VERMONT — The Vermont Sports Media Association chose two high school juniors — a high-scoring field hockey player and a prolific football quarterback — as its Athletes of the Month for October.
In statewide balloting of VSMA members, the organization selected Otter Valley Union’s Allison Lowell as its October Female Athlete of the Month and Burr & Burton Academy’s Griffin Stalcup as its October Male Athlete of the Month.
A VSMA member first nominated each athlete for his and her outstanding performance in October.
Other local nominees for the VSMA monthly honors included OV football player Carson Leary and Mount Abraham girls’ soccer player Ernesta McIntosh.
As October came to a close, Lowell capped her 23-goal, 2-assist season by scoring all four of the D-II champion Otters’ playoff goals: The overtime game-winner in a 1-0 quarterfinal vs. Woodstock, both goals in their 2-0 semifinal vs. Burr & Burton, and the game’s only goal in their victory in the final vs. Mount Abe. Overall, in OV’s 7-1-2 October Lowell scored 12 times and set up one goal.
In addition to McIntosh, also nominated for the October female honor were Bellows Falls senior field hockey player Emily Stoddard and two soccer players, Rutland junior Brooke Woodard and Burr & Burton sophomore Hannah Pinkus.
McIntosh was nominated after piling up 10 goals and seven assists as Mount Abe went 9-1 in October, falling only to top seed U-32 in the D-II semifinal in double overtime. That scoring spree happened after Coach Dustin Corrigan moved the 2015 Lake Division Offensive Player of the Year to striker from central midfield.
MALE ATHLETE OF MONTH
Stalcup led Burr & Burton to a 5-0 October on the way to what became an 11-0 record and a Division II title, BBA’s first since 1948. In October, Stalcup threw for 17 touchdowns and 1,325 yards despite not playing full games in four of the five contests after they became blowouts. In a regular-season game vs. Bellows Falls, the No. 2 team in D-II, Stalcup threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns. In the D-II semifinal vs. Milton, Stalcup threw for 370 yards. 
As well as Leary, also nominated for the male honor were two other football players, Rutland senior Andy Kenosh and Bellows Falls junior Jahyde Bullard.
Leary, the quarterback for undefeated OV, rushed for 1,221 yards and 20 touchdowns in five October games (244 yards per game), averaging more than 14 yards per carry; he finished the month with 2,049 rushing yards this season to break his 2014 school record. Leary also threw for 637 yards and seven TDs in October. A defensive end, Leary also led the Otters in sacks. In December, Leary was named the Vermont Gatorade Football Player of the Year.