On Tuesday, November 28, Williston students returned from Thanksgiving Break and were welcomed back with Mr. Conroy’s trimesterly athletic assembly.

In this assembly, which Conroy has been doing for 18 years, the Athletic Director presents about each team in the season by highlighting their records, and celebrating the individual players that had particularly outstanding seasons, broke records, or were honored by the league.

Conroy started out by introducing the Horseback Riding team. The team, which consists of seven students, rides at Fuller Horse Farm in Westhampton with seasoned professional Laura Etzel. There were both Varsity and Junior Varsity teams. The Most Valuable Rider award in the varsity team went to Aidenne Alden ’18 and Momoka Oda ’18.

After Riding, Conroy moved onto the Boys Water Polo team, led by science teacher Bill Bergoff and new math teacher Teddy Schaffer. Conroy was full of optimism for the next seasons. “The boys’ water polo team fielded a young squad this fall short on experience but long on enthusiasm.”

He also recognized senior David Janoschek, who earned All NEPSAC honors for the second year in a row. David, who was covered in an article earlier this year by The Willistonian, said “There are some really good players in our league, and it is pretty cool to have my name up there with them.” David continued, “You don’t have to come from one of these notoriously powerhouse water polo schools in order to become a decent player.”

Conroy also announced that Tom Lawry ’19 was voted next year’s captain.

The Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Thirds Volleyball teams had impressive seasons as well. In particular, Conroy noted that the JV team had “one of their finest seasons in recent memory” with a 9-6 record. He also mentioned their “thrilling” 2-1 victories over Ethel Walker, Pomfret, Worcester, and WMA.

Next year’s captains of the Varsity Volleyball team will be Gates MacPherson ’19 and Dylan Fulcher-Melendy ’20. Additionally, Dylan was named an All NEPSAC Honorable Mention.

Being named an All NEPSAC Honorable Mention is no easy feat, and Dylan was ecstatic about it.

“I felt honored to be named as a sophomore but also surprised.” She continued, “I have always loved playing volleyball and being recognized as an All NEPSAC honorable mention meant a lot to me. The whole team worked really hard this year and I’m just thankful to be a part of it.”

Football is a sport extra close to Conroy’s heart, as he coached the team for 16 years. He noted that the team competed in the Erickson League, which he said was “arguably the most competitive prep football league in New England.”

On Family Weekend, the team earned a 35-0 shutout victory over rival Wilbraham and Monson, which was particularly “thrilling.”

Additionally, Senior Xavier Thibault broke the record for the most single season sacks on defense with 14.5 in eight games, and won the Erickson League Co-Defensive Player of the Year award. Henri Bourque ’20, Noah Clack ’18, Braeden Heald ’18, and Xavier received All Erickson League recognition, and Braeden and Xavier both qualified for the prestigious All NEPSAC Class A football team.

A number of awards were given out in the program to Braeden Heald ’18, Xavier Thibault ’18, Noah Clack ’18, Henri Bourque ’20, Addison Walker ’18, Joey Ford ’19, and Mason Balch ’18. Next years captains will be Christian Anzeveno, Ben Normandin, and Thomas Thibault, all class of 2019.

According to Conroy, 76 boys played in the Boys’ Soccer program, playing on either the Junior team, coached by math teacher Kurt Whipple and science teacher Liz Kay, the Junior B team coached by Spanish teacher Eugenio Garcia and English teacher Doug Niedzwecki, the JV A team led by Latin teacher Will Eberle and history teacher Tom Johnson, orthe Varsity team led by history teachers John Chiavaroli and Andrew Syfu.

The Varsity team enjoyed an especially good season, and three members of the team were named to postseason all-star teams. Cory Booth ’19 was named to the Class B all-star team and the Select team, Jack Phelan ’18 was named an Honorable Mention to the Select team, and Wyatt Wegrzyn was named a NEPSAC Junior all-star. The captains have not yet been announced.

Couper Gunn, the co-Captain of the team, said “I think I left behind a good attitude among the team and with the new players that Coach Chiavaroli is hoping the bring in and with a core of rising Seniors and Juniors who will be returning.” Couper added, “I think it will be a failure if they do not do better than we did this year.”

The Girls Soccer team also had a record breaking season. The JV team, led by math teacher Karla Schaffer and Carey Baldwin, had a 5-7-2 record, including shutouts over Pomfret and Cushing.

The Varsity team, “buoyed by a strong group of 12 seniors,” finished with a 9-6-3 record. Senior Sophie Weed’s eight assists were the fourth most in a season in Williston history, and Madison Fulcher-Melendy ‘18’s 21 career assists were the second highest ever recorded. Senior goalie Alana Serafino’s nine shutouts in a single season were also the second highest ever recorded.

Conroy also noted the postseason individual recognitions, which four girls received. Junior Campbell Nyarady was named a WNEPSSA junior all-star, seniors Madison Fulcher-Melendy and Ana Weed were both named to the WNEPSSA all-star team, and Sophie Weed ’18 was named to the All NEPSAC Class B all-star team. Next year’s captains will be seniors Caroline DiFiore, Campbell Nyarady, and Emily Whipple.

Emily, who has been playing in the soccer program since her seventh-grade year at Williston, was honored to be named a captain.

“I’m humbled that my team sees me in a leadership role and I am really excited for a great senior year!” Emily said. “I am also really happy that I am captain with my two best friends!”

The Varsity Field Hockey team had the third best records of all the fall programs with an impressive 8-7-1 record. Conroy remarked the highlights of their season included “six shutouts wins including thrilling 1-0 victories over both Berkshire and Loomis and a season ending 4-0 shutout over NMH.”

Seniors Caroline Channell and Tori Palumbo were both named to the Western NE all-star team, and Tori and fellow senior Gabby Dicomitis were both named to the First Team. Also, senior Julia MacLean and junior Kate Holmes received Honorable Mentions. The captains for next year will be Maura Holden and Kate Holmes.

The Boys Cross Country team had a terrific season with a dual meet record of 10-3. They managed to beat rival Suffield four times during the season, and finished 4^th at the Shaler Invitation.

Conroy also highlighted individual performances. At the Division II NEPSAC championships, three sophomores placed in the top thirty. Nick Sinofsky finished in 7^th with a PR of 16:50, Oscar DeFrancis finished in 17^th, and Nat Markey in 29^th. Nick and Oscar’s performance qualified them to complete in the NEPSAC all-star meet. Nick finished 9^th with a time of 16:50 and Oscar came in 16^th with a 17:32 finish.

Oscar and Nat shared the Most Valuable Runner Award, and next year’s captains will be DJ Poulin ’19 and Caleb Stern ’19.

The fall team with the best record was the Girls Cross Country team, which celebrated their 31^st year in a row with a winning record. Under the leadership of Academic Dean Greg Tuleja and math teacher Martha McCullagh, the team finished with a record of 11-2. Conroy noted that some of the highlights of the season included, “sweeping Division 1 opponents Miss Porter’s and Taft, going undefeated on our new course including a season opening one-point victory over Kent, and defeating all six of our opponents, including host Suffield, at the season ending dual meet.”

Eighth grader Abigail Tuohey earned All NEPSAC honors when she came in 12^th out of 110 runners at the NEPSAC champions, and the future of the team looks bright considering the three of the top places on the Honor Roll are held by underclassman, Abigail, Chloe Prouty ’20, and Anna Richardson ’21. For the second year in a row the most valuable runner award went to Abigail, and next years captains will be Claire Harrison ’19 and Catherine King ’19.

Catherine started running for the Cross Country team in her eighth grade year, and loves it. “I am so excited to be a captain next year! I love the team and how extremely hard everyone works.”

Catherine continued, “To be the captain of one of the best teams I’ve been a part of these past 5 years at Williston makes me feel so grateful for my teammates, coaches, and the memories I’ve made.”

Conroy concluded the assembly excited for the winter sports season. He reminded students to “honor the blue and green by doing everything we can to inspire our teams to play their hearts out while respecting our opponent’s efforts.”

He also commended teams on their sportsmanship and the Williston community on their spectatorship.

“I wanted to thank all of you who wore the blue and green this fall for competing so hard and so well. Your sportsmanship was outstanding. I also want to thank and congratulate all of you who came out to cheer on your classmates at games.” Conroy ended, “Your school spirit and sportsmanship was exceptional.”