Stow native Eric Winters, a senior guard and cocaptain on Wesleyan University's men's basketball team, scored a total of 115 points his first three seasons for the Division 3 program in Middletown, Conn.
With an opportunity to start this season, Winters ranked third on the team in scoring (8.1 points per game) and was among the team leaders in assists, steals and rebounds through the first 17 games.
The 6-foot-2 Winters submitted a career-best game in a 66-58 overtime win over Thomas College on Jan. 4, delivering 20 points along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
"Eric is an extraordinary student and an exceptional athlete," said first-year Wesleyan coach Jay Johnson, whose Cardinals were 6-11 last week. "He never takes any task lightly."
Winters, a standout in basketball and soccer at Nashoba Regional High in Bolton, is joined on the team by classmate Mike Raymond of Newton, a guard who is averaging 18 minutes per game off the bench.
"Mike is a coach's dream," added Johnson. "He gets absolutely everything out of his ability every time he steps on the court." Raymond was a four-sport athlete at St. John's High in Shrewsbury.
The 6-foot Otey, the all-time leading girls' basketball scorer at Algonquin Regional High, was pacing the Division 2 squad in scoring (12.5 points per game), while shooting at a .455 clip, and rebounds (7.3 per game) last week.
"Michelle has the ability to find enough space to get her shot off," said the Vermont school's head coach, Jennifer Niebling, whose Purple Knights were 11-7 overall. "She is an incredibly accurate jump shooter with great form, and there's a quiet drive inside her that leads her to continually improve."
Otey played four years of basketball and soccer at Algonquin, where she scored 1,259 career points and led the Mid-Wach A league in scoring her junior and senior seasons. She was the league MVP as a senior, when she led the team to the Mid-Wach A title.
Sax, honored last month as the ECAC Division 3 Field Athlete of the Week, won the long jump with a distance of 4.96 meters and the triple jump with a distance of 10.84 meters. Sax also placed third in the 55-meter hurdles at 9.01 seconds.
The meet is named in memory of Poyau, a former Globe All-Scholastic runner from Brockton and Brandeis sprinter who drowned in 2003 while spending a semester abroad in Africa.
Sax, a graduate of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High, was the 2004 state high school Class B champion in the triple jump. She also won the Dual County League long-jump championship in 2005 and led her school in scoring each year from 2003 to 2005.
Bailey, a backup last season, was averaging 8.5 points per game and had a team-high 76 assists and 36 steals.
"Andrea knows she sets the tone for us defensively and offensively," said Wheaton head coach Melissa Hodgdon, "and she has become one of the toughest point guards, mentally and physically, in our league."
A two-time basketball captain and soccer letter winner in high school, Bailey was a Bay State Conference All-Star in both sports. She helped lead Needham to the South sectional basketball final her junior year.
She was honored for her efforts at the Boston University Terrier Classic on Jan. 25, when Flieger tied for 19th in the high jump with a season-best leap of 4 feet 11.75 inches. She was the top finisher among Division 2 athletes.
He'll be joined by Rivers senior quarterback Sean McGahan of South Boston, an All-ISL pick, who received the Weston private school's Grossman Outstanding Achievement Award for his service to the football program.
Marvin Pave can be reached at 508-820-4223 or marvin.pave@rcn.com.
