VT HS Season Wrap-Up
Maine wasn’t the only state that saw two bitter rivals battle it out for the top prize in their state association.
In Vermont, Burlington got the better half of crosstown rival Rice Memorial 37-29 in front of a sold out Patrick Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Vermont.
Senior Josh Hale was the hero for the champions, score 4 of his 11 points down the stretch of a defensive battle to win the 21st state championship in Burlington’s history and also earning some retribution after falling in last year’s final to Rice, who had won three straight.
Aiding Hale were fellow senior Asmin Mostarlic, who had 7 points and 10 rebounds, and 8 more points from Kevin Garrison.
Gatorade Player of the Year, Ben Shungu, led Rice with 13 points and finishes his high school career with three state championships to his name.
Burlington finished the season with a record of 23-1 and as the top ranked team in the Burlington Free Press while Rice is 20-4 and second in the poll.
News Channel 5 had highlights from the state championship game.
Rutland and Mount Anthony both finished the season at 19-4, falling in the semifinals of the Division I tournament to Rice and Burlington respectively, finished at 3 and 4 in the final state poll.
Lyndon, which finished the season 18-6 and 6th in the statewide poll, won the Division II state championship with a 56-37 effort over Woodstock. Senior forward Luka Grubic led the way for Lyndon with 20 points and 9 rebounds while Jacky Lau added 11. Caleb Webb scored a team high 13 for a Woodstock team that was consistently frustrated by Lyndon's defense throughout the game.
Hazen won the Division III state championship with a 63-43 win over Williamstown. Senior guard Kevin Doyon scored a career high 21 points while junior guard Denis LeCours added 16. Williamstown was led by 13 points from Ben Bristow. Hazen finished the season with a record of 22-2 and 7th overall in the state poll while Williamstown was 21-3 and 9th overall in the state.
Proctor defeated Twinfield 32-30 to win the Division IV state championship.
Following the saeson the Vermont Basketball Coaches Association announced various award winners.
Division I and II senior all-stars included: Jed Morris, CVU; Anthony Park, Colchester; Cole Lavoie, Harwood; Nyahm Ali Levin, MMU; Nikola Veljic, Lyndon; Evan Slayton, Lamoille; Eric Menard, Milton; Luke Grubic, Lyndon; J.T. Blanchard, Spaulding; Jackson McCoy, U-32; Josh Hale, Burlington; Matt Allen, Spaulding; Ben Shungu, Rice; Asko Mostarlic, Burlington; Colin Myric, North Country; Lucas Czarnecki, Fair Haven; Hunter McDonough, Woodstock; Kyle Graves, Montpelier; Collin Eugair, Otter Valley; Dylan McDonough, Woodstock; Dylan DeJordy, Brattleboro; Curran MacDonald, Woodstock; Dylan Shelvey, Mill River; Barryn Shark, MSJ; Tyler Champagne, Mt. Anthony; Damon Burgess, Mt. Anthony; Bryce Landon, Hartford; Jonas Parker, Mt. Anthony; and Josh Hanson, Brattleboro.
Division III and IV senio all-stars included: Coleton Lowra Bump, Danville; Matt Page, Blue Mountain; Sean Callahan, Winooski; Matt Codling, Twinfield; Hayden Tomlinson, Oxbow; Binny Singh, BFA-Fairfax; Mark Puffer, Blue Mountain; Levi West, Randolph; Jibril Abduhlahi, Winooski; Nathan Gray, Randolph; Ben Wardwell, Rochester; Kevin Doyon, Hazen; Zach Baker, Randolph; Issac Spaulding, Craftsbury; Trent Bathalon, Lake Region; D.J. Stone, Williamstown; Nick Swane, Proctor; Cooper McCoy, Green Mountain; Jay Knoerlein, Sharon Academy; Jake Kinnarney, S. Royalton; Justin Hicks, Twin Valley; Jason Premont, Williamstown; Josh Moore, Windsor; Curtis Tomlinson, Proctor; Nick Kipuscunski, Windsor; D.J. Lazelle, Twin Valley; Mike Bradley, Windsor; William Wittke, S. Royalton; Zack Gray, Rivendell.
The Division I and II Dream Dozen for outstanding underclassmen included: Mike Morgan, Mill River; Nathaniel Kingsley, Rutland; Kevin Garrison, Burlington; Walker Storey, CVU; Elliot Nelson, Rice; Kyle Cassarino, Rutland; Darren Brown, Fair Haven; Shiv Seethepalli, Harwood; Lucas Baron, Harwood; Calvin Carter, Enosburg; Chris Nulty, Hartford and Carter Vickers, Burr & Burton.
The Division III and IV Dream Dozen for outstanding underclassmen included: Brandon Carrier, Williamstown; Riley Urie, Lake Region; Eddy Lamson, Winooski; Austin Masi, Craftsbury; Denis Lecours, Hazen; Nicholas Howe, So. Royalton; Skyler Boyd, Twin Valley; Nick Ojala, Proctor; Jordan Moore, Twinfield; Jake Gilcis, Hazen; Owen Pelletier, Rivendell and Ben Emerson, Oxbow.