By Emma Stanton, Staff Writer
The 2025 spring sports season has officially wrapped. The Woodstock Union High School (WUHS) coaches spoke with the Standard this week about the teams’ end-of-season records and prospects for next year.
Girls Lacrosse
The Woodstock varsity girls lacrosse team finished their season with a 10-8 record, and they plan to continue building on this momentum next year. Head coach Amanda Hull told the Standard, “Last year we graduated eight seniors, and lots of people thought this would be a rebuilding year for us. We had a very young team this year, but you couldn’t tell by our record. We had a very successful season, making it all the way to the semifinals. Our girls worked extremely hard to achieve such success.”
She continued, “These girls just showed what hard work can do. With so many new players on the varsity field, they never stopped showing up for each other. Through gritted teeth, they made it to the playoffs and semifinals. I’m beyond proud of this team.
On a concluding note, Hull added, “The future looks bright. After a year like this, I foresee much more success in our future. We had 23 girls this year, which was a bit of an awkward number with not enough to make a full JV and Varsity team, but too many for a single team. These girls rolled with the punches and were extremely flexible with playing time and practice schedules. Their dedication, hard work, and determination is something a coach can only dream of. I’m so excited for next year.”
Boys Lacrosse
Brandon Little, head coach of the boys lacrosse team, looked back on the season, stating, “I think next year we look to be improving on what we built this past season. We will have a lot of players returning to the team, starting in the goal. All our goal scorers will be coming back, so we should be in a good place for next season. This year, we had lots of new players in new positions. A 7-9 season is not normal for Woodstock lacrosse, but acceptable given that we had so many new players. We are looking forward to next season and seeing what this team can accomplish with another year under their belt.”
Softball
Angela Allard, head coach of the WUHS girls softball team, which finished 4-13, told the Standard, “As for the season, it was definitely another year of growth for us. We welcomed many new players, including some who were completely new to the sport. Over the course of the season, we saw tremendous improvement. Players began to find their positions, build confidence, and gain a solid understanding of the game. We’re excited to carry that momentum into next year and continue building on those skills, strengthening our teamwork, and growing even more as a group.”
Baseball
The WUHS baseball team ended strong with an 11-6 record, finishing fifth in the state. Head coach Jason Tarleton told the Standard, “It’s the second season in a row this team concluded with more than 10 wins. We fell short in the quarterfinals, which was disappointing, but we did a good job competing in every game all season and overall had a very successful year. I have three seniors graduating, so we’ll have most of the team back. It’s exciting; I anticipate we will have another strong season ahead of us.”
Tarleton continued, “Over the past 26 years, this team has had five players bat over 400 each year. We have some very strong hitters, and it’s wonderful that the streak has continued over the decades. I want to particularly highlight our two captains, Ben Runstein and Vince Petrone. Ben was selected for the Twin State Baseball Team, which is a senior all-star team representing all four divisions in Vermont.” Other all-star players include Vince Petrone, who was chosen for first team all-star; Ray Petrone, who was also chosen for first team all-star; Drew Gallagher, chosen for second team all-star; and Jake Blackburn, also chosen for second team all-star.
“These players showed great leadership and have helped instill a culture and camaraderie that will continue after they graduate. I am very optimistic for next year,” Tarleton concluded.
Track and Field
Paul Bremel, the head coach of the WUHS track and field team, commented on their impressive spring season.
“We got moved into Division Two. With this realignment, we are currently the smallest school in D2 by far, and one of only two schools that do not have a track, so that was tough to handle. Even still, we had some great performances from many members of the team. Our girls 4×100 meter relay was just one spot away from qualifying for New England’s Competition and ended up finishing second at the State meet. We had some injuries early on in the season from some of our top performers, and while our boys finished ninth in D2 and our girls tenth, we still had some very strong efforts and had a great season overall.”
Bremel continued, “Next year, we’re going to lose two of our strongest girl distance runners — Izzy Cellini and Myra McNaughton. We’re also going to lose one of our top male distance runners, James Underwood. That will be tough, but the core of the team remains strong, and there are some talented eighth and ninth-graders coming up. We look forward to rebuilding our team next year. These are truly wonderful and talented kids, and I know next season they will go far.”
Girls Tennis
The girls tennis team also finished strong this year, with a 7-6 record and one tie match. Outside of this record, the team was “able to capture the Southern Vermont League B District with four wins, zero losses, and one tie,” according to head coach Derek Pierce.
He continued, “It was an unusual season given the amount of rainouts we had, but the girls should feel good about securing that title overall. We graduated seven seniors last year, so this team was very young, with only four returning varsity players. We had a lot of positions to fill, and these athletes showed up every day and worked hard to develop into stellar tennis players. It just shows you what a positive mindset, dedication, and active attendance could do to foster a winning team.”
“It seems to me that all of these girls will be returning next year, which would be great for us to continue to build off of this year’s momentum,” Pierce said.
Orion Binney, WUHS athletic director, also commented on the girls team’s tennis spring season. He told the Standard, “I’d like to shout out the girls tennis team, because they won the SVLB Championship for the regular season. That was a really nice job by them. It was a very impressive win.”
Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team had a great finish to their season. Head coach Michael Malik told the Standard, “I’m so proud of these boys. This is my second year coaching, and last year, all of these kids on the team were completely new to tennis, had never played before. It was a pretty crazy season, but they were very competitive, and it was so amazing to see the growth that can happen in just two years. We ended up winning our last two matches of the season. It was great to end on such a high note. The kids are really excited to come back and do a lot better next year.”
As the boys tennis team finished with a 4-7 record, Malik sees this season as a continuation to the 2024 rebuilding year. “The kids are really great,” Malik continued. “They came out of last year loving tennis, even though it was a new sport to them. Last year, some of our players got beat 6-0 in matches. This year, I could see my players holding their own on the court. As these athletes get older, they get stronger — both mentally and physically — and gain a lot of confidence along the way. I feel like next year is going to be awesome for us. I have a feeling we could do really well in our division.”
Referring to all teams, athletic director Binney concluded, “All in all, it was a pretty successful spring season. I thought the kids and coaches did an excellent job adjusting to every challenge they faced. Our athletes approached each game competitively and gave it their all. For that, I would call this season a complete success. I’m excited to see what these teams bring to the field and to the court next year.”
