Craftsbury Academy Athletics
CRAFTSBURY – Craftsbury Academy (CA) will be introducing a new athletic director this fall in Connor Bean and he has already filled the head coaching vacancies for the upcoming soccer season. Patrick Houle will replace Tom Silva as the CA girls’ varsity coach. He’ll take over a young roster that lost four seniors to graduation and pushed a higher seeded Arlington team to the brink in the first round of the Division IV playoffs last fall. William Garske was hired to lead the CA boys’ soccer program after first year head coach Sam Jay relocated to New Orleans and continues to coach soccer at Isidore Newman High School. Jay took over a winless team that scored only one goal the entire 2020 season and won three games in the highly competitive Mountain League last fall. Garske will have a talented young squad to work with, but will have to find a way to plug the hole left by the graduation of star goalkeeper Jas Zendik.
Dustan Field has come a long way in a little over a year and the current and future athletes at CA are the benefactors. Through a lot of community support and hard work, a new softball and baseball field was unveiled in the late spring of 2021. Ashley Gravel’s CA varsity softball team took full advantage of their new venue by hosting and winning their first Division IV playoff game in nearly two decades this past spring. The baseball field has been on full display this month as it hosted the District IV Little League Championship in the 8- to 10-year-old division. Central Vermont beat St. Johnsbury to claim the title. Newly hired athletic director Connor Bean hopes to bring back varsity baseball to CA soon and exposure to the sport like this throughout the community can only help his cause.
Richards’ Brothers Finish Second
CRANSTON, R.I. – University of Rhode Island senior star golfer Bryson Richards was runner-up by a single shot last week at the New England Amateur. Richards (-7) fired a 68 in the final round, but couldn’t quite catch Rutland Country Club’s Jared Nelson (-8), who also captured the Vermont State-Am title earlier this month at Brattleboro Country Club.
Younger brother Riley also secured a runner-up finish at the Vermont Golf Association (VGA) Junior Tour Match Play Championship at Kwiniaska Golf Club in Shelburne last week. Richards upset the No. 2 seed to reach the final, but fell 3 and 1 to top seeded Charlie Davis of Ekwanok C.C. Richards intends to play for Franklin Pierce University this coming fall. Both Bryson and Riley are the sons of former Craftsbury Academy three-sport standout Pete Richards.
