Vermont

Pickleball picks up in Vermont

Published

2 years ago

February 28, 2024

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The sport of pickleball is a cross between volleyball, badminton, table tennis, and traditional tennis.

It’s a four-player game where each double takes turns serving to try to win points. It’s a fun, social activity sweeping the nation, with a lot of buzz in Vermont.

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the United States, and now there is a designated indoor space in Vermont for people to come and play with their friends and meet new people along the way.

“You can jump right in and have a good time, so shout out to the social element of pickleball,” said Winooski resident Dana Howe.

“People are just so willing to help too if you’re a beginner. It’s been really nice to connect different friends,” said Burlington resident Sarah Mahon.

Family-owned Catamount Pickleball in South Burlington grew from the pandemic when co-founder Justin Schaaf fell in love with the sport while playing with his family and continued playing in college. “Every chance that I had, I came back home and spoke about pickleball with my family,” said Schaaf.

He says there wasn’t a day where he didn’t talk about pickleball.

“I would try to find courts on every vacation I went on, I would be playing three to five times a week, even while studying engineering, so pickleball has become a part of me that I can confidently say it’s never going away,” said Schaaf.

Schaaf ended up playing the sport at a high level in college and eventually became a coach. His family says watching him inspired them to find a way to bring his love for the sport to Vermont.

“We began to realize that there weren’t enough indoor courts in Northern Vermont, so we decided to band together and take on this project and bring something that the community can really enjoy,” said Richard Schaaf, Justin’s father.

It’s been a little less than two weeks since Catamount Pickleball’s open house, and Richard says it’s already drawn a lot of community interest. “It’s been really tremendous and overwhelming. Everyone has been very appreciative and complementary of the features of the facility, and it’s been really great so far and we’ve been really pleased with how it’s turned out and how everyone is just so happy to be here,” he said.

The courts are open every day from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. with the opportunity to play as teams, free play, or take classes if you’ve never picked up a racket.

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Vermont

40th Rotary All Star Classic features shootout to determine senior game

Published

10 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

40th Rotary All Star Classic features shootout to determine senior game

A shootout to determine a high-scoring girls game highlighted the 40th Rotary All Star Classic featuring the state’s top high school senior hockey players at Essex Skating Facility on Saturday, March 21.

Chittenden Charge’s Hadia Ahmed scored the lone goal in the shootout, leading the Harris girls to a 7-6 victory over the Austin squad. In the nightcap, the Austin boys staked to a 3-0 lead in the second period on their way to a 4-2 triumph over Harris.

Ahmed was named team MVP for the Harris girls. Gabrielle Griffith was selected the MVP for the Austin girls. On the boys side, South Burlington’s Christian Butler and Rice’s Colton Riberia were their team MVPs for Austin and Harris, respectively.

Game details from Saturday’s doubleheader are below. Scroll down below the hockey results for details on the VBCA senior games.

Girls game: Harris 7, Austin 6 (shootout)

Harris: Hadia Ahmed 3G, 2A. Gabbie Fraties 2G, 1A. Gracie Lunt 1G. Grace Raleigh 2A. Jillian Smith 1A. Marley Clark 8 saves, Dahlia Steele 10 saves.

Austin: Gabrielle Griffith 2G, 1A. Alexis Moody 2G. Jackie Henderson 1G. Lillianna Fournier 1G, 1A. Alexis Audsley 1A. Morgan Rivard 1A. Lucia Minadeo 1A. Ella McAllister 15 saves.

Note: Austin took a 4-3 lead into the second period. Fraties and Ahmed had second-period tallies for Harris and Austin’s Moody also scored for a 5-all game entering the third. Harris’ Lunt and Austin’s Henderson traded third-period goals to forge overtime. After a scoreless extra period, Ahmed had the lone goal in the shootout.

Boys game: Austin 4, Harris 2

Austin: Christian Butler 2G, 1A. Eli Herrington 1G, 1A. Garret Carter 1G. Milo Lavit 1A. Gavin Benoit 1A. Brady Jones 1A. Tommy Barnes 8 saves, Alex McCabe 5 saves, Ryan Philbrook 10 saves.

Harris: Colton Ribera 2G. Chais Lyford 1A. Drew Laprade 1A. Ethan Fortin 6 saves, TJ Baron 5 saves, Dominic Palazzo 6 saves.

Note: Butler, Carter and Herrington gave Austin a 3-0 lead into the second period.

North sweeps South at VBCA senior showcase at Windsor

The state’s top boys and girls basketball seniors convened at Windsor High School for the long-running Vermont Basketball Coaches Association all-star event on Saturday, March 21. Among the all-day festivities, the North claimed all four games vs. the South, while year-end awards were handed out, including a lifetime achievement honor for Dave Fredrickson, the VBCA’s former executive director and Mount Anthony boys basketball coach.

The North now leads the all-time series 63-33.

For stats from Saturday’s game courtesy of the Rutland Herald, see below:

D-III/IV girls: North 46, South 42

North: Lynsey Lavely 7 points.

South: Hayley Raiche 10 points. Natalie Perry 7 points. Braylee Phelps 7 points.

D-III-IV boys: North 90, South 83

North: Jack Lafayette 14 points. Nick Mascitti 13 points. Sebastian Eldred 13 points). Tej Stewart 12 points.

South: Jayden Huntoon 14 points. Brody McGaffigan 8 points. Ryker Mosehauer 8 points. Chase Razanouski 8 points.

D-I/II girls: North 76, South 66

North: Zoey McNabb 15 points. Addie Nelson 12 points. Alyssa Small 11 points. Marlie Bushey 10 points.

South: Charlotte Jasmin 18 points. Reese Croutworst 11 points, 12 rebounds, 6 steals. Bayleigh Clark 8 points.

D-I/II boys: North 82, South 66

North: Vinny Wagoner 12 points. Byron Robertson, Jr. 11 points. Oli Avdibegovic 11 points. Paul Comba 10 points. Colby Hall 9 points.

South: Noah Jenks 14 points. Ryan Murphy 14 points. Kole Fotion 8 points. Cooke Riney 8 points.

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.

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Vermont

Louisville Advances Over Vermont 72-52

Published

22 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

At the end of the first half the score was 32-28 in Louisville’s favor. Two players on Vermont’s team, Keira Hanson and Nikola Priede, combined for 24 of those 28 points. In the third quarter the Cards held those two players to a total of 6 points. There’s your ballgame.

Mackenly Randolph did it all for the Cards today. She had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists. After the game she said, “I feel very comfortable. It’s March and tournament. It’s my favorite time of the year. I’m just glad we pulled out this win. And my team, we played really good.” Laura Ziegler had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Imari Berry had 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Coach Walz credited the defense for the win. “I thought eventually it wore them down some. And like I said, in the first half we got the lead to 9, I think, at one point in time, and just couldn’t put the put-way punch or however you want to say it. You’ve got to credit them because they made the shots when they needed to when we got some momentum going.”

Tajianna Roberts said, “We’re a great offensive team. Like, we can score anytime. But our biggest thing is we have to figure out how to come up with stops. I think in certain games, we’re scoring the ball, but we’re just going back and forth. Us as a Louisville team, we have to figure out how we can get a stop. I think that’s just the intentionality and the focus that we have been working on.”

Coach Walz praised Mackenly’s play: “She’s as good as there is being able to use her body. You kind of call it bully ball. She likes to put her shoulder down and will create some contact and does a really nice job of it. And then she finishes. She had six offensive rebounds in the game. I think three of them were her own on that one shot. But she ended up with a double-double, but she’s always around the ball. It’s not like she’s out-jumping everybody.”

He said, “It’s just one game at a time. You’re trying to make sure that they understand the importance and the honor to play in this tournament. Not everybody gets to do it. And when you get the opportunity, don’t take it for granted. That’s really what we’re trying to make sure we show our kids. And I was proud.”

Louisville will take on the winner of Alabama/Rhode Island on Monday.

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