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EAGLE FRESHMAN CAM Castillo launched a ball about 30 feet over the left-field fence with this swing, and it was his first varsity homer in a game that came as Mount Abe baseball team was beginning to catch fire in the middle of the season. He and his teammates were pumped. I’m not sure who tracked down the ball for him, but Cam was pleased to show it off in the dugout for Steve afterward, as well he should have been.
Independent photo/Steve James
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SOME OF THE best shots Steve gets of softball games come from behind the center field fence, where he can get crisp images with the telephoto lens. Much of the appeal of sport is the tension of anticipation, and this image has it. Tiger catcher Sienna Rubright is preparing to frame the pitch if the batter doesn’t swing. The batter is flexing her muscles getting ready to let the bat fly. The umpire is zeroing in on the flight of the ball, set to make a call if necessary. It’s all there.
Independent photo/Steve James
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VUHS SENIOR JAMO Couture had a fun three seasons: 1,000 yards rushing for MAV football, a state wrestling championship at 215 pounds, and an MAV boys’ lax title as a short-stick defensive middie. He played well defensively, but had the most impact — figuratively and literally — carrying the ball up the field. Let’s just say Couture didn’t shy away from opponents who tried to body-check him, and few tried to get in his way more than once. Some drew offensive fouls from Couture for charging; again, few tried that more than once. This photo captures one opponent’s open-field futility.
Independent photo/Steve James
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MUHS SOPHOMORE JAZMYN Hurley breezes to victory in the Essex New England Qualifying Meet, a week before she won three races at the D-II championships. This image captures nicely her composure and relaxed form, which contrast with her competitors, all of whom in comparison appear to be working much harder as they near the finish line.
Photo courtesy of Joe McVeigh
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EAGLE SENIOR CONNOR Kelly blossomed into a lockdown defender this season, arguably the best on the MAV boys’ lacrosse team, combining size, stick skills, speed and the necessary tenacity to be a thorn in any attacker’s side. Here after forcing a Green Mountain turnover in the D-III final at Norwich University Kelly starts to leave a couple Gumbies in his wake as he heads upfield.
Image by Mark Bouvier Photography
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TWO THINGS ARE great about this shot. One is simply the composition — the diagonal bat, just over Tiger pitcher Emma Deering’s head, the equilateral triangle formed by the ball, Emma’s glove and her right hand, and the gentle blur of everything except the pitcher that puts the subject in sharp relief. The other is a fact of athletics: One must exert oneself tremendously to do something like throw a softball accurately at 50 mph or so, but at the same time keep muscles and mind relaxed enough to do so optimally. Simply put, an athlete can’t tighten up. This particular image captures an athlete accomplishing that feat.
Independent photo/Steve James
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MUHS FRESHMAN SARAH Bevere got all of the ball with this swing, launching a towering homer to left field. Later in the game, her junior teammate Lexi Whitney lined a shot over the right-field fence for her first varsity homer, making the game especially memorable for the teammates. They were carrying around their home-run balls at the Eagle-Tiger baseball game afterward and posing for pictures together with them, a nice moment. And a nice photo by Steve, who caught the launch perfectly.
Independent photo/Steve James
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IT’S NO SECRET that Tiger senior attacker Toby Draper was tough to stop. After all, he racked up more than 200 points, including goals (six in the D-I final this spring) and assists, during his four-year MUHS varsity career. But without this photographic evidence from our man Steve we wouldn’t have known Toby could literally fly by opponents.
Independent photo/Steve James
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MAV SENIOR ATTACKER Noah Ladeau fires home a key fourth-quarter goal in the Eagles’ 9-6 victory in the boys’ lax D-III final at Norwich University; it pushed MAV’s lead to 3-2 and came on a great transition feed from Andrew Nolan. Ladeau led the Eagles in scoring and netted his 100th career goal this spring. The image shows the goalie has no chance at shot ticketed for the upper right corner, and a bonus is the rectangular patchwork background and the MAV sign.
Image by Mark Bouvier Photography
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JOYOUS MEMBERS OF the newly minted D-II champion MUHS baseball team run to celebrate with their friends, family members and fans in the Centennial Field stands after their postgame huddle. The Tigers won the tense, extra-inning game in dramatic and unusual fashion. Most seniors on the team had been playing together since Little League and were thrilled to win their school’s first baseball title.
Independent photo/Andy Kirkaldy
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DEFENSE WAS A strength of the young Mount Abe softball team, and this perfectly timed shot of a perfectly timed snag of a line drive by Eagle junior third baseman Abigail Parker, backed up by another good defender, sophomore Gen Forand, offers a good example.
Independent photo/Steve James
