VERMONT — A senior St. Johnsbury Academy track star, a junior Williamstown High School basketball standout, and a junior Castleton State College women’s basketball player were chosen as the Vermont Sports Media Association Athletes of the Month for February.
In statewide balloting of VSMA members, St. Johnsbury’s Quinn Bornstein was chosen the Female High School Athlete of the Month, Williamstown’s Hunter McLaughlin was elected the Male High School Athlete of the Month, and Castleton’s Jade Desroches was picked as the Open Division Athlete of the Month.
Each was first nominated by a VSMA member for his or her outstanding efforts in February.
Bornstein had a stellar finish to her winter running season, winning a trio of events at the Vermont indoor state track and field championships. Bornstein’s winning time at 3,200 meters was also the fastest winning mark since 1998, breaking her own school record.  Bornstein won the 1,600 in what was the second-fastest time recorded since 2004, and she became just the second girl to repeat in the 1,600 and 3,200.
She also became the first boy or girl to win the 1,600 and 3,200 and run on a championship 4×800-meter relay team. Later, at the USATF New England Championships on Feb. 23, Bornstein capped her season by running the fastest indoor girls’ 5,000 in Vermont history — 18:30.79 at the Harvard University track in Cambridge, Mass.
McLaughlin scored in double figures in each of Williamstown’s eight February games, helping lead to his team’s second straight undefeated season. He dropped 28 on Windsor in the Division III quarterfinals, 21 on Feb. 10 and 40 on Feb. 7. He also was a menace on the defensive end, swiping upwards of five steals and averaging multiple blocks per game, and was a prominent rebounder.
In February, Desroches, a Berkshire resident, averaged 13.7 points per game for the Spartans basketball team. She was the leader on the court as Castleton went 8-1 during the month, including a win in a NAC semifinal on Feb. 28. Desroches was named to the NAC All-League first team in February. Castleton went on to win the NAC tournament championship, and Desroches was named the tournament MVP. Castleton would eventually advance to the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Division 3 tournament.
The three February winners will receive plaques from the VSMA’s sponsor of the organization’s Athlete of the Month program, Initial Ideas of Rutland.
More information about the VSMA is available from organization president Josh Kaufman of the St. Albans Messenger at [email protected].