Sports in Review: Hennessy hits 1,000-point milestone

The first three months of 2008 left many of us tired from shoveling snow, but when the games took center stage, there was plenty to cheer about.1,000 POINTSOn Jan. 8, Coreen Hennessy entered the 1,000-point club in a 60-37 Raider win over Wells in the Fryeburg Academy fieldhouse. She came into the contest needing six points for the milestone. When Hennessy coolly knocked down two buckets in the first three and a half minutes of the game, it appeared her personal mission would end quickly.Needing two points to reach the 1,000 mark, she fouled late in the second quarter. Hennessy drew nothing but net on the first shot. The second shot, however, with everyone in the gym standing and anticipating the moment, hit the rim and bounced away. And then with the half coming to a close, it finally happened. The Raiders forced yet another turnover and Olivia Boivin gathered the loose ball, found Hennessy ahead of her streaking down the right side of the court, and passed her the ball. Hennessy received the pass, put the ball to the floor, and, like she has so many times before, went up strong and laid the ball off the backboard. The crowd, once again standing, watched the ball pass through the net and then the noise started. Hennessy had 1,001 points.The moment and crowd appreciation touched Hennessy, "I have never heard the gym that loud. I couldnt believe it. I am very glad it happened at a home game.Hennessy led the way with 20 points in the win.It was a night where everything came together. A local athlete reached a momentous individual milestone playing in a game surrounded by other talented athletes. The individual and the team emerged victorious. "I am so proud of her and how she handles herself on and off the court. She is such a good kid," said coach Mike Hart.ALPINE IS FINEThe Kennett High boys' and girls' alpine teams dominated the slopes again, winning two more state titles. On Feb. 11, the Kennett boys won the alpine title, topping Hanover by 14 points. Leading the way for the Eagles in the morning slalom was Jordan Cargill, who finished third overall in 76.55. He was followed by Alex Leich, fifth, 78.9; Mike Larson, eighth, 80.39; Ben Cargill, ninth, 80.72; and Parker Haynes, 10th, 80.78. Brendan Murphy, who had a top-10 first run, fell on his second run, but still managed to finish 29th overall.After the slalom, Kennett held a 16-point lead (379-363) over Hanover. That margin was trimmed only slightly in the giant slalom with talented sophomore Hunter Haynes winning the race with a two-run time of 54.47 to win by nearly half a second. He was followed by Murphy, sixth, 56.49; Leich, eighth, 57.14; Larson, ninth, 57.20; Ben Cargill, 10th, 57.39; and Parker Haynes, fell.On Feb. 12, the Kennett High girls won their alpine championship. Maggie Flynn led the Kennett High attack, finishing sixth overall in the GS in a two-run time of 74.22 (a Plymouth skier won the race in 68.33). She was followed by Amber McPherson, seventh, 74.36; Taylor Gardella, ninth, 75.66; Emily Leich, 15th, 76.61; Molly Shannon, who had a fall, 54th; and Lacey Mailman, who also fell, 59th. In the afternoon slalom, the Eagles took flight, placing five girls in the top 14. Shannon led the way, finishing third in 89.29 (84.92 won the race). She was followed by Van Deursen, fourth, 90.8; Kelsey Powers, 12th, 94.61; Leich, 13th, 95.97; Flynn, 14th, 98.53; Gardella was 20th.For the sixth straight year a Kennett skier has won the state skimeister title. This year, Lucy took the top spot for the girls with 331 points. Van Deursen was third with 321.95 points, and Mitchell took fifth, 287 points.LEANNE SMITHLeanne Smith turned plenty of heads Jan. 30 during the first training run of downhill at St. Moritz, site of a Feb. 2 World Cup event. Starting 40th, in just her third World Cup downhill, the 20-year-old from North Conway finished a blazing second overall in a world-class field of 56 skiers."That's just amazing," Chuck Broomhall, head ski coach at Kennett High, said of the former Eagle. "Now they've got to give her more World Cup starts she's skiing phenomenal. We're all so happy for her.""Canadian Emily Brydon collected the win...but the stunner of the day was American Leanne Smith in second, coming from the 40th start position," stated Ski Racing magazine on its Web site, which posted the results.Brydon won the training session with a time of 1:14.90 followed by Smith, second, 1:15.21; Maria Holaus, of Austria, third in 1:15.37; and Anja Paerson, of Sweden, fourth in 1:15.49.World Cup downhill leader Lindsey Vonn finished 23rd, 1.22 seconds out, and fellow American Julia Mancuso was even further back, in 41st. "Leanne started 40th on a track she knows well," said Dave Gregory, head coach and director of MWV Ski Team. "She competed successfully on it last year in the World Junior Alpine Championships, Europa Cup and in 2004 on a Junior Development trip. She moved up considerably to finish second."Leanne has had a spectacular start to her U.S. Ski Team career," Gregory said. "Earlier this season she made her World Cup debut at Lake Louise, Canada, taking 19th in Super G and 23rd in downhill. She recently competed in the World Cup races at Cortina, Italy. Last year she won the overall Nor Am Series SG Title and was the overall champion. Leanne was also USSAs 2007 Junior Female Skier of the Year. For her to have had such a strong start in her World Cup career has been truly remarkable. Leanne is a great example of an athlete who stayed home, attended Kennett High School and took advantage of the world-class training available here in the Mount Washington Valley."In March, Smith returned home, and on March 2 she was Pine Tree School's guest of honor. The former Kennett High three-sport standout spent the morning participating with physical education classes; autographed 200 postcards with a picture of her racing (generously supplied by Minuteman Press); and then was the keynote speaker during an afternoon all-school assembly.One of the youngest racers on the World Cup tour, Smith has posted four top 30 performances and won one of the few NorAm Super G races she's competed in this winter.KENNETT HIGH HOCKEYDid you ever have one of those days where you did everything right yet you came out on the wrong end of a result? That's exactly what happened to the Kennett High ice hockey team on March 8 when the Eagles did practically everything right but came out on the short end of a 3-2 overtime scoreline to Souhegan in the Division III State Championship game. The win was the third straight title for the Sabers while Kennett High has yet to claim the crown, having finished as runner-up three times in the past seven years."It was a pretty frustrating day," Mike Lane, Eagles' head coach, said reflecting on the day's events. "My heart goes out to the kids. I told them after the game sometimes you can do everything right and it doesn't work out. We played great. We out-shot them 46-26 and controlled 80 percent of the play, but it just wasn't to be for us."I'm proud of the season we had," he continued. "We didn't lose a game in regulation time all winter (two overtime loses). I'm proud of the way our kids reacted and represented our community. It's extremely difficult to lose a game like that in overtime. One team is going crazy because they just won the state title, and rightfully so, but our guys were all class in the way they handled themselves. I think if you were an impartial fan at the game you would have concluded it was just a great high school hockey game."Souhegan jumped out to a 2-0 when the Eagles finally broke the ice at 12:33 of the second period when Logan Spoor was in the right place at the right time, scoring from close range. Just 48 seconds into the third Kennett drew level when Michael Skelton fed Brad Hauser with perfect pass in front of the net that he redirected past the helpless Souhegan net-minder.Souhegan netted the game-winner 47 seconds into overtime."We had a great short-handed scoring opportunity at the start of overtime," Lane said. "We got off a good shot; they saved it; and then came down and got the game-winner (47 seconds into overtime). ... I really thought the third time was going to be the charm for us. As I was sitting there on the bus ride home, I wondered what we could have done differently. I couldn't think of anything that's why sports are great. If the No. 1 team won all the time there'd be no point in playing the games."The kids deserve all the credit for a great season," he continued. "I also can't say enough about our fans. I think hockey has definitely arrived in the Mount Washington Valley. We had such great fan support from the faculty to the parents to students and the community the kids just fed off that excitement."There was some news off the ice for the Eagles. Skelton and goalie Ricky Gaudreau were both named to the Division III All State First Team while George Weigold received second team honors and Hauser garnered Honorable Mention.Coach Lane was rewarded for the most wins in school history by being selected by his coaching peers as the Division III Coach of the Year.