LACONIA — The Lakes Region is well represented on the Field hockey All-State First and second teams, which were released by the New Hampshire Field Hockey Coaches Association late Sunday.
A local star and a coach took top honors, while a handful of other area standouts earned recognition with All-State honors. The coaches association also released the NH Twin State field hockey team who will play against their counterparts from Vermont in June of 2010. The game will take place in Vermont at a time and place yet to be determined.
Newfound senior midfielder Katlyn Simula was named Class M-S Player of the Year, and the Bears head coach Karri Peterson took the top coaching honor as voted by her peers. Simula helped Newfound earn its second straight state title with a 2-0 victory over area rival Winnisquam.
Simula was one of six local players to be named to the M-S All-State First Team. She is joined by Newfound teammate Abby Erler; Franklin's Kaila Bushman; Gilford's Aimee Breton; and Winnisquam's Kara Swenson and Haley Ryan. All-State Second Team honors went to Franklin's Samantha Ross and Shauncie Dinkel; Gilford's Shelby Howard and Megan Wernig; Newfound's Cailey Newton; and Winnisquam's Savannah Paulhus.
Plymouth's Johanna Currier and Stacey Howard were selected to the Class I All-State First Team, along with Kingswood's Renee Bernier and Erin Maguire. Hanover's Laura Sanderson was named the Class I Player of the Year and Merrimack Valley's Kim Kenney was tabbed as Coach of the Year.
The Class I All-State Second Team includes Plymouth's Courtney Kelly and Kingswood's Gabrielle Horton.
Simula and Horton were the lone Lakes Region standouts to earn a spot on the NH Twin State team.
New Hampton edges Tilton for Powder Keg
TILTON — For the first time since New Hampton School and Tilton School formally reignited their athletic rivalry two years ago, the Huskies from New Hampton School edged the Rams of Tilton 7-5 on rain-soaked Saturday in Tilton to secure the Powder Keg.
The Huskies, who have watched Tilton take the Keg the last two years, sealed the victory with a 42-0 win in football, the final competition of the day that brought out large crowds despite the poor weather.
"This is a great rivalry between two great schools," New Hampton Head of School Andrew Menke said. "I'm glad that we were able to win after losing the last two years, but more importantly, all the games showed the wonderful sportsmanship that exists between the two schools."
Tilton earned one point in both the men's junior varsity A and B soccer games, knocking off New Hampton 7-0 and 2-1 respectively. New Hampton evened the score at 2-2 with victories in Cross Country and Mountain Biking. After Tilton's women's varsity soccer team beat New Hampton 2-1, the Rams had a slight lead. But the New Hampton pulled off a surprise 2-2 tie in the men's varsity soccer game and the Huskies women's field hockey team got a goal halfway through the second half to earn a 2-1 victory.
The New Hampton/Tilton rivalry dates back to 1895 when the two schools first played football against each other, and the 12-mile trip down the back road, aptly dubbed "Devil's Den Road," was a half-day affair.
The NHS/Tilton rivalry is the third oldest prep school rivalry behind Andover/Exeter (1878) and Groton/St. Mark's (1886), and was called the "Harvard/Yale of the New Hampshire preppies" by the Boston Globe in 1969. The rivalry has endured numerous gaps in competition, with the 2007 Powder Keg Competition serving as the beginning of a new chapter in the storied matchup after a lull in the series. The rivalry was so heated in the 1950s that the competition was called off for a three-year period.
According to former New Hampton School headmaster, coach, and teacher Lou Gnerre, the Powder Keg was created in memory of Pop Bottomly, a former NHS employee who was a night fire-watcher. He was an extremely well-liked person, and when he died in the 1950s, the Powder Keg was created in his honor.
Holderness field hockey qualifies NEPSAC tourney
HOLDERNESS — The Holderness School field hockey team has been named the No. 3 seed in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference postseason championship tournament. Holderness will play the sixth-seeded Dana Hall School of Wellesley, Mass. at 2:15 p.m. at Holderness.
Holderness ended the regular season with a record of 10-4, and is making its 18th straight appearance in the postseason tournament, a NEPSAC record that stretches back to 1992. During that time Holderness has won four New England championships and been a finalist eight times.
"This year's squad doesn't have a star, per se, but has many talented players who have learned to trust each other on and off the field," says coach Doonie Brewer. "Team dynamics have played a major role in our success. As always, the fan support, both home and away, has been a terrific source of motivation for the girls as well."
