ADDISON COUNTY INDEPENDENT
B Section
THURSDAY, Â MARCH Â 26, Â 2015
ANDY KIRKALDY
SPORTS
ALSO IN THIS SECTION:
t 4DIPPM /FXT t -FHBM /PUJDFT
t $MBTTJĂŤFET t 3FBM &TUBUF
VPA  seeding  system  needs  to  be  overhauled Until  a  few  years  ago,  the  Vermont  Principals’  Association  endorsed  a  straightforward  system  for  seeding  playoff  teams  in  its  four  divisions.  Teams  were  awarded  more  points  for  winning  against  teams  in  higher  divisions  or  on  the  road,  and  fewer  points  for  winning  against  teams  in  lower  divisions  or  at  home.  For  instance,  if  Division  II  Ver- gennes  won  a  basketball  game  at  D-ÂI  Champlain  Valley  Union,  it  would  earn  six  points.  The  same  win  at  home  would  earn  ¿YH If  D-ÂII  Ver- gennes  won  at  D-ÂII  Mount  Abe,  LW ZRXOG HDUQ ÂżYH points.  If  VUHS  beat  the  Eagles  at  home,  the  Commo- dores  would  get  four  points.  If  VUHS  or  Mount  Abe  played  at  a  D-ÂIII  team  —  Winooski,  for  example  —  and  won,  it  would  get  four  points.  But  a  win  over  Winooski  at  home  would  net  them  just  three  points.  The  system  wasn’t  perfect;Íž  none  is.  There’s  plenty  of  overlap  in  quality  of  play  among  the  divisions.  From  year  to  year  the  system  didn’t  always  produce  fair  results  when  the  points  were  added  up  at  the  end  of  the  season  to  create  rankings  within  each  of  the  four  divi- sions.  But  more  often  than  not  teams  would  end  up  pretty  close  to  fairly  seeded. Then,  a  few  years  ago,  fuel  prices  spiked  up.  Bus  rides  for  some  of  the  more  isolated  schools,  especially  those  without  other  schools  with  nearby  competitors  in  the  same  division,  got  more  costly.  Some  of  those  schools  —  South- ern  Vermont  D-ÂI  schools,  plus  D-ÂI  St.  Johnsbury  and  D-ÂII  Lyndon  —  lob- bied  the  VPA’s  Point  Index  Commit- tee  to  eliminate  the  penalty  for  playing  down,  so  they  wouldn’t  lose  points  if  they  played  local  D-ÂII  or  D-ÂIII  schools. VPA  Associate  Executive  Director  Bob  Johnson  put  it  this  way  in  a  recent  email:  “The  current  formula  was  im- plemented  about  6  years  ago  and  was  designed  to  address  high  gas  cost  by  giving  incentives  for  higher  division  teams  to  play  lower  division  teams.  Since  its  inception,  the  index  system  has  been  reviewed  twice,  with  no  ma- jor  changes  being  made.â€? What’s  the  effect?  There  are  local  examples.  Now,  I  certainly  don’t  want  to  knock  the  accomplishments  of  the  Otter  Valley  or  Middlebury  union  high  school  boys’  basketball  teams  this  past  winter.  Both  teams  played  against  the  teams  their  schedule  gave  them,  played  well  and  hard,  and  were  fun  to  watch. But  they  show  why  this  system  can  (See  Kirkaldy,  Page  2B)
MIDDLEBURY  TRAIL  ENTHUSIASTS,  a  growing  group  of  trail  runners,  organized  last  summer  to  run  together  and  to  promote  responsible  use  of  local  trail  resources.
Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
Group spurs running on the county’s trails Enthusiasts  attract  numbers  through  meetup.com
ScoreBOARD
COLLEGE SPORTS Women’s Lacrosse 3/23  Midd.  vs.  Roanoke  .........................19-Â4 Baseball 3/23  Oberlin  vs.  Midd.  ..........................14-Â13 3/24  Grace  vs.  Midd.  ...............................9-Â8 Softball 3/23  Colby  vs.  Midd.  ................................4-Â2 3/23  MIT  vs.  Midd.  ...................................8-Â1
Schedule
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Girls’ Lacrosse 4/4  Burr  &  Burton  at  MUHS  ..............11  a.m. Boys’ Lacrosse 4/4  MUHS  at  Woodstock  ..................11  a.m. 4/4  U-Â32  at  Mt.  Abe  ........................... 11  a.m. 4/4  Milton  at  VUHS  ...........................11  a.m. 4/4  Randolph  at  OV  .......................... 11  a.m. COLLEGE SPORTS Men’s Lacrosse 3/28  Midd.  at  Amherst  .........................1  p.m. 4/1  Hamilton  at  Midd.  .....................4:30  p.m. 4/4  Colby  at  Midd.  ...............................1  p.m. Women’s Lacrosse 3/28  Amherst  at  Midd.  .........................1  p.m. 4/1  Midd.  at  Colby  ................................ Noon Baseball At Tucson, AZ* 3/27  Midd.  vs.  Williams*  .....................4  p.m. 3/28  Midd.  vs.  Williams  (2)*  ................2  p.m. 4/3  Midd.  at  Amherst  ......................3:30  p.m. 4/4  Midd  at  Amherst  (2)  ....................... Noon Softball At Clermont, FL* 3/26  Midd.  vs.  Wisc./Oshkosh*  ...........9  a.m. 3/26  Midd.  vs.  Elmhurst*  ...................11  a.m. 3/28  Midd.  at  Wesleyan  (2)  .................. Noon 3/29  Midd.  at  Wesleyan  ....................... Noon 4/1  Midd.  at  Castleton  (2)  ..............3:30  p.m. 4/3  Williams  at  Midd.  ..........................5  p.m. 4/4  Williams  at  Midd.  (2)  ...................... Noon Spectators  are  advised  to  consult  school  websites  for  the  latest  schedule  updates. Â
MEMBERS  OF  MIDDLEBURY  Trail  Enthusiasts  run  across  the  Middlebury  footbridge  over  Otter  Creek  Tues- day  evening.  The  group  hosts  regular  Tuesday  runs. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
VUHS  graduate  wraps  up  outstanding  college  career KANSAS  CITY,  Mo.  —  Skid- more  College  senior  and  former  Vergennes  Union  High  School  standout  Connor  Merrill  capped  his  men’s  basketball  career  on  Saturday  by  scoring  15  points  on  six-Âfor-Ânine  shooting  as  his  West  All-ÂStar  team  defeated  the  East  All-ÂStars,  105-Â94,  in  the  Reese’s  NCAA  Division  III  Men’s  Basket- ball  All-ÂStar  game. Merrill,  a  1,000-Âpoint  scorer  at  Skidmore  and  VUHS,  added  six  rebounds,  an  assist  and  a  block  in  Saturday’s  contest,  during  which  he  sank  three  of  four  three-Âattempts. This  winter,  Merrill  led  the  Thor- oughbreds  to  the  Liberty  League  championship,  the  second  round  CONNOR   MERRILL of  the  NCAA  Division  III  tourna- ment,  and  a  team-Ârecord  20  wins.  1&$$ ' ,,, ÂżUVW URXQG Merrill  was  named  a  2015  Lib- He  scored  a  season-Âhigh  28  points  in  Skidmore’s  81-Â66  win  over  NE- erty  League  First-ÂTeam  All-ÂStar  SCAC  champion  Wesleyan  in  the  (See  Merrill,  Page  2B)
By  EVAN  JOHNSON MTE  member  Jeff  Byers  is  a  local  MIDDLEBURY  —  Many  foot- runner  and  a  chemistry  professor  at  paths  in  the  Middlebury  area  still  lie  Middlebury  College.  He’s  been  run- buried  under  several  inches  of  snow  ning  on  the  trails  for  the  past  seven  and  ice,  but  a  local  group  is  making  years  and  maintains  a  blog  on  his  plans  and  eagerly  awaiting  spring’s  experiences  running  on  local  trails. thaw  so  they  can  get  back  to  running  ³(YHU\ WLPH , JR RXW , ÂżQG VRPH- on  those  trails. thing  different,â€?  he  said.  “That’s  just  Middlebury  Trail  Enthusiasts,  as  what  happens  when  you’ve  got  this  the  growing  group  of  trail  runners  incredible  resource  just  in  our  back- is  known,  is  working  to  connect  yard.â€?  outdoor  enthusiasts  with  similar  This  past  summer,  runners  be- activity  levels  and  goals  gan  informally  meeting  while  expanding  aware- at  the  Waterfront  Park  “People are ness  and  responsible  use  in  Middlebury’s  Marble  of  local  trail  resources,  running new Works  District  for  eve- said  Heather  Flewelling,  trails and ning  group  runs  on  the  an  MTE  organizer,  in  a  becoming Trail  Around  Middle- post  on  the  group’s  web- bury.  These  “Tuesdays  more page. on  the  TAM,â€?  as  they  “MTE  will  strive  to  FRQĂ€GHQW were  called,  grew  in  pop- provide  a  supportive,  Everybody ularity  and  established  a  social  atmosphere  where  that’s come small,  core  group  of  reg- enthusiasts  of  all  ages  ular  participants.  and  abilities  are  encour- out on runs By  the  end  of  the  sum- aged  to  explore  local  with us is mer,  people  were  looking  trails,â€?  she  continued. super excited forward  to  more  opportu- Interest  in  running  off  to meet other nities  to  run  as  a  group  in  of  paved  roads  has  been  addition  to  their  Tuesday  growing  nationwide,  UXQQHUV Âľ evening  jaunts.  Most  — Heather participants  were  more  Flewelling  said,  and  Flewelling experienced  Middlebury  Trail  Enthu- distance  siasts  hopes  to  be  the  lo- runners  but  they  wanted  cal  hub  for  runners  of  all  a  way  to  reach  newer  abilities.  runners  who  weren’t  up  for  running  “There’s  no  disadvantage  to  for  an  entire  hour,  as  well  as  runners  building  the  community  and  con- who  just  couldn’t  make  the  Tuesday  necting  people,â€?  said  Flewelling,  evenings.  whose  Vermont  license  plate  reads  What  started  as  a  once-Âa-Âweek  “TRLRUNR.â€?  “People  are  running  meeting  grew  with  the  help  of  the  new  trails  and  becoming  more  con- popular  socializing  site  Meetup. ÂżGHQW (YHU\ERG\ WKDWÂśV FRPH RXW com,  through  which  members  post  on  runs  with  us  is  super  excited  to  the  time  and  place  of  a  proposed  run  meet  other  runners.â€?  and  others  can  indicate  on  the  web- Middlebury  and  the  surround- site  that  they  will  join  in.  As  they  ing  Champlain  Valley  is  home  to  enter  spring  and  running  season,  miles  of  trails,  including  the  Trail  the  group  lists  on  its  Meetup  site  Around  Middlebury,  trails  in  the  —  www.meetup.com/Middlebury- Moosalamoo  National  Recreation  Trail-ÂEnthusiasts  —  97  “enthusi- Area,  paths  on  Snake  Mountain  astsâ€?  and  eight  coordinators  who  and  others.  The  area  has  long  had  a  help  organize  the  runs.  Upcoming  dedicated  following  of  trail  runners.  (See  Trail  runners,  Page  3B)
Middlebury  men’s  tennis  wins  out  West WHITTIER,  Calif.  —  The  Mid- dlebury  College  men’s  tennis  team,  ranked  No.  3  in  the  most  recent  NCAA  Division  III  poll,  kept  up  its  winning  ways  on  its  annual  spring  break  trip  to  Califor- nia,  improving  to  7-Â0  heading  into  a  match  played  late  on  Tuesday.  On  Sunday,  the  Panthers  posted  a  pair  of  9-Â0  vic- tories  in  matches  played  at  Whittier  College  over  the  host  Poets  and  again  in  the  evening  DJDLQVW 3DFLÂżF The  Panthers  cruised  through  the  doubles  matches  against  Whittier  (1-Â9).  Palmer  Campbell  and  Peter  Heidrich  were  victorious  in  the  top  spot  (8-Â5),  while  Ari  Smolyar  and  Noah  Farrell  posted  an  8-Â3  win  DW 1R ,Q WKH WKLUG Ă€LJKW &KULV Frost  and  William  de  Quant  tallied Â
an  8-Â1  win. In  singles  play,  Middlebury  post- HG VWUDLJKW VHW YLFWRULHV LQ ÂżYH RI the  six  matches.  Smolyar  (6-Â1,  6-Â1)  and  Campbell  (6-Â2,  6-Â4)  claimed  the  top-Âtwo  ÀLJKWV ZKLOH -DFN- son  Frons  was  up  a  set  at  No.  4  before  his  opponent  re- tired.  At  No.  5  and  No.  6,  de  Quant  (7-Â5,  6-Â3)  and  Kyle  Schlanger  (6-Â1,  6-Â2)  picked  up  wins,  while  &RXUWQH\ 0RXQWLÂżHOG EDWWOHG EDFN from  a  set  down  for  the  win  (5-Â7,  6-Â2,  1-Â0)  in  the  No.  4  spot. $JDLQVW 3DFLÂżF WKH 3DQ- thers  again  picked  up  each  of  the  doubles  points.  Campbell  and  Heidrich  earned  an  8-Â2  win  in  the  top  spot,  while  Smolyar  and  Far- rell  along  with  Frost  and  de  Quant  notched  identical  8-Â5  wins  in  the Â
panther TENNIS
other  two  matches. During  singles  action,  Farrell  FUXLVHG LQ WKH WRS Ă€LJKW while  Frons  was  a  7-Â5,  6-Â3  victor  at  1R $W 1R 0RXQWLÂżHOG HDUQHG another  three-Âset  win  (6-Â7,  6-Â2,  10- 6).  Allen  Jackson  posted  a  6-Â2,  6-Â4  victory  at  No.  4;Íž  de  Quant  edged  his  opponent  at  No.  5  (7-Â5,  6-Â3);Íž  and  Timo  van  der  Geest  completed  the  sweep  with  a  6-Â1,  7-Â6  win  at  No.  6. On  Monday,  the  Panthers  topped  No.  21  UC  Santa  Cruz,  6-Â3,  de- spite  dropping  two  of  three  doubles  matches  —  only  the  No.  2  tandem  of  Smolyar  and  Farrell,  prevailed,  8-Â4.  But  Jackson,  Smolyar,  Frons,  Farrell  and  Campbell  all  won  their  singles  matches  in  straight  sets  to  keep  Middlebury  unbeaten  before  a  Tuesday  match  vs.  No.  9  Pomona- Pitzer  that  was  set  for  7  p.m.  Pa- FLÂżF WLPH