Vermont
Vote now for Vermont Varsity Insider Athletes of the Week: Ballots for May 20-26
Welcome to the sixth installment of the 2024 spring season for the Vermont Varsity Insider Athletes of the Week voting by high school sports fans.
This week, and every week during the sports seasons, members of the public may vote for a top girls athlete and a top boys athlete.
Varsity Insider Athletes of the week: Winners for the 2023-24 school year
How do I cast my vote?
All voting is through the two ballots at burlingtonfreepress.com. We will not accept votes through email or through social media.
Voting began May 27, and continues through 11:59 p.m. Thursday.
How do we learn who wins?
The two winners will be announced in a story published at burlingtonfreepress.com on Friday.
How can I nominate an athlete?
We accept nominations via email: sports@burlingtonfreepress.com (Subject Line: Athletes of the Week nomination).
Girls Athlete of the Week nominees
More on this week’s candidates:
Madison Beaudoin, U-32 track and field: The junior raced to first place in the 800-meter run with a personal-best time of 2:17:11 at the Essex Invitational, which serves as Vermont’s qualifying meet for the New England championships. Beaudoin was also on the victorious 4×400 relay squad for U-32.
Alayna Havreluk, Rice softball: After hurling a two-hit shutout with an earned run and nine strikeouts to beat Milton 12-1, Havreluk popped a grand slam for the momentum-swinging play in a 9-5 decision over the Yellowjackets.
Jazmyn Hurley, Middlebury track and field: The junior dropped a pair of PRs in sweeping the 200 (25.50) and 400 (58.12) at the Essex Invitational.
Bea Molson, Mount Mansfield tennis: The 2022 individual singles tate champion posted a trio of victories at No. 1 singles last week. The junior won a pro set vs. Essex, a three-set tiebreaker vs. South Burlington and a retire in the second set vs. Colchester.
Grace Thompson, Champlain Valley Ultimate: Thompson totaled three goals and five assists in a 15-5 win over South Burlington. Then in a 13-3 victory over Montpelier, Thompson tallied three goals and six assists.
Boys Athlete of the Week nominees
More on this week’s candidates:
Matt Chamberlain, Burlington baseball: After quieting St. Johnsbury bats with seven-hit shutout that included six Ks in a 1-0 victory Friday, Chamberlain played hero again the next day, with a two-run double in the 10th for a 6-4 win at Rice.
Adam Coburn, Colchester lacrosse: In a 2-1 week, Coburn was Colchester’s top scorer in both of the wins, collecting a goal and two assists in a 5-4 decision over Milton and recording a five-goal, one-assist game in a 16-4 victory over Spaulding.
Walker Forand, Mount Abraham/Vergennes lacrosse: The goalie came up with 10 saves, including a big stop in overtime, as Mount Abraham/Vergennes outlasted BFA-Fairfax 8-7 in two OTs.
Aidan Lybarger, South Burlington track and field: On his final throw, the senior broke the meet record in discus (173-10.25) for the first-place medal at the Essex Invitational. Lybarger also placed third in shot put with another PR of 49-10.5.
Andrew Thornton-Sherman, St. Johnsbury track and field: The junior shattered his own overall state record in the 800 (1:51.82) to win over an impressive field that included five other runners dipping below 2:00. Thornton-Sherman then capped his day on the winning 4×400 relay squad that also reset the state and meet marks (3:24.58).
BOLTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A wrong-way driver was safely stopped on Interstate 89 overnight Sunday.
Vermont State Police say just before 12:30 a.m., they stopped the car near marker 77, near Bolton.
The driver, Denise Lear, 60, of Revere, was charged with driving under the influence and gross negligent operation.
Lear is expected in court Monday.
Copyright 2026 WCAX. All rights reserved.
Score: UAlbany 4, Vermont 14
Location: Virtue Field | Burlington, Vt.
Records: UAlbany (10-5, 5-1 America East) | Vermont (8-6, 4-1 America East)
Short Story: UAlbany women’s lacrosse fell to the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday afternoon.
Key Stats
- Grace Cincebox recorded a total of 14 saves with 13 goals allowed for a .565 save percentage.
- Ravan Marsell led the Great Danes with two points on one goal and one assist.
- Four different UAlbany players scored in the contest.
- Reggie Williams was the team’s leader with three ground balls.
- Delilah Mile caused a team high three turnovers.
How It Happened
- The Catamounts came out of the gates hard and heavy, scoring all three goals between both sides in the first quarter.
- Vermont would take an 8-0 lead in the second quarter before Amanda Williamson found the back of the net on a women-down goal to put the Great Danes on the board and make it 8-1.
- The Great Danes would allow one more goal in the first half to trail 9-1 after 30-minutes of play.
- Grace Cincebox would enter the half with 10 saves.
- Riley Forthofer started the Great Danes off in the second half to make it a 9-2 game, before Vermont put up three more goals to take a 12-2 lead entering the final quarter of play.
- Mya Carroll and Ravan Marsell both scored on back-to-back free-position goals to make it a 12-4 game.
- The Catamounts finished the game with two more goals to take the win 14-4.
Up Next
The Great Danes will next have a bye week and wait to see the outcome of next week’s Vermont vs UMass Lowell game to see who will host the America East Tournament.
Social Central: Stay up to date with UAlbany women’s lacrosse by following the team on Instagram (@UAlbanyWLax), Facebook (UAlbany Women’s Lacrosse), and X (@UAlbanyWLax) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.
Is creativity the missing key to better health?
Research suggests creative activities like art, music and crafts may benefit mental health as much as other key health habits.
Here’s another reason Vermont is the best New England state: It’s home to one of the top 5 happiest cities in the United States.
Plus, it has another within the top 15.
Massachusetts, on the other hand, doesn’t even break the top 50. Nor, does Connecticut or Rhode Island.
The personal finance website analyzed 182 of the largest cities in the country, and ranked Boston 63rd overall. Although the city is home to some of the nation’s top universities, high-ranking hospitals, and well-regarded companies, it didn’t break the top 50.
To get the rankings, WalletHub compared the cities using 29 metrics, including life-satisfaction index, depression rate, poverty rate, job security, and acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, and cities were assigned an overall happiness score.
Here’s a look at how the cities ranked.
South Burlington is No. 4 happiest city, Burlington is No. 11
South Burlington came on top for Vermont in WalletHub’s list of the happiest cities in the United States, ranking at No. 4. In scored very high for emotional and physical well-being coming in at the No. 4 spot, which made up for coming in No. 48 for community and environment. It was No. 9 for income and employment ranking. That gave it a total happiness of score of 70.15
Burlington wasn’t far behind at all, taking the No. 11 spot on the list and a happiness score of 67.54. It’s highest score was for income and employment ranking where it came second. It ranked No. 13 for community and environment and No. 21 for emotional and physical well-being.
Happiest cities in the US, per WalletHub
Here are the 25 happiest cities in the U.S., and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:
- Fremont, California – 74.09
- Bismarck, North Dakota – 73.11
- Scottsdale, Arizona – 71.36
- South Burlington, Vermont – 70.15
- Fargo, North Dakota – 69.36
- Overland Park, Kansas – 68.45
- Charleston, South Carolina – 68.44
- Irvine, California – 67.99
- Gilbert, Arizona – 67.96
- San Jose, California – 67.79
- Burlington, Vermont – 67.54
- Madison, Wisconsin – 66.35
- Columbia, Maryland – 66.28
- Chandler, Arizona – 65.69
- Seattle, Washington – 65.62
- Plano, Texas – 65.34
- San Francisco, California – 64.99
- Lincoln, Nebraska – 64.90
- Portland, Maine – 64.59
- Tempe, Arizona – 64.30
- San Diego, California – 64.30
- Raleigh, North Carolina – 63.47
- Peoria, Arizona – 63.38
- Durham, North Carolina – 62.84
- Huntington Beach, California – 62.80
Least happy cities in the US, per WalletHub
Here are the 25 least happy cities in the U.S., and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:
- Detroit, Michigan (#182 overall) – 29.55
- Memphis, Tennessee (#181 overall) – 34.39
- Shreveport, Louisiana (#180 overall) – 34.93
- Cleveland, Ohio (#179 overall) – 36.50
- Huntington, West Virginia (#178 overall) – 37.20
- Toledo, Ohio (#177 overall) – 37.21
- Augusta, Georgia (#176 overall) – 38.24
- Fort Smith, Arkansas (#175 overall) – 38.66
- Dover, Delaware (#174 overall) – 39.08
- Akron, Ohio (#173 overall) – 40.11
- Baltimore, Maryland (#172 overall) – 40.28
- Birmingham, Alabama (#171 overall) – 40.37
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana (#170 overall) – 40.47
- Columbus, Georgia (#169 overall) – 40.61
- Montgomery, Alabama (#168 overall) – 41.35
- Gulfport, Mississippi (#167 overall) – 41.65
- Charleston, West Virginia (#166 overall) – 42.18
- Jackson, Mississippi (#165 overall) – 42.60
- St. Louis, Missouri (#164 overall) – 43.53
- Knoxville, Tennessee (#163 overall) – 44.04
- Wilmington, Delaware (#162 overall) – 44.34
- Little Rock, Arkansas (#161 overall) – 44.48
- Mobile, Alabama (#160 overall) – 44.85
- New Orleans, Louisiana (#159 overall) – 45.19
- Tulsa, Oklahoma (#158 overall) – 45.33
Where New England cities ranked
Here are the 12 happiest cities in New England, and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:
- South Burlington, Vermont (#6 overall) – 70.15
- Burlington, Vermont (#11 overall) – 67.54
- Portland, Maine (#19 overall) – 64.59
- Nashua, New Hampshire (#27 overall) – 62.49
- Manchester, New Hampshire (#51 overall) – 59.10
- Boston, Massachusetts (#63 overall) – 56.88
- Warwick, Rhode Island (#66 overall) – 56.59
- New Haven, Connecticut (#95 overall) – 54.14
- Bridgeport, Connecticut (#96 overall) – 54.01
- Providence, Rhode Island (#98 overall) – 53.52
- Worcester, Massachusetts (#116 overall) – 50.12
- Lewiston, Maine (#145 overall) – 47.28
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