Taking a whack at it
Local athletes make impact in college sports
By Sean Sweeney Journal Correspondent

Oakmont's Matt Foley takes a shot on Murdock Goalie Travis Champagne. Oakmont lost 6-0.

Oakmont graduate Chris Vallee earned Nichols College's spot in this week's Worcester Area College Basketball Association Men's Honor Roll for his contributions during the Bison's 1-1 week last week.

Vallee, a member of the Spartans' 2004 Central Mass. Division 2 runners up boys' basketball team, averaged 17 points last week. The Nichols' captain posted 19 points off 6- of-11 shooting in a 77-65 win over Salve Regina, snapping a four-game losing streak. In a loss to Wentworth earlier in the week, Vallee tallied 15 points.

It is Vallee's second appearance on the WACBA Honor Roll this season, last making it on Dec. 12.

*****

Ashby's Alex Finn had a hot hand in three Salem State men's basketball victories last week.

On Jan. 16, the St. Bernard's graduate was 2-of-3 from downtown, scoring eight points as the Vikings knocked off the Westfield State Owls, 75-59. Two nights later, Finn came off the bench and tallied 11 points, his third-highest output of the season, off three 3-pointers and a short jumper to help SSC defeat Emmanuel, 68-62.

Oakmont's C.J. Shell gets around Murdock's Josh Frazer during action in the Jan. 20 game. Journal Photos/Jeffrey W. Boudreau

On Jan. 20, he scored six points in a 115- 96 win over MASCAC rival Framingham State.

This past Tuesday, Finn scored eight points in SSC's 81-62 win over MCLA.

Clark's Peter Normandin is currently the second-leading scorer on the Cougars' men's basketball team this season with 171 points. Normandin and the Cougars were off last Saturday, a rare thing in the NEWMAC.

Normandin, like Vallee a member of the 204 Oakmont boys' basketball team, has averaged just under 20 minutes a game for Clark, as well as 11.4 points per game and 6.6 rebounds. He is the leading rebounder on the team with 99 boards, 58 of them coming off the defensive glass. He is nearly automatic from the free throw line, shooting 41-of-51 for a .804 percentage.

He also leads Clark with eight blocked shots, and has also come away with 14 steals.

Last Wednesday, Jan. 17, the Westminster native scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in Clark's 74-65 loss to Babson. His 3-pointer from the left side capped a game-opening 15-2 run for the Cougars. He helped Clark get to within four points late in the game, scoring six points in a 10-2 run, but Clark would not get any closer.

*****

Townsend's Steph Payette has been wreaking havoc on the boards for the Fitchburg State women's basketball team.

With 120 rebounds, the North Middlesex graduate has led head coach Walter Paschal's Falcons on the glass, averaging 8.2 rebounds a game; she has been the high rebounder in 11 of FSC's 14 games. She is also the second-leading scorer on the team, averaging 9.7 points a game.

The sophomore also has a team-high 12 blocks on the season.

This past Tuesday in a 70-58 win over Framingham State at the Recreation Center, Payette came off the bench and recorded a double-double for FSC, scoring 11 points and pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds in the win.

If you know of a local athlete excelling at the collegiate level, we'd like to know about them! E-mail Journal sports writer Sean Sweeney at sean_sweeney@verizon. net.