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B Section
THURSDAY, Â AUGUST Â 25, Â 2016
ANDY KIRKALDY
A  selective  and  subjective  sample of  Rio  memories First,  let  me  say  the  persistent  cor- ruption  and  hypocrisy  of  International  Olympic  Committee  members  in- creasingly  has  dampened  my  enthusi- asm  for  the  Olympics.  It’s  time  to  throw  out  the  IOC  bums,  establish  one  or  two  sites  each  for  the  summer  and  winter  games,  and  call  it  a  day. But  the  athletes  themselves  range  from  great  to  transcendent.  Once  they  start  competing  —  as  long  as  it  isn’t  in  synchronized  swimming,  rhythmic  gymnastics  or  modern  pentathlon  —  the  Olympics  remain  compelling. Leaving  IOC  issues  for  another  day,  some  of  what  I  saw  from  Rio  made  lasting  impressions. I  didn’t  make  a  point  of  watching  every  day  and  night  and  missed  a  lot  —  I  saw  little  of  the  amazing  Katie  Ledecky,  not  as  PXFK ÂżHOG KRFN- ey  as  I  wanted,  no  boxing  (judg- ing  scandals,  who  would  have  guessed?),  not  much  water  polo  (who  knew  Mon- tenegro  were  ring- ers?),  and  no  weightlifting,  diving,  fencing  or  judo  (but  was  happy  to  read  about  Kayla  Harrison). Here’s  what  I  saw  that  stayed  with  me:  ‡ 7KH VLQJOH PRVW HOHFWULI\LQJ PR- ment  I  saw  came  in  the  home  stretch  of  the  men’s  400-Âmeter  race.  South  African  Wayde  Van  Niekerk  not  only  smoked  the  two  previous  Olympic  champions,  but  posted  a  time  —  43.03  —  that  shattered  American  Michael  Johnson’s  world  record,  set  two  de- cades  before  in  Atlanta,  an  eternity  in  track  years. Usain  Bolt  and  other  Jamaican  team  members  were  just  coming  out  of  the  tunnel  into  the  stadium  for  the  men’s  100  and  saw  that  time  and  stopped  dead  in  their  tracks,  awestruck. Still,  Van  Niekerk  didn’t  match  Johnson’s  1996  feat  of  winning  both  the  200  and  400  in  world  record  time.  Bolt  broke  Johnson’s  200  record  in  2008,  but  Johnson  remains  a  towering  ¿JXUH LQ WUDFN DQG ÂżHOG KLVWRU\ ‡ .HUUL :DOVK -HQQLQJV LV DQ DPD]- ing  athlete  and  all-Âaround  volleyball  SOD\HU QRW MXVW D ÂżQLVKHU DW WKH QHW , was  convinced  she  and  new  partner  (See  Kirkaldy,  Page  3B)
SPORTS
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Kamman  completes  trek  of  a  lifetime Lincoln  man  takes  on  Appalachian  Trail By  GAEN  MURPHREE LINCOLN  —  On  March  2,  at  Springer  Mountain,  Ga.,  Alan  Kam- PDQ WRRN WKH ÂżUVW VWHS RI D mile  journey. Along  the  way,  the  Lincoln  resi- dent  and  Mount  Abraham  Union  High  School  guidance  counselor  busted  through  four  pairs  of  hiking  shoes,  camped  in  snow,  endured  heat  and  rain,  hiked  through  injuries  and  IXOÂżOOHG D SURPLVH KHÂśG PDGH WR KLP- self  41  years  ago  —  to  through-Âhike  the  Appalachian  Trail. Kamman  completed  his   nearly  ¿YH PRQWK RG\VVH\ RQ -XO\ DWRS Maine’s  Mount  Katahdin. “I have “I  have  want- wanted to ed  to  hike  the  hike the A p p a l a c h i a n  Appalachian trail  since  I  was  trail since thirteen,â€?  said  Kamman. I was thirHis  love  of  teen.â€? — Alan hiking  devel- Kamman oped  as  Kam- man  grew  up,  mostly  in  the  suburbs  of  Boston.  His  father  loved  to  hike  and  sent  him  to  summer  camps  to  learn  wilderness  and  back- packing  skills.  “We  would  do  backpacking  trips.  7KH ÂżUVW VXPPHU ZDV KDUG 7KH VHF- ond  summer  was  better.  But  I  kind  of  liked  the  backpacking  thing,â€?  he  recalled. At  the  age  of  13,  he  read  a  certain  book,  and  the  hook  was  set. “The  Rodale  Press  back  in  the  early  1970s  issued  a  two-Âvolume  set  called  ‘Hiking  the  Appalachian  Trail,’  and  it  was  early  stories  of  people  that  had  done  it  in  the  ’60s  and  ’70s,â€?  said  Kamman.  “It  was  2,000  pages  long,  and  I  read  it  cover  to  cover  —  twice.â€? With  a  teen’s  enthusiasm,  Kamman  ¿JXUHG KH ZRXOG KLNH WKH WUDLO E\ WKH WLPH KHÂśG ÂżQLVKHG FROOHJH %XW OLIH intervened. “I  was  going  to  do  this  before  I  graduated  college.  and  I  was  going  to  do  it  when  I  was  a  young  man.  And  then  things  sort  of  got  in  my  way,â€?  he  said.  “I  wound  up  getting  a  quote  ‘real  job,’  where  I  met  my  wife.  And  then  we  got  married  and  we  had  kids  and  so  all  that  stuff  —  life  —  got  in  my  way  of  hiking  the  Appalachian  Trail.â€? THE  TIME  COMES Fast-Âforward  the  better  part  of  three  decades  to  Mount  Abe  high  school, Â
a  perfect  5-Â0  record  in  match  play  in  the  tournament  at  the  Huntington  Horseshoe  Club  in  Huntington  on  Aug.  20-Â21.  She  threw  ringers  61.41  percent  of  the  time. Other  Sodbusters  winners  includ- ed  Dan  Atwood  in  the  Men’s  A  class,  Thomas  Paradee  in  Elder  A,  and  Da- kota  Santor  in  Cadet. Results  were  as  follows,  with  the Â
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Sports BRIEFS Laberge,  Kerrigan  claim  golf  crowns
MIDDLEBURY  —  Nicole  La- berge  and  Joan  Kerrigan  emerged  as  the  winners  on  Aug.  14,  when  Ralph  Myhre  Golf  Course  staged  its  Wom- an’s  Club  Championship. Laberge  carded  the  best  Low  Gross  score,  followed  by  Liza  Sa- cheli  in  second  place.  Joan Kerrigan  shot  Kerrigan the  best  Low  Net  shot the total,  with  Mary  Ann  Broughton  best Low Net total, the  runner-Âup.  Ralph  Myhre’s  with Men’s  Senior  Mary Ann and  Junior  Club  Broughton C h a m p i o n s h i p s  are  set  for  Sept.  3  the and  4.  Those  inter- runner-up. ested  in  compet- ing  may  sign  up  at  the  clubhouse  or  call  443-Â5125.  In  Bill  Davidson  Men’s  Golf  play  on  Aug.  18,  the  trio  of  Bob  Kirkpat- rick,  Joe  Bartlett  and  Doug  Biklen  WRRN ÂżUVW SODFH The  foursomes  of  Paul  Butt,  Eric  Bergland,  Jeff  Stetson  and  Matt  Biette,  and  Ed  Sommers,  Fred  Belanger,  Charlie  Grigg  and  Ric  :KHHOHU ÂżQLVKHG VHFRQG DQG WKLUG respectively.  Biklen  shot  the  day’s  low  net  score.  On  the  next  day  in  the  Friday  Night  Golf  Mixer,  the  quartet  of  Laura  Charron,  Jody  Charron,  Hei- di  Lanpher  and  Ed  Lanpher  pre- vailed.  Hannah  Brush,  Matt  Brush,  Sara  Troxell  and  Scott  Troxell  took  sec- ond  place,  with  the  foursome  of  Jim  Hadeka,  Deb  Hadeka,  Liz  An- ALAN  KAMMAN  OF  Lincoln  takes  a  moment  to  celebrate  the  completion  of  his  2,185  through-Âhike  of  the  GUHZV DQG %HUQLH $QGUHZV ÂżQLVK- ing  third.  Appalachian  Trail  on  July  24  atop  Maine’s  Mount  Katahdin. Courtesy  photo
where  Kamman  has  been  a  guidance  counselor  for  the  past  17  years.  Kamman’s  colleague  and  fel- low  guidance  counselor  Debbie  Van  Schaack  hiked  the  trail  in  2013.  Two  students  who’d  just  graduated  from  Mount  Abe  took  a  gap  year  and  hiked  the  trail.  Then  Kamman’s  nephew  hiked  1,500  miles  of  the  trail,  from  Springer  Mountain  to  Front  Royal,  Va.,  and  then  from  the  Vermont-ÂMas- sachusetts  border  to  Mount  Katahdin. “It  was  all  around  me.  It  was  what  I  wanted  to  do  my  whole  life,â€?  said Â
Brown  tosses  shoes  for  state  title HUNTINGTON  —  Debra  Brown  of  Bristol  won  the  Women’s  A  class  at  the  Vermont  State  Horseshoe  Pitching  Championships  this  past  weekend  and  posted  the  highest  per- centage  of  ringers  of  any  pitcher  at  the  meet. Brown,  a  former  national  champi- on  and  member  of  the  Bristol-Âbased  Sodbusters  Horseshoe  Club,  posted Â
ALSO IN THIS SECTION:
win-Âloss  record,  and  ringer  percent- age: CADET:  1.  Dakota  Santor,  4-Â0,  16.84%;Íž  2.  Tannor  Shedrick,  2-Â2,  7  %;Íž  3.  Maddie  Prim,  4-Â0,  3.68%. ELDER  A:  1.  Thomas  Paradee,  4-Â0,  54.27%;Íž  2.  Neil  Kennedy,  3-Â1,  43.60%;Íž  3.  Robert  Gordon,  2-Â2,  37.76%;Íž  4.  Brandyn  Lebarron,  (See  Sodbusters,  Page  2B)
Kamman.  “So  I  said  to  myself,  ‘If  you’re  going  to  do  this  you  better  do  this  because  you’re  going  to  get  to  a  point  where  maybe  you  can’t  do  it.’  So  I  made  a  commitment  to  myself  that  I  would  practice  that  summer.â€? .DPPDQ ÂżUVW KLNHG D WKUHH GD\ section  of  the  trail,  from  Killington  to  Hanover.  For  his  second  practice,  he  wanted  to  see  what  it  was  like  to  resupply  food  off  trail  and  get  back  on,  so  he  hiked  for  seven  days  across  Massachusetts.  “I  knew  I  didn’t  want  to  carry  sev-Â
en  days’  worth  of  food,  so  the  whole  idea  was  to  practice  how  that  would  JR 2Q WKH ÂżIWK GD\ LQ %DUULQJWRQ Mass.,  I  hitched  off  trail,  I  got  a  hotel  room,  I  washed  my  clothes,  I  spent  the  night  —  I  did  all  that  kind  of  through-Âhiker  stuff  —  I  went  across  the  street  to  the  grocery  store  and  bought  food  for  the  next  few  days,  I  ate  meals  in  a  restaurant  to  eat  real  food,  and  the  next  morning  I  hitched  back  to  the  trail  and  got  back  on.  And  WKDW ZHQW ÂżQH ´ (See  Kamman,  Page  2B)
Panther  graduates  compete  as  Summer  Olympic  Games  wrap  up RIO  DE  JANEIRO  —  Two  Middlebury  College  graduates  competed  in  the  Rio  de  Janeiro  Summer  Olympic  Games  on  this  past  Saturday.  Lea  Davison,  a  33-Âyear-Âold  JUDGXDWH ÂżQLVKHG VHYHQWK out  of  29  competitors  in  cross-Â
country  mountain  biking.  She  had  been  considered  a  potential  medal  contender,  but  settled  for  improv- LQJ RQ KHU WK SODFH ÂżQLVK LQ WKH 2012  London  Games.  Sarah  Groff  True,  34-Âyear-Âold  2004  Middlebury  graduate  from  (See  Panthers,  Page  3B)
$QQXDO 08+6 ÂżHOG hockey  clinic  set MIDDLEBURY  —  The  mem- bers  of  the  Middlebury  Union  High  6FKRRO ÂżHOG KRFNH\ WHDP IRUPHU player  Brooke  Jette  and  the  Middle- bury  Recreation  Department  are  of- fering  their  annual  clinic  to  elemen- tary  school  students  on  Mondays  this  fall. The  clinic,  for  students  in  second  through  sixth  grade,  will  run  at  the  high  school’s  Jette  Field  on  every  Monday  from  Sept.  12  until  Oct.  17  from  3:15  to  4:30  p.m.,  unless  it  is  raining.  Equipment  will  be  pro- vided.  The  MUHS  athletes  will  empha- size  fun  and  will  offer  instruction  in  skills  and  stick  work;Íž  scrimmages  will  be  played. The  cost  is  $40  for  Middlebury  residents  and  $46  for  non-Âresidents.  Children  may  be  registered  at  the  UHFUHDWLRQ GHSDUWPHQW RIÂżFH DW WKH Middlebury  Recreation  Facility  on  Creek  Road.  Â
Bertrand  earns  Devilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Bowl  win WEST  HAVEN  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  In  Saturdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  0HVVLHUÂśV EHWWHU ÂżQLVK LQ WKH ODVW local  highlights  on  Devilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Bowl  segment  gave  him  the  tiebreaker  for  Speedwayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  half-Âmile  asphalt  track,  second  place. Ferrisburghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Brad  Bertrand  won  In  the  Bond  Auto  Parts  Sportsman  the  entry-Âlevel  Portland  Glass  Mini  0RGLÂżHG GLYLVLRQ 1HZ <RUN GULYHU Stock  divisionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  annual  three- $OH[ %HOO OHIW WKH ÂżHOG LQ KLV ZDNH segment  special  event,  Brandonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  WR HDUQ KLV ÂżUVW ZLQ DW 'HYLOÂśV %RZO 9LQFH 4XHQQHYLOOH ÂżQLVKHG VHFRQG since  May  2013. in  the  30-Âlap  main  event  Quenneville  escaped  in  the  Bond  Auto  Parts  from  a  bump  in  a  lap  25  6SRUWVPDQ 0RGLÂżHG Brad Bertrand LQFLGHQW WR ÂżQLVK VHFRQG division,  and  Bristolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  won each of the after  lots  of  position- Josh  Masterson  took  UDFH¡V Ă&#x20AC;UVW WZR VKXIĂ&#x20AC;LQJ DQG EHQW VKHHW second  in  the  30- 10-lap segments PHWDO LQ WKH ÂżQDO ÂżYH lap  Central  Vermont  of the race, laps.  Championship  Motorcycles  Late  Model  point  leader  Jason  then survived feature. Durgan  was  one  of  the  Bertrand  took  his  an eighth-place drivers  caught  up  in  second  victory  of  the  Ă&#x20AC;QLVK LQ WKH the  late  carnage  and  season  Portland  Glass  third round for dropped  out  on  lap  26  to  Mini  Stock  division,  this  a total low score ÂżQLVK WK 4XHQQHYLOOH one  coming  in  its  annual  ¿QLVKHG EHWWHU LQ ERWK of 10 points three-Âsegment  special  the  feature  race  and  event.  Bertrand  won  and the overall the  qualifying  heat  and  HDFK RI WKH UDFHÂśV ÂżUVW victory. sliced  Durganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  point  two  10-Âlap  segments  lead  from  28  points  of  the  race,  then  survived  an  eighth- down  to  just  three  (590-Â587)  with  SODFH ÂżQLVK LQ WKH WKLUG URXQG IRU D three  weeks  remaining  in  the  season. total  low  score  of  10  points  and  the  Former  track  champion  Chris  overall  victory. Bergeron  of  Claremont,  N.H.,  Eric  Messier  and  Harold  LaVair  won  the  30-Âlap  Central  Vermont  each  scored  11  points.  Messier  Motorcycles  Late  Model  feature  for  ¿QLVKHG WKLUG WKLUG DQG ÂżIWK ZLWK KLV ÂżUVW ZLQ RI WKH VHDVRQ 0DVWHUVRQ LaVair  second,  second,  and  seventh.  reeled  Bergeron  in  but  ran  out  of  time Â
and  settled  for  the  runner-Âup  position.  )HUULVEXUJKÂśV -DPLH $XEH ÂżQLVKHG third,  and  former  track  champion  Todd  Stone  of  Middlebury  took  fourth. With  points  challenger  Robert  %U\DQW -U ÂżQLVKLQJ HLJKWK 0DVWHUVRQ opened  up  his  point  lead  in  the  division  from  two  points  to  17  (506-Â489). Scott  FitzGerald  of  West  Rutland  won  the  15-Âlap  feature  in  the  Rosen  &  Berger  Auto  Recyclers  Renegade  division  to  take  a  one-Âpoint  lead  over  -LP 0F.LHUQDQ ZKR ÂżQLVKHG IRXUWK Sundayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  dirt-Âtrack  slate  at  Devilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Bowl  was  rained  out.  Saturdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  winners  and  local  ¿QLVKHUV ZHUH Â&#x2021; %RQG $XWR 3DUWV 6SRUWVPDQ 0RGLÂżHG )HDWXUH ODSV %HOO Quenneville;Íž  8.  Dave  Snow,  Brandon;Íž  9.  Chuck  Bradford,  Addison;Íž  12.  Jimmy  Ryan,  Whiting.  Â&#x2021; &HQWUDO 9HUPRQW 0RWRUF\FOHV Late  Model  Feature  (30  laps):  1.  Bergeron;Íž  2.  Masterson;Íž  3.  Aube;Íž  4.  Stone;Íž  6.  Steve  Miller,  Vergennes. Â&#x2021; 5RVHQ %HUJHU $XWR 5HF\FOHUV Renegade  Feature  (15  laps):  1.  Fitzgerald;Íž  5.  R.J.  Germain,  Bristol. Â&#x2021; 3RUWODQG *ODVV 0LQL 6WRFN Feature  (10  laps  x  3):  1.  Bertrand;Íž  4.  Garrett  Given  Sr.,  Cornwall;Íž  9.  Kaleb  Shepard,  New  Haven.
PORTLAND  GLASS  MINI  Stock  winner  Brad  Bertrand,  center,  of  Ferrisburgh  stands  in  Victory  Lane  on  the  Devilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Bowl  Speedway  asphalt  track  Saturday  night. Photo  by  Andrew  Cassidy