It’s time to do our annual accounting of the year in Vermont sports.
When you look back at 2023, what caught your eye?
It’s never an easy task to sum up a year’s worth of highlights, from a dominating home court victory in the Vermont College Basketball Championship to an emotional and memorable high school championship team, but here we’ve covered the past 12 months. Introducing the top stories in chronological order. .
Becker overtakes Brennan to become UVM’s all-time wins leader
John Becker, who arrived in Burlington in 2006 as director of basketball operations, took over the UVM men’s basketball team in 2011 and led March to eight America East regular season championships and five NCAA Tournament appearances. He has led the Catamounts to steadily build up their ranks. Becker was in charge that night in January, defeating Bryant 74-64 at Patrick Gym, passing former UVM coach and living legend Tom Brennan for the most career wins in program history.
Becker is 289-118 overall and 162-30 in the America East over 12 seasons at UVM.
“He’s a goat”:Vermont silences Bryant on AE tilt, Becker overrules Brennan
Features:Jon Becker scores biggest win of UVM men’s basketball tenure.
Female coaches break drought in DI Women’s Basketball Championship game
In early March, two female head coaches faced off for the first time since 1990 in the Division I high school girls basketball championship game.
The leader who ended a 33-year title drought is well known. Ute Otley reached the finals with five titles and nine championship appearances in 12 seasons at Champlain Valley. Jade Huntington of St. Johnsbury University is the University of Vermont’s all-time leading scorer since her days in Oxbow in the 1980s.
In the 2023 finals, Otley’s RedHawks pulled away in the third quarter to claim the program’s first outright victory since 2017.
Features:First female coaches compete in DI women’s basketball finals since 1990
Championship story:CVU women’s basketball defeats St. Johnsbury to end title drought
Vermont basketball team sweeps America East title on home court
The University of Vermont women’s team has been away from competing for a title for 13 years. However, that changed in 2023 when the Catamounts won 17 straight games, advanced through conference play, and won the America East championship against Albany.
UVM won the conference championship in March with a 38-36 victory over the Great Danes in front of a crowd of 2,502 at Patrick Gym.
The men hosted Lowell College the next day, and the sweep began with a win for the women. Vermont, the conference’s defending champion, defeated the River Hawks 72-59 in front of 2,880 fans to win the America East title.
Championship story:UVM women’s basketball wins first America East championship since 2010
Championship story:Vermont men’s basketball wins back-to-back America East championships
CVU boys win first at 100th DI State Finals
Champlain Valley was the top team in the state for most, if not all, of the 2022-23 season.But they entered the 100th The Division I men’s basketball tournament was winless in its last game in March.
Who are their opponents?
Rice, the second seed, was aiming for a fourth straight victory.
The RedHawks rallied in the third quarter after some strong play from their veterans to steal championship bragging rights from the Green Knights 42-38 at the University of Vermont’s Patrick Gym, taking home the first championship in program history.
The Red Hawk girls team also won the DI tournament, clinching the championship over Hinesburg School.
“We had to prove it”:Top-seeded CVU wins first men’s basketball title
New record set at Vermont City Marathon on a hot day
Only the heat of spring could match Megan Kriftin’s blistering pace at the 2023 VCM. Although temperatures rose throughout the day, Krifchin’s official time of 2:33:40 beat Heidi Westerling’s 2009 race record by nearly two minutes.
Krifchin improved his record in the final six miles after crossing Main Street for the second time.
coverage:Course record broken at 2023 Vermont City Marathon & Relay
Bryson Richards tracks VT amateurs at home course
At his home course at Barre Country Club, Bryson Richards won his second Vermont Amateur title in three years with a memorable final performance.
After starting off the back nine with a tricky par save, Richards made three straight birdies to earn his 117th appearance in the state golf tournament. The University of Rhode Island standout had 21 birdies and one eagle in 54 holes, finishing at 9 under par and winning by five strokes.
“This is my home”:Richards saves par with birdie, takes 117th place in Vermont Amateur with birdie
UVM fires men’s hockey coach Woodcroft following investigation
Former University of Vermont men’s hockey coach Todd Woodcroft was found in an investigation by UVM’s Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity to maintain professional boundaries due to multiple inappropriate text messages with UVM students. He was fired in July after it was discovered that he was unable to do so.
Woodcroft went 20-55-9 in three seasons at Burlington. Assistant coach Steve Wiedler has been named interim head coach for the 2023-24 season.
news:Todd Woodcroft fired as UVM men’s hockey head coach following investigation
CVU women’s XC team races for perfection at state meet
Powered by two tablesetters and a savvy puck-style approach, the CVU women’s cross country running team cruised through this fall’s Vermont state and regional meets with one of the program’s best single-season performances .
Behind star runner Alice Kredell and Vermont Division I individual champion Estella Laird, the Redhawks won the state meet with a perfect score, finishing 1-2-3-4-5 and earning their seventh He won the New England crown. All since 2003.
Joining Credel and Laird on CVU’s roster were Audrey Nielson, Lydia Donahue, Charlotte Crum, Annalize Wood and Noe Jeni. CVU also finished the year ranked nationally in the DyeStat/RunnerSpace.com poll.
Full score!CVU women dominate to win 19th XC running title, first in 21 years
profile:“The higher the stakes, the faster you can run”: CVU Women’s XC Team Chasing Big Goals
Colchester women’s football ends 30-year title drought
In 2023, emotions were running high on the Colchester High School girls soccer team. Longtime coach Jeff his Paul lost his father and a supporter of the program also passed away before the fall campaign began. The Lakers also had to contend with pressure and expectations as their heartbreaking semifinal loss stretched to three games in a row, extending their title drought to 30 years.
However, Colchester overcame everything with a 17-2 record, defeating Essex 2-0 in the Division I championship. Colchester wasted no time in taking the lead in the final, scoring both goals within seven minutes of the match.
Game story:After an emotional year, Colchester women’s football claim first DI title in 30 years
UVM men’s soccer returns to NCAA Tournament
The University of Vermont men’s soccer team has a knack for making November exciting. A year after reaching the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, the Catamounts advanced to the Round of 16, but lost 2-1 to No. 5 West Virginia in Morgantown.
Vermont defeated Rider in the first round at Virtue Field, then upset No. 12 Central Florida 3-2 on the road. It was the third consecutive year that Vermont won at least 13 games.
Round 16:West Virginia late champion defeats Vermont men’s soccer in NCAA Tournament
Other notable stories in 2023
► UVM women’s hockey narrowly loses in semifinals: A video review by officials in the final moments of the game showed Vermont missed the tying goal by “just a few inches.” Vermont lost in the Hockey East semifinals for the second straight year in lieu of overtime, following a record-tying 22-win winter.
► Spalding women’s hockey wins school’s first DI crown since 2010: Following Free Press’ Miss Hockey Player Rebecca McKelvey, the Crimson Tide went 21-0-1 and won the program’s first Division I title, the school’s first DI crown in any sport since 2010. I got it. In the final, Spalding made a decisive slide with 4 wins and 1 loss. Victory over Burlington/Colchester.
► U-32 men’s hockey dominates MMU to win D-II title: The Raiders never took the lead and won 4-3 against Mount Mansfield at Gutterson Fieldhouse in March, thanks to a short-handed sudden-death goal by Brenden Tedeschi at 8:19 of overtime. With two seconds left in regulation, Tay Rothmasler scored on an MMU pad save to end the game. The championship was the longest Division II title game in tournament history.
► CVU baseball caps dominate the school year: The RedHawks had a lot of wins in the 2022-23 school year. … The football and basketball teams swept the DI tournament for the breakthrough championship. And baseball won its third title in the past four seasons. With the baseball win, CVU became his second school to win all three of his DI tournaments.
► Yates capped off a perfect BFA season with a no-hitter: Sierra Yates was untouchable in the Division I softball championship game. The senior ace furthered his 18-0 record with a no-hitter shutout with 15 strikeouts in his 10-0 win over the Comets. This was also BFA’s 10th title in total.
► Vermont athlete accomplishes impressive and unusual feat at New England track and field meet: This is only the third time in the 76-year history of the New England Outdoor Track and Field Championships that three Vermont boys have competed in the same event. Essex’s Kelton Poirier won the 800-meter dash to head a 1-2-4 Green Mountain State finish with second place Andrew Thornton (St. Johnsbury) and Matthew Servin (CVU).
► St. Johnsbury wins first Little League Baseball state title since 1985: It took nine innings for St. Johnsbury Little League on a summer day in July, but that didn’t matter to the 10- to 12-year-old All-Stars. Maddox Stacy hit a leadoff three-run home run, clinching the program’s first baseball title since 1985. Stacey then started a double play in the bottom half of the frame, capping off St. Johnsbury’s celebration at Ciferity Field.
► Berger leads Team USA: In Team USA Women’s Baseball’s game against Mexico in August, Champlain Valley’s Elise Berger pitched four innings and allowed just one hit in a 2-0 victory. It was the right-handed hurler’s second victory of the tournament, ending the United States’ Group A qualifying round for the Women’s Baseball World Cup (5-0). Berger recently decided that she would attend Bard College to play baseball.
► Colchester’s Lefebvre returns to coaching amid cancer battle: Just weeks after accepting an open position with Colchester Field Hockey and returning to coaching for the first time in 10 years, Sean Lefebvre learned he had been diagnosed with breast cancer. A 1999 graduate of South Burlington High School, he led the Lakers to their first Division I semifinal appearance since 2018, despite undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy and facing balancing family life and educational responsibilities. Led the program to a winning season.
► A memorable day for three teams in a football title game tripleheader in Rutland: Rutland’s annual high school football championship tripleheader brought fireworks to the crowd again this year. Barr and Burton held off a furious Hartford comeback and took home the DI crown. North Country secured a defensive stop with 41 seconds left on the pennant, his first since 1997. And Windsor maintained its dominance with his third straight championship.
► Middlebury College seeks sixth straight NCAA field hockey championship: Middlebury field hockey is no stranger to championships. The Panthers (22-0) capped another undefeated season with a 2-0 win over Johns Hopkins in November. It was Middlebury’s sixth consecutive title win. Audrey Lazar scored both goals.
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.
Please contact Jacob Rousseau at JRousseau@gannett.com. Follow us on Twitter: @JacobRousseau.