ADDISON COUNTY INDEPENDENT
B Section
THURSDAY, Â JUNE Â 19, Â 2014
MATT DICKERSON
SPORTS
ALSO IN THIS SECTION:
t 4DIPPM /FXT t -FHBM /PUJDFT
t $MBTTJĂŤFET t 3FBM &TUBUF
Nothing  is  better  in  summertime  WKDQ À\ ¿VKLQJ I  went  down  to  the  river  this  eve- QLQJ WR GR D OLWWOH ¿VKLQJ 6XSSHU ZDV done.  I’d  washed  the  dishes.  The  rest  of  my  family  was  busy  with  other  evening  activities.  And  I  still  had  about  90  minutes  remaining  until  GXVN &DVWLQJ D IHZ ÀLHV DQG SHUKDSV dancing  with  a  trout  at  the  end  of  a  taut  line  seemed  like  a  perfect  way  to  end  the  day. Although  the  calendar  tells  me  that  sum- mer  doesn’t  of- ¿FLDOO\ VWDUW XQWLO this  weekend,  the  weather  has  felt  like  summer  all  week.  Just  before  supper  I  went  to  the  garden  and  ran  a  hoe  very  lightly  in  between  rows  of  beans.  My  fore- head  was  drenched  in  sweat  within  ¿YH PLQXWHV 7KH SURPLVH RI VWDQG- ing  in  the  cool  waters  of  some  Ver- mont  river  seemed  especially  appeal- ing.  The  previous  weekend  I’d  been  up  LQ 0DLQH ¿VKLQJ IRU WZR GD\V ZLWK my  friend  Randy  Butler  of  New  Ha- ven.  It  had  felt  like  summer  up  in  Maine  also.  The  Magalloway  River  along  the  New  Hampshire  border  had  less  than  half  the  volume  of  wa- WHU WKDW KDG EHHQ ÀRZLQJ WKURXJK LW just  two  weeks  earlier.  And  the  outlet  of  Mooselookmeguntic  Lake  —  a  fa- PRXV ¿VKHU\ NQRZQ VLPSO\ DV ³8S- per  Dam�  —  was  lower  than  I’d  ever  ¿VKHG LW LQ 0D\ RU -XQH , ZDV DEOH WR wade  places  I’ve  never  waded,  and  landed  about  40  trout  and  salmon  in  VL[ RU VR KRXUV RI ¿VKLQJ 0RVW RI WKRVH ¿VK ZHUH ODQGHG RQ GU\ ÀLHV ZKLFK LV DQRWKHU VLJQ that  spring  is  moving  into  summer.  (See  Dickerson,  Page  3B)
Stone  posts  victory  at  Devil’s  Bowl WEST  HAVEN  —  On  Sunday,  de- fending  champion  in  the  Bond  Auto  3DUWV 0RGLÂżHG )HDWXUH 7RGG 6WRQH of  Middlebury  landed  in  victory  lane  IRU WKH ÂżUVW WLPH WKLV VHDVRQ DW WKH Devil’s  Bowl  Speedway  after  fending  off  multiple  late-Ârace  challenges  from  Jessey  Mueller.  Stone  was  part  of  a  four-Âway  bat- tle  for  the  lead  in  the  early  laps  with  Leon  Gonyo,  Mueller  and  Ron  Proc- tor.  Stone  worked  the  outside  lane  and  grabbed  the  lead  from  Gonyo  at  lap  11,  then  held  off  Mueller  through  KHDY\ ODSSHG WUDIÂżF DV WKH ODSV ZRXQG down. In  the  30-Âlap  event,  Stone  was  followed  by  Mueller,  Gonyo,  Joey  Roberts  and  Proctor.  Jason  Durgan  ¿QLVKHG VL[WK IROORZHG E\ -DPLH LaFountain,  Vince  Quenneville  Jr.  of  Brandon  and  Hunter  Bates  of  East  0LGGOHEXU\ 0XHOOHUÂśV ÂżQLVK ZDV later  erased  due  to  a  technical  rules  YLRODWLRQ DQG WKH RWKHU ÂżQLVKHUV ZHUH moved  up  a  place. In  the  114-Âlap  101.5  The  Fox  Spring  Green  114,  Brian  Hoar  won  his  40th  American-ÂCanadian  Tour  Late  Model  stock  car  race,  tops  all- time  on  that  series. Hoar,  of  Williston,  used  the  race’s  ¿QDO UHVWDUW ZLWK VHYHQ ODSV UHPDLQLQJ to  pounce  on  leader  Joey  Polewarc- zyk  Jr.,  and  then  ran  away  and  hid.  Polewarczyk  led  46  laps  and  settled  IRU WKH UXQQHU XS ÂżQLVK DPRQJ WKH drivers  that  entered  the  event. Sixteen-Âyear-Âold  Stephen  Donahue  (See  Devil’s  Bowl,  Page  3B)
VERGENNES  UNION  HIGH  School  sophomore  Jaymee  Fulcher  beats  the  tag  at  second  by  Otter  Valley’s  Cortney  Poljacik  during  Monday’s  Division  II  championship  game  in  Poultney.  Otter  Valley  won  the  game,  2-Â1. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
OV  edges  VUHS  for  crown Battle  of  Division  II’s  best  ends  great  Commodore  careers By  ANDY  KIRKALDY POULTNEY  —  In  Monday’s  WHQVH ZHOO SOD\HG VRIWEDOO ÂżQDO DW the  Poultney  Recreation  Park  be- tween  the  two  teams  that  had  proven  themselves  to  be  Division  II’s  best,  No.  5  Otter  Valley  scored  the  go- ahead  run  in  the  top  of  the  seventh  to  edge  No.  2  Vergennes,  2-Â1,  and  claim  the  program’s  second  title  in  ¿YH \HDUV DQG IRXUWK RYHUDOO 7KH 2WWHUV ÂżQLVKHG WKH VHDVRQ DW 15-Â5  after  senior  shortstop  Cortney  Poljacik  singled  home  senior  pitcher  Taylor  Aines  with  the  winning  run. Â
They  completed  a  tournament  run  that  included  convincing  victories  at  No.  4  Mount  Abraham  and  No.  1  Lyndon. Poljacik  described  the  emotions. “It’s  overwhelming  and  just  the  greatest  feeling  I’ve  had  and  I’m  sure  the  team’s  had,�  she  said.  “Be- cause  we  just  this  whole  season  have  just  been  playing  together  and  work- ing  at  it,  every  practice,  just  keeping  it  cool,  smiling  and  laughing,  and  we  stayed  calm  and  did  what  we  needed  to  do,  and  I’m  beyond  proud  of  my  team,  beyond  proud.�
7KH &RPPRGRUHV ÂżQLVKHG DW 3,  losing  only  to  D-ÂI  powers  Essex  and  St.  Albans  before  Monday  and  GHIHDWLQJ ' , ÂżQDOLVW 0LVVLVTXRL LQ the  regular  season  and  undefeated  two-Âtime  defending  champion  BFA- )DLUID[ LQ D VHPLÂżQDO They  had  earned  their  second  VWUDLJKW EHUWK LQ D ' ,, ÂżQDO DQG Coach  Mike  Sullivan’s  program  —  sparked  by  senior  pitching  aces  Dani  %URZQ 7D\ORU 3DTXHWWH DQG (PLOHH Trudo  —  compiled  a  46-Â13  record  in  the  past  three  years  while  playing  a  mostly  D-ÂI  schedule.
Golfers brave heat, tough course at 114th U.S. Open Editor’s  note:  Reporter  Zach  'HVSDUW ZHQW WR WKH ÂżQDO WKUHH rounds  of  the  114th  U.S.  Open  in  Pinehurst,  N.C.,  this  past  weekend. By  ZACH  DESPART PINEHURST,  N.C.  —  It’s  ungodly  hot  here.  Like,  can’t- stand-Âin-Âthe-Âsun-Âfor-Âmore-Âthan- half-Âan-Âhour  hot,  drink-Âbeer-Âat- your-Âown-Âperil  hot.  That  the  golfers  here  at  the  U.S.  Open  withstand  the  conditions  for  four  hours  every  day  —  in  long  pants  —  is  in  itself  an  accomplishment. The  Pinehurst  No.  2  course  is Â
beautiful  —  Carolina  pines  line  the  fairways  and  gentle  hills  punctuate  WKH RWKHUZLVH Ă€DW ODQGVFDSH ² EXW WRUWXURXVO\ KDUG &RXUVH RIÂżFLDOV have  moved  the  tees  back  as  far  as  possible  (at  the  12th,  the  tee  box  is  practically  in  the  parking  lot).  The  sunbaked  greens  play  like  polished  marble  and  the  manicured  rough  has  been  replaced  with  natural  growth  —  a  mixture  of  sand,  rocks  and  pine  straw  broadcasters  took  to  calling  “the  stuff.â€?  In  short,  the  REPORTER  ZACH  DESPART,  right,  attended  the  114th  U.S.  Open  course  is  markedly  different  than  in  Pinehurst,  N.C.,  with  his  brother,  Christopher,  and  father,  Stephen.  (See  U.S.  Open,  Page  3B) German  Martin  Kaymer  won  the  tournament  by  eight  strokes.
277(5 6(1,25 %5,77$1< %XVKH\ ¿UHV D WKURZ WR ¿UVW EDVH WR JHW DQ out  against  Vergennes  Monday  night  in  Poultney. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  been  a  hell  of  a  ride  for  them,  thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  no  doubt  about  it.  Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  won  more  games,  probably  than  any  team  in  Vergennes  history,â&#x20AC;?  Sullivan  said.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  beaten  a  lot  of  good  teams.â&#x20AC;? But  it  was  clear  early  on  Monday  it  would  not  be  easy  for  VUHS  to  get  past  the  Ottersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  defense  and  their Â
ace,  Aines,  who  tossed  a  two-Âhitter,  struck  out  eight  and  walked  three. The  gameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  defensive  star,  senior  third  baseman  Brittany  Bushey  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  ZKR KDQGOHG ÂżYH FKDQFHV FOHDQO\ including  three  outstanding  plays  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  LQ WKH ÂżUVW LQQLQJ UREEHG 7UXGR RI D EXQW KLW DQG EDFNKDQGHG 3DTXHWWHÂśV (See  Softball,  Page  2B)
Legion  squad  opens  with  double  setbacks By  ANDY  KIRKALDY MIDDLEBURY  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  The  Addison  County  American  Legion  baseball  team  opened  its  2014  campaign  with  a  pair  of  losses  in  a  Sunday  double- KHDGHU LQ LQQLQJV DQG WR the  visiting  Colchester  Cannons.  In  the  opener,  the  Cannons  took  D OHDG LQ WKH ÂżIWK RII $& VWDUW- er  Devin  Hayes  on  a  walk,  a  stolen  base,  an  RBI  single,  another  steal  and  another  RBI  single.  Those  were  the  only  hits  Hayes  allowed  in  eight  innings  of  work.  AC  knotted  the  score  in  the  bottom  RI WKH ÂżIWK ZKHQ +D\HV IROORZHG D walk  to  Aaron  Smith  with  a  two-Ârun Â
homer. The  score  remained  tied  until  the  ninth,  when  Colchester  pushed  a  run  across  against  reliever  Sawyer  Kam- man.  AC  again  tied  the  game  in  the  bottom  of  the  inning,  when  Smith  singled  and  eventually  scored  on  an  LQ¿HOG HUURU RQ D EDOO KLW E\ :DGH Steele.  But  Colchester  broke  the  game  open  with  four  runs  in  the  14th  off  .DPPDQ WR WDNH WKH ZLQ .DP- man  and  Josh  Stearns  chipped  in  two  hits  apiece  in  the  setback.  In  the  nightcap,  the  Cannons  broke  WKURXJK IRU ¿YH UXQV LQ WKH ¿IWK RII (See  Legion,  Page  4B)