- myre  received  a  silver  medal  in  the  1,200-Âmeter  race,  silver  in  the  500M,  gold  in  the  300M  and  bronze  in  the  100M.  In  short  track  speedskating  she  earned  a  silver  medal  in  the  500M,  gold  in  the  333M  and  silver  in  the  222M.  Long  track  speedskating,  which  took  place  Feb.  8-Â9,  had  16  com- petitors,  and  short  track  speedskating,  which  took  place  Feb.  9-Â10,  had  15  competitors.
MAHA  U-Â14  girls  UHDFK VWDWH ÂżQDO MIDDLEBURY  —  The  14-Âand- under  girls’  hockey  team  of  the  Mid- dlebury  Area  Hockey  Association  this  past  weekend  won  the  preliminary  round  of  the  state  ice  hockey  tourna- ment  in  Highgate. The  girls  went  undefeated,  scoring  35  goals  and  giving  up  just  one  goal. The  MAHA  team  will  play  Rut- ODQG LQ WKH ZLQQHU WDNH DOO ÂżQDO LQ WKH U-Â14  state  championship  game  to  be  held  in  Waterbury  on  the  weekend  of  Feb.  23-Â24.  The  exact  date  and  time  of  the  game  will  be  announced  soon.