Young Writers Project is a creative, online community of teen writers and visual artists that started in Burlington in 2006. Each week, VTDigger publishes the writing and art of young Vermonters who post their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for youth, ages 13-19. To find out more, please go to youngwritersproject.org or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at sreid@youngwritersproject.org; (802) 324-9538.

California may have its scenic coastlines, New York its metropolitan hubs and Utah its stunning rock formations… but if you put it to any Vermonter, they’ll likely tell you all other states pale in comparison. You need only look around you at the autumn leaves aflame, the white-tipped mountains whizzing with skiers, and the small, close-knit neighborhoods that scaffold our lives to understand just how precious our humble realm is. This week’s featured poet, Sela Morgenstein Fuerst of South Burlington, celebrates the composition of our beloved lands and communities in response to the Tomorrow Project, a new civic engagement initiative at YWP aiming to empower the social and political voices of our future.

My true home, Vermont

Sela Morgenstein Fuerst, 11, South Burlington

Being a Vermonter is spending six months of the year wearing a jacket.

Being a Vermonter is running outside in nothing but leggings and a sweater, thinking it’s springtime when it hits 47 degrees.

Being a Vermonter is lying flat on your back in 15 inches of snow, watching the thick flakes tumble down from the sky.

Being a Vermonter is being shocked at the size of all other cities.

Being a Vermonter is knowing three out of seven people you pass on the street.

Being a Vermonter is playing on the University of Vermont Green as a preschooler, already toddling around in a snowsuit.

Being a Vermonter is biking miles and miles with your best friends every weekend, splashing through puddles as the lilacs in your neighborhood bloom.

Being a Vermonter is hiking Camel’s Hump and Mount Philo, and being so used to the Adirondacks in the distance that you forget to take pictures.

Being a Vermonter is going to a stadium and realizing it seats more people than live in Burlington.

Being a Vermonter is baking brownies and crunching through the snow to give them to your neighbors.

Being a Vermonter is reading the newspaper and joining webinars with Becca Balint at school; it’s marching in the Pride Parade while the wind rips through Church Street.

Being a Vermonter is figuring out how to protect Vermont while Vermont figures out how to protect you.

Being a Vermonter is staying at sleepaway Camp Hochelaga, the stars there tinged with sunscreen and waves.

Being a Vermonter is swimming in Lake Champlain every summer, darting through the emerald swathes of pine trees on your best friend’s motorboat.

Being a Vermonter is having to drive to Plattsburgh to go to a decent department store.

Being a Vermonter is not knowing a life without an autumn filled with fire.

Being a Vermonter is shouting the words to “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan out the bus windows as the brown and gray world disappears along the highway.

Being a Vermonter is flying anywhere warmer than here over February break.

Being a Vermonter is still believing in Champ.

Being a Vermonter is so much more than muddy springs and bonfire falls and freezing lakes that feel better than the ocean. 

Being a Vermonter is community and love and beauty all 365 days of the year. 

Being a Vermonter is poetry and nonfiction all in one. 

Being a Vermonter… well, you’re a Vermonter, aren’t you?

Why don’t you tell me.

After leading their teams to state championships earlier this month, West Rutland’s Peyton Guay and Burlington’s Abdi Sharif collected more hardware on Saturday: the Vermont Basketball Coaches Association players of the year honors.

Guay was named the top girls player for the second time in three seasons, while Sharif was recognized as the state’s best on the boys side during the day-long celebration of hoops highlighted by four senior all-star games at Windsor High School.

Guay, who set the state’s all-time girls scoring record (2,279 points) this winter, helped West Rutland to a fourth straight Division IV title. Sharif was the leading scorer on a Burlington team that captured the program’s first D-I crown since 2016.

Coaches who are members of VBCA are allowed to vote on the POYs.

More: Senior rosters, coach honors: What to know for Saturday’s VBCA all-star event at Windsor

During Saturday’s competition, the North and South split the four games. The North now leads the all-time series 59-33.

The results:

Division III-IV girls: North 56, South 47

BFA-Fairfax’s Abba Villeneuve (10 points), Windsor’s Sophia Rockwood (nine) and Twinfield/Cabot’s Kendall Fowler (eight) powered the North, which pulled away from a three-point halftime lead.

For the South, West Rutland’s Bella Coobs scored nine points and Oxbow’s Maggi Elsworth tossed in seven.

Windsor’s Rockwood won the 3-point contest with a record-tying 18 3-pointers in a minute.

Division III-IV boys: South 82, North 81

Windsor’s Tanner Crane and White River Valley’s Zander Clark each scored 13 points and White River Valley’s Brayden Russ struck for a dozen points as the South built a big lead before holding off a North comeback bid.

Hazen’s Brendan Moodie (23 points) led the rally attempt from a 14-point deficit. Danville’s Andrew Joncas scored 11 points, Williamstown Evan Bailey added nine and Thetford’s Dylan Vance and Richford’s Jerrick Jacobs each had eight.

White River Valley’s Wyatt Cadwell won the 3-point contest on a tiebreaker.

Division I-II girls: South 65, North 62

In a tight finish, Fair Haven’s Izzy Cole sealed the win with a pair of game-sealing foul shots. Spaulding’s Taylor Keel led the winners with 14 points, followed by Mount Abraham’s Louisa Painter with eight points and Springfield’s Macie Stagner with seven.

For the North, Burlington’s Nylah Mitchell scored nine of her team-high 12 points in the second half. Mount Mansfield’s Bella Schultz-Mitchell scored seven.

Mount Anthony’s Madi Moore was the 3-point contest winner, matching Rockwood’s record 18 3s.

Division I-II boys: North 106, South 86

Burlington’s Abdi Sharif scored 17 points and Mount Mansfield’s Tommy Brockmeyer scored 14 as the North outlasted the South in a shootout.

St. Johnsbury’s Rex Hauser scored 13 points and Rice’s Dallas St. Peter put up 11 points.

On the South side, Rutland’s Dez Krakowka totaled 17 points and Montpelier teammates Atif Milak (14) and Carter Bruzzese (13) also reached double figures.

St. Peter captured the 3-point contest with 21 treys from distance.

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

The 15th-seeded Vermont women’s basketball team officially returns to March Madness today in a first-round NCAA Tournament matchup vs No. 2 North Carolina State.

The Catamounts (21-12), who captured the America East Conference championship last week, are making their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three seasons and eighth in program history.

But they have a tough assignment in today’s 2 p.m. tip-off at Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina: The Wolfpack (26-6) are ranked ninth in the Associated Press top-25 poll and are coming off a run to last year’s Final Four.

Watch Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State on Fubo

NC State is also undefeated (16-0) at home this season.

For live updates and how to watch, see below.

What channel is Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State on today? Where to watch, stream live?

Vermont women’s basketball will tip off vs NC State on ESPN. Streaming options include the NCAA March Madness Live app and Fubo, which offers a free trial.

Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State start time, TV channel, location

• Start time: 2 p.m. ET
• TV info: ESPN
• Location: Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State odds, betting line, spread

Odds according to BetMGM.

• Spread: -20.5
• Over/under: 124.5
• Moneyline: +1900

Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State prediction, game picks

NC State 70, Vermont 52: The Catamounts’ highly ranked defense won’t be enough to slow the Wolfpack’s high-scoring group of guards.

Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State stats

VERMONT

• PPG: 61.1
• PPG allowed: 52.2
• FG% 46.4
• 3PT%: 33.7

NC STATE

• PPG: 76.8
• PPG allowed: 65.4
• FG% 44.9
• 3PT%: 32.9

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