The reigning Division I Vermont state champion girls’ ice hockey team has been hard at work in preparation for a run at defending its title.

EJ Nelson, a freshman at Roger Williams University who hails from Essex Junction, was recently honored by the Commonwealth Coast Conference.

The Vermont Youth Volleyball Association (VYVA) recently announced its 2019 all-star teams and senior match invitees with a slew of Essex High School (EHS) players making the various lists.

A slew of Essex High School Hornets reeled in all-state and all-league laurels recently for their play during the 2019 fall seasons.

Fall collegiate seasons are coming to a close with conference champions being crowned and national tournaments getting underway. A few Essex High School alumni turned in notable performances across New England for their respective institutions.

With the winter seasons freshly underway across the collegiate athletics landscape, a few members of the Essex community are getting to the stat sheet early on.

CASTELTON — The 19th annual matchup between Vermont’s top senior high school football players kicked off at David Wolk Stadium at Castleton University on Saturday afternoon.

Thank you, all veterans! Your services are appreciated. November is one chilly month. Wood stoves are heating up, oak tree leaves are finally falling, yards are being raked – many but not all, snow starting to fall, and most importantly Thanksgiving is approaching. Football’s championship ga…

ESSEX — The Hornets defeated Bellows Free Academy on home turf 3-0 in the first playoff round.

By RUTHIE LAROCHE Essex and BFA St. Albans battled through regulation play and triple overtime, the Hornets earning the 21 to 15 win thanks to quarterback Sam Bowen who scored a touchdown from the 1-yard line in the third overtime. The game pitted two DI powerhouses against each other in an epic Friday Night Lights […]

Boys 100 Meters 6 Ryan Guerino 11.73 14 Jackson Baker 12.21 30 Kyle Moran 12.51 32 Sam Phillippo 12.53 74 Calvin Burnett 13.32 100 Meters 9th Grade 12 Maxwell Phillippo 13.11 15 Drew Engard 13.21 30 Terri Ambo 13.80 36 Mason Lepine 13.88 43 Nevin Mack 14.12 200 Meters 1 Spencer Towle 22.80 3 James […]

The sophomore guard scored a team-high 12 points as No. 8-seed Essex’s balanced attack almost pulled off an upset of No. 1 Rice in the Division I boys basketball quarterfinals before the Knights escaped with a 70-62 win. Paquette also had eight points in the Hornets’ first-round win over BFA-St. Albans.

The senior captain has led a rock-solid defense that had allowed more than one goal in a game just twice, both times to BFA-St. Albans in 2-1 losses. In front of goalie Sophie Forcier, the Hornet defense notched eight shutouts. Going into Thursday night’s championship game against BFA, Essex had surrendered just 16 goals in […]

The Essex girls head into the Feb. 16 state championships with six top-3 seeds and Martell owns two of them, including the team’s lone No. 1 ranking. Undefeated in seven Vermont races, the defending 600-meter state champion’s only loss in eight races was a third place at the Dartmouth Relays in that event — while running […]

Not all wins are created equal, and on Feb. 4 Essex won the one it most wanted thanks in large part to Foster’s superb effort in net. The senior made 28 saves as Essex beat BFA-St. Albans 2-1 in a Monday night makeup game, the Hornets’ first win over the Bobwhites since 2016. Coming off […]

By JOE GONILLO Valentine’s Day!! Besides the cards, flowers, chocolates, and/or dinners, this marks the halfway point of February. State championships on the line for the track and field teams and the gymnastics team on Saturday. Both should be exciting. EHS will host the gymnastics  championships once again. The Pink Zone hoop game is also […]

Gleason turned in a strong effort in a one-sided victory over Middlebury on Jan. 30 as the gymnasts returned from an 11-day break with a big win with just one meet remaining before the Hornets host the state championships on Feb. 16. Gleason was first in vault (8.75) and floor exercise (9.0), and third on […]

Brooks had the last say in a dramatic last-minute exchange of 3-pointers against South Burlington on Feb. 1. The Wolves went in front 52-49 on a three with less than a minute to play, and Essex tied it when Robbie Meslin knocked one down from the right corner with just 4 seconds remaining in regulation. […]

Two more assists in a season full of them provided the 99th and 100th points of Miller-Johnson’s high school hockey career. The senior captain hit the milestone in a Jan. 26 victory at Rutland, reaching 60 assists to go with 40 goals. For the season, Miller-Johnson leads Essex in assists, total points (22), and Plus/Minus […]

February arrives at the end of the week. Running out of weather adjectives, so no frustrating comments today. Hornet wrestlers take another tourney. I hope you are catching some athletic contests. Don’t miss the Super Bowl, as it should be a beauty. The wrestlers had another great week. On Tuesday, Essex clobbered VUHS 75-6. Saturday, […]

Ball helped the Hornets to a slim victory over St. Johnsbury Academy Jan. 19, 138.75-134.4, with breakthrough performances in uneven bars and floor exercise, scoring 9.3 on both to win both — tying all-around winner Anna Cushing of St.J for floor honors. Those efforts helped Essex post its highest score of the season to win. […]

Jenot didn’t have to win his 285-lb. final for Essex to take the Charlie Baker Memorial Tournament championship for the first time in its 26 years. But the senior’s determined, sudden pin in the last match of the day was the perfect finish to the weekend, which saw Essex cruise to the title by a […]

The Essex Hornets boys’ varsity hockey team demolished the Rutland Raiders by a score of 7-1 on January 16 bringing their record to 6-1-1. Photos by Josh Kaufmann, Essex Reporter

ESSEX — The Hornets swept top honors in last Wednesday’s gymnastics meet against visiting Milton, getting wins from a different gymnast in each of the four events to win, 131.2-107.4. Ella Lesny won vault, Claire Emery bars, Gab by Schmida beam, and Abbey Gleason floor for the Hornets, who are out to regain their crown after […]

The visiting St. Johnsbury Hilltoppers proved too much for the Hornets girls’ varsity basketball team when the two clashed on the court on January 17. The loss kept the squad from putting together three wins in a row. Photos by Josh Kaufmann, Essex Reporter

By JOE GONILLO Snow, snow, and more snow. Shovels, snow blowers and plows working? Using your skis, sleds, snowmobiles and snowshoes? Enjoy it if you love it. If not – gotta move. Michael J. Baker Classic another huge success. Exciting, too, as Hornets earned an historic championship! Nordic ski team hosted their annual Essex Classic […]

Five Green Mountain Aquatics big dog swimmers blast off the starting blocks, competing in the 400 Individual Medley event. Bottom to top are Cameron Marcus, Oliver Austin, Jake McIntyre, Jake Crock and Ross Macy. GMA hosted the Winter Knights Invitational Meet at St. Michael’s College over the weekend of January 4-6.

 The 66-57 win over the Wolves on Jan. 10 put the Hornets’ record at 4-4 as they prepare for the second half of the season. The squad hits the hardwood against St. Johnsbury and North Country Union this week. Photos courtesy of Michael Hoffman

Less than 24 hours after losing for the first time this winter, the Hornets evened things up in their rematch with Potsdam, N.Y., taking a 6-1 victory behind Cram’s hat trick. After a 4-1-0 start to the season, Potsdam handed Essex its first defeat in an overtime battle Jan. 11, winning 5-4. Cram, a senior […]

The captain and defending state champion helped lead the Hornets to first place in the Nashua South Hall of Fame Tournament in New Hampshire Jan. 12. Stewart, defending state champion at 106 lbs., took top honors in his class at Nashua for the second straight time, winning at 113 with a 4-0 record. Three of […]

By JOE GONILLO Halfway through January. Still snowy and cold. Hope all are studying this week. Get out and support a team during your free time. Lots of opportunities. Give credit where credit is due as the New England Patriots are a model of consistency. The wrestlers traveled to Nashua Saturday to compete in the 2019 […]

Meslin topped the Hornet scoring list in four straight games, racking up 76 points in four games. Meslin’s run has included game-high efforts against Colchester (19 points) and Mt. Mansfield (15). The guard also led Essex’s offense with 24 points in a victory over U-32 Jan. 2 and 18 against Rice two nights later.

The defending indoor high jump state champion picked up her second straight regular-season win Jan. 5, the only competitor among more than 20 to clear 5 feet. Neddo also came within 3 inches of her best indoor long jump to take second. Winner of the 2018 indoor title Feb. 10 with a career-best 5-foot-2, Neddo […]

Essex picked up a key victory over Burlington in the Hornets’ 50-46 win over the Seahorses. EHS has won two of its three games since the start of the new year to improve to 3-4. They face South Burlington on Thursday. Photos courtesy of Michael Hoffman

Remember it’s 2019. Getting used to January? Not me! Weather aside, it’s a great time for sports at all levels. Middle school basketball, all high school sports, college football championship was Monday night, men’s and women’s college hoop is rolling and, of course, the NFL playoffs are in high gear. The Hornet wrestlers competed in […]