It took just mere seconds after Oscar Miao had scripted “The End” to his swimming career at Deerfield Academy that pandemonium began to set in.

The Deerfield senior swims the anchor leg of the 400 freestyle relay. That makes him the final swimmer in the final event and means he’s the guy that gets to close out the good … the bad … or the ugly. And on this final night … this championship night … Miao, and those who went before him — Quinn Smith (14), Matt Hrabchak (15) and Miles Smachlo (16) – helped turn something good into something great.

The Fab Four punched the clock in a winning time of 3:07.03, to ensure the Big Green its third New England Prep School Division I Swimming and Diving Championship in the past six years and its 20th title overall. But if this all sounds rather nonchalant, then Deerfield sure took the hard way to get there.

“We needed a perfect storm in order for us to have pulled this off,” explained Big Green coach John Burke. “We entered the relay trailing Suffield by seven points (356-349), so we not only needed to win the race, but we needed Exeter … or someone besides Suffield … to finish second. If we won and Suffield finished second, they still would have picked up enough points (34) to win the championship by one point.”

Well, Burke got exactly what he wished for. Deerfield picked up those 40 points with the relay win, as Exeter collected 34 by finishing second in 3:11.4. Suffield, meanwhile, took away 32 points as it placed third.

What all that translated to – nearly instantaneously – up on the bright lights of the scoreboard was that Deerfield finished atop the 10-team field with 389 points. Suffield wound up second, just one point back at 388, while Exeter placed third with 355 points. What that all translated to down on the pool deck and in the grandstand was that Deerfield’s pool party had suddenly transformed into a rock concert.

“It was sheer pandemonium,” said Burke, who personally took part in the levity by taking the coach’s customary victory leap into the pool off one of the starting blocks and his feat “is probably out there for the whole world to see because one of the students video taped it … I know … I saw it … he played it for me,” said Burke with a smile breaking from ear to ear.

“I must admit that going into this meet, I really didn’t know what to expect,” admitted a very relieved Deerfield mentor, whose swimmers had posted a 6-1-1 record during their dual-meet season. “What I did know was that Deerfield and Suffield were considered the co-favorites.” And that probably came as no surprise to anyone, considering that when the two teams battled during their only regular-season meeting, something took place that Burke has witnessed just once previously in his 11 years of coaching. “We ended up in a tie,” explained Burke, “we finished all even at 93-93.”

Miao, who shared this year’s John A. Pigeon Award with diver Taylor Clough (13) as the team’s Most Valuable Participants, combined with Smith to serve as catalysts for Deerfield’s trek to the title by earning four goal medals each. In addition to supplying half the horsepower during their pennant-clinching 400 freestyle, they teamed up with Smachlo and Ben Wood (13) to win the 200 medley relay in a New England record-setting time of 1:33.85.  During individual competition, meanwhile, Miao captured the 50 freestyle in a time of 21.09, and the 100 freestyle in 46.80. Smith was first in the 200 individual medley (1:49.85) and the 100 backstroke (51.49), while Hrabchak collected three golds, winning the 200 and 500 freestyle races in 1:41.99 and 4:30.24 respectively.

“This was certainly one of the most thrilling championship events I’ve ever been involved in,” said Miao, who will be taking his talents in the 50 freestyle to Yale University in the fall. “That final race was just incredible … but I really wasn’t nervous. I think I was too focused on what my teammates were doing and what I was going to have to do to be nervous.

“Besides,” added Miao, “my three teammates who had competed before me had provided me with a comfortable lead and I knew that if I swam the way I’m capable of swimming, that we’d be in pretty good shape.”

As for his competitors in the anchor leg, Miao was getting positive vibes about what would be going on around him during his final paddle across Koch Pool.  “We’d competed against both Exeter and Suffield during the regular season and I felt all things being equal, the Exeter swimmer had the nod over Suffield’s swimmer.”

“As the final lap unfolded, everything was looking good for us,” said Hrabchak, who, by this point in time was strictly a spectator, having competed in the second leg of the race.  “You could see Oscar was the first into the final turn … then it was Exeter … then Suffield. Then, as the swimmers got closer to us, you could see the Exeter swimmer had about a half-body length lead over the Suffield swimmer and that’s when we knew we had it … and that’s when everyone started going nuts.”

 Not all the gold-medal action took place in the pool, however. Some of it took place over the pool, and that’s exactly where Clough was capturing the one-meter diving competition to become just the second diver in NEPSAC history to be named chairman of the board for four consecutive years.  Grant Gritzmacher, who dove for Hopkins School from 1993 to 1996 and who is the swim coach at Westminster School also won the event four years in a row.

“It’s been a great run,” said the Dartmouth College-bound Clough, of his four titles and a four-year undefeated dual-meet record of 36-0. “I think you can attribute the success I’ve enjoyed here at Deerfield to some outstanding coaching and an ability to focus on the job at hand.”

A gold medal and a spot in the history books weren’t the only things Clough came away with on this night of nights, however. He capped off the evening by being named recipient of the Babcock Award, which is annually presented to the most valuable participant in the boys meet.

The awards celebration marked the first time in Deerfield’s swimming annals that the school swept these MVP awards. Jenner McLeod (13) who helped pave the Big Green girls to a third-place finish in their championship meet by capturing four first-place finishes, earned the Grace Robertson Award as the girls MVP. It marked the third time in the past four years that a Deerfield girl had won the trophy. Last year, Liza Bragg (13) was the award’s recipient, while Julia Pielock won it in 2010.

The Big Green also picked up a pair of silver medals and a bronze medal on the evening. Smachlo finished second in the 100 butterfly in 52.60, while Wood took second in the 100 breaststroke in 59.29. Deerfield’s 200 freestyle relay team, which consisted of Conor Sullivan (15), who shared this year’s Coaches’ Cup with Wyatt Sharpe (13), Travis Russell (14), Doug Vallar (14) and Hrabchak wound up third in a clocking of 1:27.82.

Although the Big Green failed to pick up first-place points in these three events, they still proved crucial in allowing Deerfield to come away with the top prize. Just think, Smachlo picked up 17 points for his second-place effort in the butterfly, while Suffield placed fourth less than one second later to earn 15 points. Reverse that finish and Suffield wins the crown.

Wood’s second spot in the breaststroke earned him 17 points, while Suffield placed third, less than two seconds back to earn 16 points. Switch those two results and you end up in a tie.  As for the 200 freestyle relay, Suffield took the blue ribbon in that event, which was good for 40 points. The 32 points Deerfield picked up for its third-place finish, meanwhile, allowed the hosts to keep the Connecticut contingent within striking distance.

Some people think 13 is an unlucky number.  Sonja O’Donnell is one who would beg to differ.

“This was my thirteenth year of coaching this team,” said O’Donnell, the Deerfield Academy girls swimming coach, and she wouldn’t have missed a minute of it. “To me, this has been a lucky year … a lucky thirteen.”

O’Donnell would be the first to admit, however, that much of that luck had a great deal to do with a pair of very talented swimmers – compliments of the Class of  ’13, of course – who helped lead the Big Green to the medals podium during each of their four years here.

For seniors Liza Bragg and Jenner McLeod drip drying on the medals podium became as much a part of their standard operating procedure as slipping on their swim caps. This dynamic duo once again captured a maximum of four gold medals each to help lift Deerfield to a bronze medal at the New England Prep School Division I Swimming and Diving Championships.  Suffield captured the crown with a total of 385 points, while Exeter saw its championship streak end at three straight years, as it placed second with 355 points. Deerfield placed third with 316 points.

The two, who reached the legendary status in prep school pool halls from St. Paul’s to St. George’s, seemed to get rather greedy whenever a gold medal went up for grabs at the other end of the pool. Over their four-year careers, Bragg, who was the recipient of the team’s Most Valuable Swimmer Award and who will be taking her swimming talents to Duke University in the fall, captured an incredible 15 of a possible 16 New England championship races she competed in.  McLeod, meanwhile, who has been recruited by Kenyon College, finished her prep school career by capturing 11 of her 16 title bouts.

“ I doubt there will be many who can match those marks … especially when you consider that eight of those championships were accomplished through relay races,” said O’Donnell, whose Big Green teams made the most of having both Bragg and McLeod around. During their four-year tour of duty, Deerfield earned a silver medal and three bronze medals during those New England championship meets.

With Bragg and McLeod capturing their customary four first-place finishes this winter, the Big Green girls were able to post six gold-medal performances out of the dozen the meet had to offer.

During the individual competition, Bragg captured the 200 Individual Medley crown for the fourth consecutive year – and the way in which she accomplished this victory was, well, in a word: typical. To the layman, her winning time of 2:04.58, probably doesn’t mean much. To a swimmer, it’s awesome. Just ask Exeter’s Olivia Jackson. She finished second to Bragg – nearly four full seconds behind her – in 2:08.47.

“Liza won the event rather handily,” said O’Donnell of a clocking that could be hanging from the Koch Pool record board for quite some time. “It was a personal best for Liza, as well as a school and a Division I New England meet record. And,” added the Deerfield mentor, “it also earned All-American consideration.”

Bragg’s other individual event that turned into gold was the 100 backstroke, where she prevailed in a time of 57.23.

“It’s been a great ride and a great deal of fun,” said Bragg, of her four-year rule of the pool. “In my wildest dreams, when I first came here I never could have anticipated that things could have ever gone like this.”

“But,” added Bragg, who will be competing in the 100 and 200 backstroke as well as the 200 and 400 individual medley for the Blue Devils, “there’s no way I would have had this kind of success if I hadn’t had the outstanding teammates I had on those relay teams.

“Setting individual records is one thing,” said Bragg, “but being able to win eight relay races in four years takes a lot of teamwork and because of that teamwork, I was able to enjoy a very successful career here at Deerfield.”

For McLeod, her expertise in the individual frays comes in the 50 and 100 freestyle races, where she once again swept the competition. She won the 50 in 23.89, while she captured the 100 in a clocking of 51.79.

Then, it became payback time, which would put this Deerfield swimmer and her coach both on McLeod Nine. During the post-meet celebrations, McLeod climbed the medals podium to receive her four gold medals, plus something she wasn’t expecting: The Grace Roberson Award, which is annually presented to the Most Outstanding Swimmer of the girls meet.

“To be completely honest, the possibility of winning that award never crossed my mind until I heard my name called,” said McLeod. “it was such an emotional meet, especially so after the 400 relay  … which was our last race for Deerfield, being named the meet’s MVP was probably the furthest thing from my mind.”

“It’s a wonderful acknowledgment of Jenner’s accomplishments, her character and her spectacular swimming abilities,” said O’Donnell, who looked on last year as Bragg won the same award. In fact, this marks the third time in the past four years that a Deerfield girls has been named the meet’s MVP, as Julia Pielock was the award’s recipient in 2010. “It’s voted on by the league’s coaches, so it’s a very prestigious award.”

This year’s ceremonies also mark the first time ever that Deerfield participants swept these awards, as Taylor Clough (13) received the Babcock Award, emblematic of the boys Most Valuable Participant, after he captured the one-meter diving competition for the fourth consecutive year.

“It all makes this award so very special,” said McLeod. “Having watched Liza win it last year and Julia, whom I really looked up to when I first came to Deerfield, win it my freshman year, this award means a great deal to me.

“Plus,” added McLeod, “being able to win this award along side Taylor to give Deerfield its first sweep of these awards, means a great deal to me as well.”

It proved ingenious – except to the opposition – when O’Donnell opted four years ago to stick these two freshman phenoms on the same two relay teams: the 200 and 400 freestyle. It seemed as though no matter who filled the other two slots on these crews, they inevitably left the competition high and dry.

In this year’s 200 relay event, Bragg and McLeod combined with Juliette Lee (14) and Nahla Achi (15) to post a blue-ribbon effort in 1:37.31, defeating second-place Exeter (1:39.91) by more than two full seconds. The margin of victory grew to nearly five seconds in the 400 relay, as Bragg, McLeod and Lee teamed up with Claire Collins (15) to clock in at 3:32.48 to finish first nearly five seconds in front of Suffield (3:37.19).

While both relay times proved fast enough to establish new pool records and earn All-American consideration, neither were fast enough to garner New England record status. Both of those were set last year.  Bragg, McLeod, Ritchie Howe and Julie Hwang set both the 200 and 400 marks at 1:35.65 and 3:31.49 respectively.

Rounding out the medal rush for the Big Green was Claire Collins (15), who earned a bronze in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.83) and helped the 200 yard medley relay team finish in third spot in a time of 1:50.36. She would later receive the Coach’s Award, along with Natalie DeMuro. The remainder of that unit was made up of Elizabeth Eastman (13) Maggie Savage (15) and Achi. The leading diver for Deerfield during the championships was Elissa DeNunzio (14) who placed sixth out of a field of 24 with a final tally of 355.70.

For the second straight season, Deerfield Academy made it to the middle rung of the medals podium at the New England Independent Schools Association Girls Class A Squash Tournament. Prior to accepting the silver medal, it got to glance down at Nobles School as it was being presented its bronze medal. Then, the Big Green players got to look up to watch Greenwich Academy receive its gold medal – again.

Yes, this year’s title quest concluded in a photo finish of last winter’s race, as these two rivals refuse to blink until the fat lady sings. This season, the Gators, who now have 15 New England championship pennants dangling from the rafters of their gymnasium, bested Deerfield by a 10-point margin, 112-102. And, considering Greenwich swept all seven brackets of the tourney, a 10-point margin was a rather slim one.

Deerfield, which finished second to the Gators last year by a five-point bulge, 107-102, has managed to stay within striking distance of Greenwich by posting a pile of second-place bracket finishes. So, while Greenwich was posting seven firsts, worth 16 points each, Deerfield was runner-up (15 points each) in six of the seven brackets.

Last winter, Deerfield won two brackets and finished second in thee others to keep the margin of victory at five, while it bested the Gators two years ago, 109-108, to put an end to Greenwich’s New England championship streak at 13. That championship eventually leaned Deerfield’s way after it rang up four firsts and three second-place finishes. Greenwich, meanwhile produced three firsts and four seconds to end up on the outside looking in for the first time in more than a decade.

“It was another outstanding season for the Deerfield girls squash program,” said its mentor, Karinne Heise. “We went 12-2 during the regular season and finished second in the New England tournament, so that’s plenty to be proud of.”

The only thing that fell into the what-if category as far as this team was concerned, was a shot at the National Tournament title. Last year, the Big Green placed second there – behind Greenwich – but this year’s festivities, which were scheduled for Feb.9, were postponed to due to a snowstorm.

This has been a storied time for a storied program. Over the past three years, only one other New England girls prep school team has been more successful than the Big Green. Over the past three years, Deerfield has chalked up one New England crown and a pair of second-place finishes.  Just getting there, though, has been a lot of fun, too, as this program has rolled to a 48-6 record during that time span.

Emily Jones (13) is one of three Big Green players – Hunter Sechrest (13) and Addie Fulton (14) being the others – who have played a part in this three-year surge.

“Playing squash at Deerfield has just been a phenomenal experience for me,” said Jones, who has been plugged in as Deerfield’s top seed for the past two years and has responded quite well with a 9-3 showing this season and a two-year mark of 21-9 considering she’s facing the best of the best night in and night out. Adding to her due diligence is the fact that up until eighth grade, Jones’s primary sport was tennis, and now, five years later, she’s ranked 15th in the Under -19-year-old bracket in the country and is about to continue her squash career at Harvard University.

“I feel as though a great deal of the success of this program belongs to coach Heise,” added Jones, who was named recipient of the Bayne Bowl, which is annually presented to the team’s Most Valuable Player. “She’s helped create a winning atmosphere as well as a supportive atmosphere on this team and they’ve gone hand-in-hand to help make this program not only one of the very best in New England, but one of the very best in the entire country. I know when I came in here four years ago, I immediately felt as though I was a part of this team and I know the freshmen who have made this team the last three years have felt the same way. We’re just one big family and everyone pulls for each other.”

The pulling is always made much easier by the winning and there was plenty of winning this winter – top to bottom in the lineup. In fact, Jones’s nine victories marked the only spot throughout the lineup that a regular Big Green player failed to earn double figures in wins.

Sam Chai (15) who went 17-2 last year, before capturing the New England title in the Third Bracket, moved up to the second tier this winter to go 10-1 and grab a silver medal. Fulton (11-2) was a silver medalist at No. 3, while Carey Danforth (14) has rolled up a 30-4 record and a pair of second-place finished at the New England tourney to show for last two years on the roster.

Lindsey Dewey (14), who won the seventh bracket at the New Englands last year after a 17-2 record, moved up two slots this winter and it paid dividends for the Big Green as she went 12-1 on the campaign and took home a silver medal. The sixth slot went to Annie Blasberg (16), who followed up a 14-2 regular-season record with a second-place finish, while Hunter Sechrest (13) who will be playing at Dartmouth next year, wrapped up her Big Green career at the seventh tier by going 12-1 and like most of her teammates, finished second at the New England meet.

“I felt good about our strengths as a team this year,” said Heise of a Deerfield squad that blanked eight of its opponents by 7-0 margins, while it settled four other outings by a bulge of 6-1. “I’m very happy with the way things went for us … I think the girls gained a great deal of experience from the level of play they achieved last year and this year, they just continued where they left off.

“We’re only losing two of our regulars to graduation this spring,” added Heise, “so I’m hoping we can continue the momentum we’ve been able to build over the past few years.”

Mike Silipo landed the kind of recruit this season that any high school football coach in the country would covet. The kid’s got good hands… quick feet … and an uncanny ability to get to the ball.  Sam Khalifa will never be known as one of coach Silipo’s Legends of the Fall, however. Football is not his sport – squash is.  And that’s just fine with the Big Green football mentor. Silipo spends his winters tutoring prep school wall bangers, and has been for nearly three decades now. “And this kid’s got to be one of the best at his age level that I’ve ever seen,” said Silipo, “much less coached.”

Khalifa better be one of the best Silipo has ever seen or coached. He’s the top ranked Under-17 player in the world, so it goes without saying he was the top seed on Silipo’s lineup card. You probably wouldn’t be overly shocked, either, to find out that he went undefeated this winter (15-0) and captured the No. 1 Bracket during the New England Prep School Athletic Conference Division I Boys Squash Tournament, which was hosted at Deerfield’s Dewey Squash Center.

With Khalifa leading the way, the Big Green rolled to an 11-2 regular season record and 15-3 overall showing before earning a bronze medal at the championship meet. Brunswick School won the A crown with 109 points, while Belmont Hill finished a single point behind at 108. The Big Green, meanwhile, closed out with 90 points.

“We went into the tourney as the third seed,” said Silipo, “so I guess you can say we finished right where we were suppose to … but we also knew the battle to finish third would be wide open among Deerfield, Hotchkiss, Milton and Taft.”

The Big Green mentor knew through previous meetings that his crew had a slight advantage in its bid for the final slot on the medals podium, having bested Hotchkiss (5-2) and Taft (6-1) but falling to Milton (5-2). So, a little déjà vu all over again certainly wouldn’t hurt their chances – and it didn’t.

In the end, Deerfield earned the third and final medal, as the race for fourth place proved more highly contested. Trailing Deerfield’s 90 points were Hotchkiss with 82, Milton with 81 and Taft with 73. And the ownership of that bronze medal was never really in doubt. Through the first four matches, Deerfield accumulated 50 points, while Milton had 47, Hotchkiss 44 and Taft 43. Over the final three, meanwhile, the Big Green continued to acquire points, posting 40, while Hotchkiss netted 38 and Milton and Taft closed with 34 and 30 respectively.

“We knew if we played the way we’re capable of, we’d be in pretty good shape,” said Silipo, whose club finished the season with an 8-2 record against teams in the Class A register And, just to show how far the Big Green has come since competing on the B level just two years ago, it owned a 3-0 showing this winter against team in that bracket, including victories over No. 3 St. Paul’s, No. 4 Groton and No. 8 Avon Old Farms.  

Khalifa’s appearance obviously made the Big Green a much better team, but it was a team that would have likely held its own throughout much of a highly competitive Class A schedule. That optimism had to do with the fact that Silipo welcomed back his top seven players that had led Deerfield to a 10-10 record and a 10th-place at the New England tournament last winter. The only difference was that this year, everyone moved down a peg or two to allow the new guy do his thing.

With familiar faces in brand new places, two-time captain Ted Henderson (13), who was the recipient of this year’s Squash Racquets Trophy, posted a 9-6 record on the season as the team’s second seed and wound up 10th at the New England championships. Tripp Kaelin (14), the third seed, went 13-3 during regular season and finished fourth in the New England fray. Cam Dewey (14) was this winter’s fourth seed, where he rang up a 12-3 showing and posted a sixth-place finish.

The five guy was Connor Henderson (15), who went 8-7 before finishing sixth at the New Englands. The sixth spot, meanwhile, belonged to Dan Blohm (13), who enjoyed a successful season by rolling up a 13-2 record and earned a bronze medal at the championships, while Jamie Kjorlien (15) was 8-2 and landed a silver medal in postseason action. Tad Huffard (15), who also saw some playing time this winter, took advantage of it by registering a 10-3 record.

The third seed Deerfield owned heading into this winter’s championship was well earned. During its 11 league victories, the Big Green rarely gave its opponents time to take off their warm-up jackets before they were tossing in the towel. Four of Deerfield’s wins came via 7-0 drubbings, while five other opponents were dragged into the fast lane as well, succumbing by 6-1 scores.

And the best may be yet to come, as Silipo will be losing just three members of this year’s team to graduation and just two of his top eight players, “so we’re hoping we can put ourselves in position to have another strong showing next season and hopefully we will be able to improve on our third-place finish come tournament time.”

Things are certainly looking rosy for the Green. It will have the defending Class A New England champion and the premier player in all of New England coming out of its corner next season. Ironically, however, there’s one place Khalifa would be hard pressed for bragging rights to being No. 1. And that would be in Cairo, Egypt. Back home, there’s good chance he’s No. 2 in the family’s pecking order.

Sam’s older brother Amr, is the top rated Under 19 player in the world. And the freshman at St. Lawrence University recently capped off an undefeated 15-0 season by strutting his stuff through the tournament field to capture the College Men’s Squash Association Tournament championship.

He proved that earning the title was no fluke, either, as he battled back from a two-game deficit to knock off the defending champion in the semifinals. Then bested this year’s top seed, a senior from Princeton University, by a 3-0 count.

“He’s my coach,” said Khalifa of his older brother, Amr. “Growing up, we spent a great deal of time together. He was always the teacher and I was always the student.”

As for playing against each other, that part of the learning curve ended early on, because, as Khalifa put it, “some of our matches had a tendency to get rather intense.” And so, this sibling rivalry has remained on the coach-player level, so both brothers can focus that intensity on opponents outside the family.

“We’re both scheduled to take part in the World Open this summer in Poland,” said Khalifa. “Due to our age difference, we won’t face each other this year, but next year, we could … and that could be fun.”

Mark Scandling knows all about life preservers. He coaches the Big Green boys water polo in the fall and you can find him tutoring girls water polo in the spring. It’s doubtful, however, he ever dreamed he would need a life preserver at his other job: wrestling coach.

There he was though, the first day of practice at mat’s edge. He wasn’t attired in the typical Deerfield Wrestling jersey, however, he was wearing a lifeguard shirt. Because to the members of this winter’s wrestling program, that’s exactly what he would he.

The bottom line for Deerfield Academy wrestling this winter had nothing to do with wins and losses, nor Class A titles or National championships. This season, it was all about survival. Not to sound overdramatic, but due to an overall lack of participation in the sport of late, the school was considering pulling the plug on the program and Scandling took it upon himself to keep it breathing.

“I just didn’t want to see it end … at least not without giving it one more shot,” said Scandling. And so the former Big Green mat mentor, who had stepped away from his coaching duties three years ago, returned to the helm to save and win – in that order.

Now, three months later, he can look back and declare mission accomplished. “We were able to reestablish a base for future success,” said Scandling.

It didn’t take him very long to figure that out, either. Once the patient’s prognosis went up on the bulletin board with an accompanying sign-up sheet, “I knew we were no longer a dead man walking,” quipped Scandling, as he greeted 19 enrollees on the first day of practice. And if they all stick with it, the program won’t be needing and more mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for quite some time. This year’s roster consisted of two seniors, four juniors, nine sophomores and four freshmen.

One of those juniors was Asu Billigren, who was the first girl to join the Deerfield wrestling ranks since back in the 90s. She wrestled in the 126-pound weight bracket.

“You gotta give her a lot of credit,” said Scandling. “She came to practice every day and she never backed down from anyone. She showed a lot of spunk and she earned the boys respect for it.”

Gene Thagard (15) was the lone Big Green wrestler who earned a trip to the National Prep Tournament at Lehigh University this winter. The invite followed a fifth-place finish in what Scandling described as “an extremely tough 126-pound weight class.”

Sloan Damon (13) wrapped up his prep school wrestling career in the 152-pound weight class with a regular-season record of 14-1, and was the recipient of the Deerfield Academy Wrestling Trophy for his accomplishments. Kade Johnson (14), meanwhile, drew a fourth deed at the New England tournament in the 170-pound weight bracket.

When you have as many freshmen as you have seniors dotting your roster, and the game you’re playing is an all-hands-on-deck-sport such as hockey, you can feel pretty sure you’re looking at a pretty long season. A bunch of seniors usually means extended play due to a postseason invite. An overload at the freshmen level, meanwhile, can often translate into youth, inexperience and rebuilding – and a long season, period.

With the Big Green girls hockey program splitting its senior-to-freshman ratio right down the middle this season at five each, the season’s outcome might still have been in doubt. After tossing four juniors and three sophomores into the mix, however, it appeared Deerfield’s long season would take the latter course.

“We were a young team this year and therefore, had some rebuilding to do,” said coach Genevieve Triganne of a team that went 6-17-1 on the season.  “The kids hung in there all season long, however. They took their lumps and learned from the experience. “

Triganne’s praise of her players’ ability to hang in there all season long certainly rang a chord, as her charges claim to fame may have well been that trait. Of the 17 losses they suffered, 10 of them came by a margin of two goals or less. And the close calls followed them all season long. Their first loss – in their second game of the season – came via a two-goal deficit, while they went down to defeat in their season finale by a two-goal margin as well.

Not all the close ones went the other way for the Big Green this season, however, as it hung in there to knock off Exeter by a 2-1 margin in overtime, while it outlasted Andover by a 1-0 count. If Deerfield were able to reverse heartbreaking 1-0 losses to Hotchkiss and Pomfret and 2-1 setbacks by Northfield Mount Hermon and New Hampton, it could have closed down the season inching toward a 500 season.

The good news out of all this is inevitable, despite still having a young squad, Triganne will have plenty of experience. In fact, probably the best news of all is that she has her top six scorers returning to the roster.

That list of firepower is led by Kayla O’Connor (14), who finished the season with 19 points on eight goals and 11 assists. Second on that list is Katherine Jackson (15), who was named this year’s Most Valuable Player after collecting five goals and 10 assists for 15 points. Next in line is Devinne Cullinane (14), who produced 14 points on nine goals and five assists. Senior forward Mettler Growney , meanwhile,  carted off the team’s Seventh Player Award.

Maryanne Iodice (14), the team’s top scoring defenseman this winter, contributed four goals and five assists to the cause, as Lucy Lytle (15) had seven points via a pair of goals and five assists. Taylor Morash (16) got her prep school hockey career off to a fast start by netting five goals and one helper to ring up six points.

Joining Iodice along the blue line this season were Kylie Davis (14), as well as Ryan Logie (13), Elana Van Arnam (13) and Kelsey Gallagher (13).

In goal, Triganne was blessed with both experience and youth as Hannah Insuik (13) and Emily Yue (16) shared the goaltending chores. The duo combined for a 2.79 goals against average and four shutouts. Insuik finished her career with a 2.61 goals against average and a .903 save percentage, while Yue maintained a 3.0 goals against average and an .865 save percentage.   

When you play basketball at Deerfield Academy, you need to bring your A-game to the court every night. And on some nights, not even that’s enough.

Playing Class A roundball in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference can be a tough gig.  It’s the home to some pretty serious basketball. Then, by the time you get through sprinkling some Class AAA and AA teams throughout your season, there’s no chance that schedule is going to remind you of the good … the bad … and the ugly.  Now you’re staring at the good … the better …  and the best. And this season, coach Conrad Pitcher’s charges can honestly say they took it one step further – this winter’s Big Green schedule put it up against an opponent who would end up proving to be the best of the very best.

Archrival Northfield Mount Hermon School will fill that claim to fame quite nicely, thank you, as it rang up the National Prep School Basketball Tournament crown this winter. The Hoggers, who captured the regular-season Class AAA crown were just the tip of the oppositional iceberg, however, as Deerfield also tangled with Cushing Academy, the Class AA tournament champion, as well as Kimball Union Academy, which drew a three-seed in AA tourney.

As for the A bracket, the Big Green went toe-to-toe with each and every team that eventually crammed its way into that eight-team tournament field, while it also found time to tangle with Suffield Academy, the eventual Class B champion.

“We won most of the games we should have won this season,” said Pitcher, whose club finished with an overall mark of 6-15 but went winless in 10 starts against teams that would move on to tournament play. “We went 5-9 in league games, which is just about what we expected, but a 7-7 record would likely have put us in the tourney.”

As is normally the case at Deerfield, and was no exception this winter, Big Green basketball lures talented athletes to its roster. The only problem being the majority of these athletes are majoring in other sports, such as football and/or lacrosse. If Pitcher could only find some way of making these guys feel a little more at home on the basketball court during the winter months, he might well go undefeated the rest of his career.

We know the rules of the sport would never allow tackling, even if a seven-foot, one-inch opponent was driving unopposed to the basket primed for an in-your-face 360-degree spinning slam dunk. Maybe a basketball helmet equipped with a facemask, might lull these guys into greener pastures, or maybe sneakers with cleats might do the trick. Anything that can help bring the outdoors indoors. If so, Pitcher might just have it made.

Take John Dillon (13) for example. The 6-2, 190-pounder who spends his autumns playing linebacker for the Big Green football team and will be doing the same at Williams College, played forward for Pitcher and led Deerfield in scoring, averaging a dozen points a game.  He hauled in about four rebounds a night as well.

Then there’s Billy Smith (13), who could be found scrambling all over his grandfather’s yard – Jim Smith Field – this past fall.  He spent his time playing quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back and was handed the team’s prestigious Thomas Ashley Award for his various contributions.

 The three-sport standout, who plays baseball in the spring, took to the hard court this winter and got to concentrate on just one position: guard. It paid off, too, as he came away with even more hardware, winning the Deerfield Basketball Trophy as the team’s most valuable player. Smith earned the award by heading up the Big Green’s backcourt, a three-guard system devised by Pitcher to take advantage of this team’s speed, quickness and overall shooting ability. Smith finished the campaign averaging 11 points per game, while Matt Ching (14), logged about 11 points per night as well.

T.J. Randall (13), who rounded out the backcourt boys, chipped in an average of 10 points a game and won a prime spot on Deerfield’s highlight film: A three-pointer at the buzzer to beat Andover, 57-55.

The other award winner in this winter’s lineup was Liam Kennedy (13), who, like many of his teammates, is well versed in varsity athletics. The three-sport standout, who is headed to Notre Dame to play lacrosse, was the recipient of the Most Improved Player Award.

“He was our defensive specialist,” said Pitcher of Kennedy, who probably learned that “Stuck on You” trait by playing defensive back in football. “I’d stick him on the opponent’s top outside shooter, and night in and night out he did a pretty darn good job keeping them off the scoreboard.”

Joining Dillon under the boards in the two-forward, three-guard offense was Patrick Ononibaku, where the 6-4 junior co-captain led the team in rebounding with an average of seven per game. Supplying depth up front were Colton Dana (13), as well as Charlie Brahaney, and Ian Kagame, a pair of still-growing 6-5 freshmen.

Deerfield Academy lost its mountain mojo.

The Big Green saw its two-year reign as king – and queen – of the hill reach the finish line this winter, as both squads came up short in defending their crowns at the New England Prep School Athletic Conference Class A Alpine Skiing Championships, which were held at Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, Vt.

 Although it was unable to ring up a three-peat, the boys team still managed to collect a bronze medal on the day, giving the Big Green squad a pass to the medals podium for a fifth consecutive year.  Belmont Hill School knocked Deerfield from its pedestal by chalking up 42 points. Berkshire School then added to Deerfield’s woes by finishing second with a 58-point effort. The Big Green, meanwhile, was a distant third in the 16-team field with 77 points.

The girls ledger saw Deerfield wind up fifth with 89 points, as Kimball Union Academy paced a dozen schools to the gold medal with 50 points on the day. Noble and Greenough School won a tiebreaker with Northfield Mount Hermon School for the second and third spots respectively, as both finished with 59 points.  To show just how closely these races were contested and how – in just the blink of an eye – a team can go from winning gold to winning nothing at all, the total time for the top three finishers of each school was compared. The difference was nearly infinitesimal, but Nobles took second on the clock: 757.58 to 758.18.

“We just weren’t the dominating force that we’ve been over the past couple of years,” explained coach Jodi Tanguay. “We had to really work to get the results that we came up with this winter.”

Individually, the Big Green won three of the four races that were up for grabs during this winter’s prep school skiing summit.  Lauren Stobierski (14) once again not only paved the way for the Big Green girls, but led all 58 competitors from 12 schools in both races. She captured the slalom event for the third consecutive year, with a time of 94.62, while she took the giant slalom (138.55) for the second straight year and earned the team’s Brooke Gonzalez ’97 Cup as the girls team’s MVP. As a team, however, Deerfield’s overall lack of depth saw it finish fifth in both races. 

“The girls team was extremely small this season,” said Tanguay. “In fact, we had five skiers in total, and some of them were skiing for the first time this year. With so few skiers, we needed every one to start and everyone to finish their races … and they did.

“When you factor in the lack of depth and the lack of experience we were dealing with,” added Tanguay, “I feel the girls had a great season.”

“I’m very happy that I was able to repeat in both the slalom and giant slalom,” said Stobierski. “We all knew that we’d have a tough time defending our team championship this season, so I think that took a lot of pressure off everyone and allowed us to just go out there and ski the best we could. I feel fortunate that I didn’t miss any gates and was still standing when I got to the finish line in both the races. I knew if I could do that, then I’d be in pretty good shape.”

The boys ledger saw Dylan Alvarez (13), who won this year’s J. Scott Kelnberger ’79 Most Valuable Skier Award, improve on last year’s second-place finish in the slalom by scribbling his name atop its time sheet this winter.  He bested 76 other skiers to the finish line in a time of 83.24, helping give Deerfield a third-place finish in that event. The giant slalom, where Alvarez finished fourth last year, wasn’t as kind to the Deerfield senior this time around, as he fell and finished 42nd.

“Jack Paul (14) and Sam Armstrong (15) came to the rescue, however,” explained Tanguay. They both skied fantastic races … they had to … if they hadn’t had those clean runs, it would have been pretty hard for us to have finished any better than third.”

Both came through in fine style to secure top-10 finishes, however. Paul placed fourth in 138.72, while Armstrong was sixth at 138.85 to land the Big Green a fourth-place spot in race.

The boys slalom competition saw Deerfield place four of its skiers within the top 20 to get a leg up on a field of 77 competitors. In addition to Alvarez, Peter Stobierski (14), the recipient of this winter’s Doug Parker Trophy, placed ninth in 89.72, while Armstrong was 15th in 92.71 and Madison Baker (15) 19th at 95.52.

The results for the Deerfield girls in both the slalom and giant slalom were nearly identical. Stobierski finished first in both, while Alexa Murray (15) was 18th in both races, with times of 111.20 in the slalom and 153.18 in the giant slalom. Signe Ahl (15) meanwhile, was 25th in the slalom (115.98) and 26th in the giant slalom (1553.18).

During the Mount Institute Ski League season, or what serves as the regular season for Deerfield’s skiers, the Big Green boys captured the league crown for the third straight year and finished atop the final standings for the ninth time in the past decade. The boys earned 59 points on the season to outlast Northfield Mount Hermon School, which placed second with 55 points and Eaglebrook School, the third-place finisher with 52 points.

The girls, meanwhile, finished second in the final standings, marking the first time since 2001 that they failed clinch the crown. Northfield Mount Hermon School led the charge with 59 points, while Deerfield finished second with 38, one point better than Miss Hall’s School (37).

On the individual ledger, Deerfield boasted the blue-ribbon winners in both campaigns. Alverez captured the boys competition for the second straight season by knocking off 68 other competitors with 420 points.  Lauren Stobierski is also well versed in medaling in the MISL, besting all comers to take the girls competition for the third consecutive winter with 315 points.

Baker helped the boys’ cause by placing fifth, just five points shy of a visit to the medals podium, while Armstrong slipped into the top 10 as well with an eighth-place finish. Two other teammates, Reilly Simmons (14) and Peter Stobierski made it into the top 20, with stops at 16 and 18 respectively.

In addition to Stobierski, whose first-place MISL finish earned her the Amy Spencer Cup for the third straight year, Ahl finished 10th in a field of 39, which was good enough for 272 points, while Murray was 11th to add 270 points to the Big Green’s cause. Cara Kennedy Cuomo (13), who won this year’s Philip H. Ball Jr. Ski Trophy, wound up 16th on the final ledger, while Bea Madersbacher Elde (15) was 19th.

Let’s play a game of “what if…”

Like “what if” Deerfield Academy had made the New England Prep School Athletic Conference Boys Hockey Tournament this winter.  Now, we know no invites were issued to the Big Green but according to coach Brendan Creagh, a berth in postseason play was closer than one might think.

“If we had won one of our last two games, I’m quite confident we would have made the tournament,” said Creagh, of his team that finished the past campaign with an 11-11-2 record.  “If we had won both of them, we’d definitely have made it.”

Well, let’s check out what happened, then what might have happened. The latter just might surprise you.

 First, the tournament ground rules: Due to the abundant number of Division I schools playing hockey under the New England Prep School Athletic Conference’s domain, it expanded its Division I field a few years ago. It added a second, separate tournament, allowing it to boost its entry field from eight to 16 teams.

 This winter, the Stuart/Corkery Bracket was home to the top eight seeded teams, in Division I, while the Martin/Earl Bracket fielded the Division I teams seeded nine through 16.

So, here’s what went down in the Martin/Earl Bracket after all the invites had been sent out. The quarterfinal games pitted top-seeded Cushing Academy and eighth-seed The Governor’s Academy, second-seeded Thayer against seventh seed St. Sebastian’s, third-ranked Avon Old Farms against sixth-seed Choate and fourth ranked Milton vs. fifth-seed Exeter.

Cushing, Thayer, Avon and Exeter survived their quarterfinal-round tests and moved on to the semifinals, where Cushing ousted Exeter and Avon bounced Thayer. In the finals, Cushing outlasted Avon, 1-0.

Now, here’s what could have happened.

What if Deerfield had won one or both of its last two games? That would have put the Big Green at either 12-10-2 or 13-9-2, but either way, it would appear to have put it ahead of The Governor’s Academy (11-12-5), which drew the eighth – and final – seed in the Martin/Earl Tournament.

So, what if Deerfield had made the tourney and been seeded eighth rather than The Governor’s Academy? Well, it looks as though it would have faced Cushing in the opener, a team it tied 2-2 during the regular season.

OK, now that we all admit that winning that opener wouldn’t have been such a stretch, we move on to the semifinals, where Exeter now awaits. Exeter is a team the Big Green trounced during the regular season, 5-0.

That takes us to the finals, where the only other team still standing is Avon, and although they say it’s difficult to beat a team three times in one season, Deerfield’s 3-2 and 2-1 victories over the Flying Beavers, should give it the nod to come home with its third New England championship.

As for the Stuart/Corkery Bracket, if you happen to be wondering what if Deerfield had made it into that echelon of play. Well, Salisbury won that bracket championship and the Big Green forced it into overtime before dropping a 2-1 decision during the regular season.

“Overall, I feel as though we improved over last season,” said Creagh. “I felt we played some good hockey this year, but sometimes it just wasn’t good enough to win.”

The Big Green proved once again to be the owners of a stingy defense, allowing less than three goals (2.95) per game in what has long been considered an environment where opposing forwards shoot first and ask questions later. And that goals against mark can be place squarely on the shoulders of Adam Ellison (13) and Jake Thoubboron (13). Ellison allowed 25 goals and posted 268 saves for a .915 save percentage. Thoubboron, meanwhile, allowed 39 goals on 379 shots for an .897 save percentage.

Out front on defense, Ellison and Thoubboron got plenty of help from an experienced blue-line crew of Jordan Prizant (13),  Byers Kadow (13), Jared Kubas (13) and Christian Wolter (13).  There was some youth back there too, as Cullen Geary (14), Sunho Park (14) and Louis-Phillippe Page (15) all enjoyed solid seasons and will return.

Offensively, Trevor Yates (14) paced the Big Green scoring attack this season with 31 points on 18 goals and 13 assists. Sam Lafferty (14) and Alex Gonye (13) were next in line with 24 points apiece, with Lafferty collecting nine goals and 15 assists, while Gonye posted six goals and assisted on 18 others. Jordan Jancze (13), who was the recipient of this year’s Deerfield Hockey Cup, rounded out the scorers in double figures with 10 points on six goals and four assists, while Kim Von Trapp netted seven goals and one assist for eight points.

Jay D’Amour (13) was named winner of this winter’s Seventh Player Award.

During his annual wrap-up of the season, Darnel Barnes was able to utter those two magical words that every coach loves to say but dreads to hear: “Everybody’s back!”

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to quit while he was ahead. There’s always another pressing question a head coach must answer about his team once the curtain has dropped on the season, that being its final record. And in tallying up the wins and losses from the past winter’s campaign, the Big Green girls basketball coach concluded the count in three words that every coach dreads to say but loves to hear: “five and seventeen.”

Expounding on the good news first, Barnes will have plenty of familiar faces for at least one more go-around next winter, as this year’s roster had an overload of underclassmen. And despite the record, Deerfield handed out its share of hoop halos.

Libby Murray (14), who at 5-10, served time at both power forward and small forward, earned a berth on the Western New England Girls Basketball League All-Star team for the third consecutive year. She made the grade by leading the team in rebounds, averaging nearly seven a game. For the first time in three years, however, Murray didn’t finish atop the team’s scoring charts. This season, she averaged nearly eight points per game, dropping to second on the list behind Becca Harrington (14).  Harrington, a versatile piece in Barnes’s backcourt, played both shooting guard and point guard and was named winner of the team’s Keller-Birrell Award. She poured in an average of nearly a dozen points a game, while she also averaged two rebounds, two assists and three steals a game.

Joining Murray up front were a pair of 6-0 sophomores in Kate Ginna and Caroline Ashford. Ginna averaged nearly six points and six rebounds a game, as well as a pair of steals every time she suited up. Ashford, meanwhile, averaged four points and five rebounds per night. Caroline Coppinger (16) proved to be one of the team’s top defensive specialists, as she would lock onto the opponent’s top-shooting guard and make her life miserable.  She averaged about two steals a game and also chipped in a pair of rebounds per night.

Another key contributor for this year’s Big Green team was Dana Barry (14), who averaged four points and three rebounds a game while playing underneath the boards and earned the team’s award as its Most Improved Player for her efforts. Another young forward was Kemi Akande (15) who collected a nightly average of three points, three rebounds and three steals.

“Our strong points this year were our defense and our heart,” said Barnes. “The kids might have gotten behind on the scoreboard this season, but they never gave up until the final buzzer. I’m very proud of these kids for that trait and I know it’s one of the building blocks we’ll use for next season.

“Offensively,” added the Big Green coach, “ we just have to learn how to find the open player on the court … we need to distribute the ball more. We struggled in that department this season and the opposition was able to take advantage of that fact.”