Following two wins last week, the Harwood girls’ basketball team had another stellar week, defeating Lake Region on Saturday, February 4, 41-32. Cierra McKay led the team with 17 points, followed by Quinn Nelson with 9 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks. On Tuesday, February 7, the girls defeated Randolph handily, 69-14. Coach Tommy Young said every member of the team scored and they played good team defense. Senior Ciera Fiaschetti had her first start of the season. Quinn Nelson led the scoring with 19 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Cierra McKay with 13 points and Eloise Lilley with 12. Ayden Parrish also scored 11 points and freshman Roanha Chalmers scored 8.
The girls’ and boys’ basketball senior games will take place on Wednesday, February 15, at the Barre Auditorium. The girls will play at 5:30 and the boys will play at 7 p.m.
WRESTLING
On Saturday, February 4, the Harwood wrestling team competed in the Jason Lowell Memorial Tournament at Mount Mansfield Union High School. “Wrestlers at the middle school, JV and varsity levels wrestled tough throughout the day,” said coach Casey Moulton. For the varsity team, Eric Whitten placed second in the 113-pound division while Quinn Smith placed third at the 145-pound division. The wrestling team’s season continues this weekend as the team travels to Fair Haven for the Vermont Team Duals.
Moulton also added that the Harwood Hawks Youth Wrestling registration is now open to students in third through sixth grade. Practices begin February 16 at 5:45 p.m. in the wrestling room at Harwood.
BOYS’ HOCKEY
The Harwood boys’ hockey team has had a challenging week, though goalie Teighen Fils-Aime had several standout performances. On Wednesday, February 1, the team lost 4-1 to U-32, which Harwood coach Matt Migonis called “arguably the best team in boys’ Division II hockey this season.” Eli Herrington scored Harwood’s goal unassisted. In net, Teighen Fils-Aime stopped 36-40 shots.
"I am incredibly proud of our team,” Migonis said. “They went toe to toe with one of the best teams in the state and didn't back down. We were down three players due to illness and three more are dealing with injuries and they still found a way to conjure up the courage and fight to make this a great game. Teighen played out of his mind tonight. Such a special performance from him. Eli keeps doing his thing too which means we always have a chance. Everyone else stepped up as well with some boys playing positions they don't usually play to make up for the players out with illnesses. Really a full team performance."
On Saturday, February 4, Stowe defeated Harwood 5-0. Teighen Fils-Aime stopped 32 shots. “We didn't come to play tonight and we suffered a bit of a mental let down after the great performance a few days earlier against U-32. These are the kinds of games we need to stay sharp and focused for and, unfortunately, we weren't tonight. Teighen played awesome once again. His play is what is keeping us in these games. We just need to put the puck in the net a whole lot more than we are right now,” Migonis said.
On Monday, February 6, Harwood lost to Mount Mansfield Union 0-5 at home. “Teighen was the star again, making 51 saves in the loss. We brought a lot more intensity tonight and played much better than we did on Saturday. Despite the loss, I'm still happy with how the boys played as a whole, especially Teighen."
GIRLS’ HOCKEY
The Harwood girls’ hockey team had a tough 12-0 loss to the Kingdom Blades on Monday, February 6, which is a combined team comprised of Lyndon Institute, North Country Union and St. Johnsbury Academy.
“The team needs to work on consistency. We typically produce a strong first period, but we are quick to get down after one goal that’s scored against us,” Harwood coach Katie Martin said. “Any game we have played this year has been a winnable game; we struggle with confidence, with each player, and confidence and trust in our own line mates/ team to do their own jobs that make the team function as a whole. This year we have grappled with staying positive, and staying in the game. If our team focused their whole effort and attention on playing the game of hockey instead of getting down on the team itself, our record would reflect differently.”
