By: Cassidy Russell ’25
This photo was taken of my brother for my photography class. We are working on portrait photography. Hockey is a big part of my brother’s life, so I wanted to incorporate that in the photo. I composed this photo in a dark room with a light on my phone for the red effect. It took a while to get the right shot, but I ended up loving the photo in the end.
By: Caden Dufour ’24
Photo credit: Blake Tripp ‘24
The Hebron 2022-2023 Basketball team started the season with high hopes and a willingness to give it their all on the court. The team, day in and day out, put in their hardest effort at practice, always going the extra step to improve their skills. When asked about the team, the 6’6 senior from Georgia, Giorgi Maglaperidze said, “the team chemistry has come a long way from the start. We are starting to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses each game, connecting on a more personal level as a full team.” The number of basketball players was scarce, with only thirteen team members due to injuries in the season. However, these players were extremely dedicated to achieving excellence. Coach Amory Weld said, “this team has come a long way; towards the beginning of the season, games weren’t competitive, and teams had already marked Hebron as a win on their schedule. But as the games continued, the team found a spark. Making games extremely close, losing in the final seconds of numerous games.” As the mighty Lumberjacks reach the season’s final two games, the expectation for a win is unprecedented. The 5’9 senior, Corey Garvin, is “willing to do whatever it takes” to produce a win for the season and finish the season on a positive note.
By: Kaan Usular ’23
“If you want to blame someone, look in the mirror.” – Coach Vining
The coach and the players shape the mentality of the team. It has only been two years since I started playing football, and it is not that hard to see why team sports are a growth place for everyone who participates. Every year has a different story but only one thing always continues to be the same: Ambition to win.
At Hebron Academy, I had a chance to play football for two Fall trimesters. In these two different years, I observed what elements make the spirit of the team. In 2021, we only had one win and this year we only had one loss. But why? Every individual person has a purpose in the football team even if they don’t play as much as they want to. They are all part of the team. We almost won all the games we played because teammates who didn’t play were giving water, screaming, and supporting the team every single minute. Every time a player made a mistake, there was a stronger connection to support and to keep going after those mistakes. I experienced that feeling in depth. I’m an offensive and defensive line. There was one rule that I’ve forgotten every time. An interior lineman in a two-point stance can shift and go in motion – as long as he never puts his hand on or near the ground. When I put my hand on the ground, I cannot lift it again. I had a flag four times because of the adrenaline that I felt inside my body. I wanted to crash every defensive line that played against me. I did it because there was no fear.
All those long bus rides with Royce, winning or losing with my teammates, and the feeling of brotherhood. I will never forget the effort we all put into games that bring the championship to Hebron.
Family on me, family on three, 1, 2, 3 FAMILY!!!!
By: Julia Lopo ’23
The girl’s Varsity Field Hockey team has been fortunate enough to kick off this year’s season with good weather, new talent, and surprisingly, a few more subs on the bench. Last year’s season was very strenuous for all the players, due to the full-length games they had to play without pauses to catch their breath. However, this allowed the returning players to build a lot of stamina and endurance. The relationship between the returning and new players creates support many players can lean on with our new “buddy system”. This system pairs a returning student with a new student so they can have a number-one cheerleader on and off the field. We also break into our buddy groups for many drills, like partner passes and they are a great system to double-check gear and jewelry on game days.
This season, the morals have been really high, and though we took a few hard losses our first few games, we have started to build up a good defense decreasing the gap in scores by every game. This is very important as it has built our confidence and sportsmanship as a very small team. This was especially remarkable in our game against Holderness where we put up a remarkable fight to the point of injuring a few players. As a result of many injuries, we had to play two games lacking a few teammates, and those who played showed resilience in having to play without subs and maybe adapt to new positions. Those who still continued to play whilst injured have been amazing at showing up to practices and showing a lot of spirit for our team.
Despite the concussions, bruises, lumps, and even a shattered pinky, our team has never been so driven to put up their greatest fight in the coming games of their season. Creating a bond with our team, as well as having good sportsmanship, has been the most important to our team so far. The girls are already looking forward to their next and last home games; The Pink Game against New Hampton, which supports breast cancer awareness, and our senior game in November to celebrate our seniors in their next steps.
Pictured below: Photographs from the Hebron vs. Berwick game at Berwick 10/22/22
Taken by: Ines Lopo ’25
By Brennen Pike ’22
Being on the Hebron Academy JV soccer team has been an… interesting experience to say the least. As a day student, I don’t really get to hang out with friends much outside of class. On the soccer field, it doesn’t feel like I’m working, it’s more like hanging out with friends while having fun exercising. Whether it’s hearing Jack and Nick bicker like an old married couple, or Teehan reminding us of how bad we really are, playing with these guys is always a treat.
Almost nobody on our team actually knows how to play soccer, we just kinda do our thing and figure it out on our own. We have a strong connection as we are not only the soccer team, but most of us are also on the hockey team. This makes it a lot easier to communicate with each other and gives us the upper hand over other teams who may not know each other as well.
The brains behind our operations is the man most commonly known on campus as Mr. Gautier, aka: The Goat. He is not only our coach, but someone that we can joke around with, and who tells us when it’s time to take things seriously. Although sometimes he can be grumpy, I can always count on him to laugh at my lame dad jokes.
Playing soccer at Hebron is something I never thought I would do. Having only hockey and lacrosse as my two main sports, I never had a taste for soccer. Playing on Mr. Gautier’s team, though, gave me not only some great training for hockey season, but also great experiences that I will carry with me throughout my entire life.
By Dilamar Segundo ’24
The Hebron Academy men’s varsity soccer team is developing rapidly; we may have just gotten together, but we have already become one big family. We are no longer just a soccer team or classmates. We have people from all over the world—including Brazil, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States—and all of those different cultures working together only makes us stronger.
Our team is always looking for a way to improve. We started the year with many people that we had never seen play before and no idea what would happen. However, we quickly realized that we have a really talented team with a hunger to win and improve, a team that knows how to take criticism and help others when needed.
Today, we are a top team, and one that knows how to play together. Everyone understands their role and completes it in the best way possible. I constantly see people giving 100% of their effort for the same goal, which is hard to do. My teammates are warriors; we may have lost some games, but we have also won. We play the best we can and never go down easy. We don’t look at the opposing team as an obstacle, but see them as a path to our goal.
Remember when I said we were warriors? Now you will understand why. We have already faced many events, ranging from bad referees to an ammonia leak. Our team has a remarkable ability to turn anything into motivation, making us more decisive and assertive every game. I believe that, at the end of the year, the whole team will look back and see how much we improved—all of the great memories we have, the things we achieved—and want more.
By Cotton Strong ’23
The Hebron Academy cross country team is larger and faster than ever before! With more than twenty runners, we have had a large enough roster to finally match up with our rivals at Kent’s Hill, Hyde, and Berwick. The whole team has been working hard on the trails, headed by pro-runner and coach, Eric Lundblade. Our daily routine consists of a short warm-up, an intense workout (or recovery run if we did a workout the day before), and finally some cool-down stretches. We have even taken some days away from campus to experience new terrain and take advantage of the beautiful surrounding area. Recently, we have run up Little Singepole, a former ski slope, and Greenwood Mountain Road, which has a very steep hill but an incredible view of the Hebron campus. The team has had meets in both Hyde and Berwick, as well as two home races. Our course is infamous for its two massive hills, nicknamed “The Wall” and “The Mini Wall.”
Our team has worked hard to improve throughout the season, bringing in solid times at every race. Logan Grenon of Quebec City has been the star of the group. Placing top ten at his worst and second place at his best, Logan has been the literal front runner of the cross country team.
The Hebron cross country team has been pushing ourselves all season, and we can only go up from here!
By Julia Lopo ’23
Another fall at Hebron Academy means another season of field hockey! The girl’s varsity field hockey season is off to a great start with a combination of home games and road trips to New Hampshire. Our practices are fun and structured to help us hone our skills. We work on drills that consist of anything from game scenarios to our team favorite, rapid-fire, which are fast shots on goal. Many of our players are trying the sport for the first time, or they have just begun their first season since the beginning of Covid-19. Putting that into perspective, Hebron has a promising field hockey team.
Our statistics have not been the greatest, but all the girls on the team consistently bring their enthusiasm and team spirit. We have been short on subs this year, so we try to keep our heads up throughout long, tiring games. Even with the shortage of players, we have built a bond like no other. We have also had a record-breaking number of injuries, ranging from ACL tears to concussions, but that is not holding us back.
Field hockey is a sport that requires good team chemistry and school spirit. If you agree with these values you should come support us on the turf at our next home game! We are also looking for new players, so even if field hockey is not your sport you should consider trying it out. We look forward to a great rest of the season!
By Emmett Grover ’21
The Hebron Academy Ski Team had a strong performance at the New England Class C Championships last Wednesday, with the Varsity Girls finishing second and the Varsity Boys finishing third. Hopes were high leading up to the race, as the boys team looked to win back to back championships and the girls team aimed to improve on their hard earned second place performance from last year. Led by strong runs from Maja Mulley ‘24, Sophie Simard ‘25, and Thekla Jubinville ‘20, the girls were in the lead after the giant slalom portion of the race. Unfortunately, the boys team had a hard time finishing, but consistent runs by Brody Hathorne ‘21, Wesley Gilpin ‘21, and Calvin Grover ‘22 kept them in the race.
On the slalom course, Simard and Mulley once again recorded top times, finishing fourth and fifth respectively, setting up the girls in a prime position to take the championship. Just as the trophy seemed in reach, disaster struck, with Jubinville disqualifying on a potentially blistering run and Megan Siepp ‘22 crashing right after. Cova Galindo ‘22 came through with a consistent run, securing the back to back second place finish for the girls team. Fortunately for the boys, slalom provided an opportunity to make up for lost time, and Joe Godomsky ‘20 took full advantage, finishing in first place individually on the slalom course. Philip Ernst ‘22 also came through with a clutch pair of runs that put him at sixth overall, followed by a fluke mistake that placed Hathorne at ninth in the slalom competition. Backed by these top finishes, the boys took third, once again placing on the podium. Both teams plan on continuing their success at the upcoming MAISAD championships on February 24th.
To me, ice climbing has always been an “extreme” sport. Relegated to bucket lists, pipe dreams and watching youtube videos, it always seemed like something I would enjoy, but not something I would be able to do for awhile, without extensive research and preparation. This assumption was turned on its head when Mr. Tholen announced in a school meeting that there would be an ice climbing trip coming up on a weekend. I immediately turned to my friend Jacob and told him; “Oh yeah. We’re gonna do that.” Luckily, he was just as enthusiastic as I was, because we both share a passion for trying new things, and especially filming ourselves trying those new things. His face lit up, and his response was immediate; “It’s going to be an epic video.”
A week and a half later, we stood in deep snow, with crampons strapped to our feet and sharp ice tools in our hands, in front of a looming ice slab. Jacob and I looked foolish, two buffoons with GoPro cameras gorilla taped to our helmets. We felt cool as we repeatedly completed the beginner climb, only stopping for lunch or to let someone else have a turn. Ice chips flew as we dug into the slanted face with sharpened steel, as our hands and toes went numb. Over the course of the day, we improved significantly, each climb making us more precise when we swung the ice tools, or kicked in our crampon front points. Our group was of a large range of climbing backgrounds, from experienced mountaineers to beginners who didn’t wear snowpants. We all had fun climbing, even though we were not able to progress onto any of the vertical challenging faces that surrounded us, because it was a crowded spot. I think we all went home tired, pushing ourselves in a sport that most of us, myself included, have never had the opportunity to try. For those of us who wanted to try more difficult stuff, there has been discussions of another, more advanced trip, likely next year!
