It was a banner year at ConVal’s middle schools, with championship seasons in boys’ soccer, girls’ soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, track and field, and field hockey, not to mention a fantastic year for the SMS band.
SMS Athletic Director Sara Norby attributes the success of the school’s teams this year to the school’s positive, student-centered culture.
“It blew my mind to have this happen as my first year as athletic director. The only word I can think of is just ‘proud,'” Norby said. “To see not only how we were successful as teams, but also to see how our kids represented our school, and how they grew in sportsmanship, in teamwork, and in perseverance. We don’t only measure success by the number of wins.”
Norby, who has been at SMS for 23 years and teaches seventh-grade science, says while the whole SMS community celebrates the school’s championship teams, the teams that didn’t have winning records accomplished every bit as much.
“Especially for our developmental teams, with kids maybe trying a sport for the first time, we look at how much did they grow over the season? Did they grow in their sportsmanship? Did they grow as a person and a player? And did they enjoy it?” Norby said.
Norby says the key to the culture at SMS is high expectations.
“We have very high expectations in grades and academics. Our students’ grades could not go under 70 if they are going to play on a team, and they can’t have any behavior write-ups. If they got in trouble at all, they could not participate in practice or games. In the beginning of the season, I had some kids sitting out, and then they realized I really was checking their grades,” Norby said. “Then they really rose to the occasion. Each of them sat and met with their teachers and made a plan, and we checked that they were making progress, and none of them had problems for the rest of the year. In middle school, it’s all about growing the person; it’s all about development.”
Norby attributes the program’s success partly to longtime SMS Athletic Director Tod Silegy, who retired in 2025.
“He was definitely my mentor, and I still talk to him almost every day during the school year,” Norby said.
SMS’s fall teams were particularly successful in 2025-26, with boys’ soccer going 15-0 and girls’ soccer making it to the semifinals, only to lose by one goal.
SMS boys’ soccer (A) finished its season 12-0, won first place in the regular-season Tri-County standings, was 15-0 after playoffs, and was Tri-County League Division III West champion.
“Boys soccer went 15-0; they won the championship, they dominated, and they had a lot of goals. The coach was really proud he was able to play the whole team throughout the season,” Norby said. “We have a strong program thanks to our feeder programs, both Peterborough Rec and the ConVal Soccer Club.”
The SMS-Great Brook girls’ volleyball team won the Fall Mountain “Diggin’ in the Den” tournament, beating many teams from higher divisions.
“The growth on the volleyball team was just insane, and that is kind of out there. We look at where kids ended up compared to where they started off, and that is what we are really proud of,” Norby said.
The SMS track and field teams competed at the Meet of Champions, with the boys coming in fourth and the girls coming in eighth overall.
“Girls 4×1 relay finished first in the entire state, and we think maybe broke a CV high school record,” Norby said. “We had five girls on our team, with four running at a time, and the chemistry on that team was unbelievable. It was so fun to watch, because they could just read each other, and they did a tremendous job at the Meet of Champions.”
The 4×1 team was composed of Inora Rushalko, Greta Bielagus, Charlotte Broadley, Brooklynn Sipe and Penny Griffiths.
Also at the Meet of Champions, Locke Olesky took first in the state in shot put.
SMS field hockey had a regular season of 10-1, earned second place in the regular-season Tri-County standings, ended the season 12-2 after playoffs, and was Tri-County League Division III West champion runner-up. Girls soccer had an undefeated regular season (8-0-2) and made it to the playoff semifinals.
“Field hockey lost to Boynton Middle School, and they had an extremely talented team this year,” Norby said.
Winter sports were also strong at SMS. Girls A basketball finished its season 11-5, 9-3 in the Tri-County regular season, earning third place in the regular-season Tri-County standings, and ended 12-6 after playoffs. Boys A basketball won the Tri-County League Division III West championship after finishing its regular season 10-6, 9-3 in the Tri-County regular season, and was Winter Slam champion.
“Boys basketball lost their first six games,” Norby said. “They had to figure out how to click, and then once they did, they really did, and they ended up winning the league championship.”
Norby says ConVal’s positive, student-centered culture comes from the top down.
“It feels really good to be here right now. The energy we get from the administration is that they care about the kids, and the kids come first, and it’s fun to be here,” she said.
SMS Band wins Platinum
The SMS seventh and eighth grade band also had a triumphant year, bringing home a platinum rating at the Great East Music Festival in Lowell, Mass.
“On top of all the athletic success, our music program shined too. They brought home platinum, which is the highest honor possible,” Norby said.
Band Director Ed Lowy said while the band attends the Great East every year, they have not achieved a Platinum rating for 13 years. The band achieved a total score of 98%.
“Every year I say, this is the year, but this year they finally got it. They were really fantastic this year, and they just really excelled, completely went far beyond my expectations,” Lowy said.
Lowy said the SMS schedule is a significant factor in the band’s ability to excel.
“I really credit our principal, Mr. Conway, for building a schedule around band. The band gets time to practice every day, all year,” Lowy said. “We’re not all together, but the seventh graders and the eighth graders get to rehearse every day.”
Lowy said one of the judges at Great East asked him several times if the SMS band “was really middle schoolers.”
“He could not believe we were not a high school band. He said we were one of the best bands he had ever seen,” Lowy said.
Great Brook athletes shine
Multiple teams at Great Brook School had winning or championship seasons as well.
“We have had a lot of success this year, and it really all comes from the kids. We are just so proud of them,” said Great Brook Athletic Director Cassie Anderson. “Especially when you look at our school being in the Tri-County League for the first time this year, I thought we did a fantastic job this year.”
Anderson said many of Great Brook’s athletes went above and beyond, even practicing outside of official practices.
“I was at ConVal one day to watch the softball game, and there was our girls’ 4×4 team, out by themselves, practicing, and the coach was not even there,” Anderson said. “The baseball team would stay late after practice. I said, ‘Does coach even know you are here?’ The kids worked so hard and were so determined.”
Anderson said the SMS-GBS wrestling program also had a great year.
“We have a joint wrestling program with SMS, and we handle the oversight. We had the largest turnout we have had in a while. It’s elementary school through middle school, and we have many kids who have succeeded in their weight class.”
Great Brook’s sports successes this year include the girls’ cross country team, which won the girls’ Tri-County cross country championship.
The members of the 4×400 girls’ track team, which competed in the Meet of Champions, included Aliyah Chamberlain, Cora McNulty, Collins Harris and Marissa Hardwick. Hardwick qualified for three events, and Nerea Jaramillo came in third place in the high jump.
The girls’ cross country first-place team for “A” Race Division 3 West included Cora McNulty, Laurel Brown, Makaya Gadson and Marissa Hardwick.
The GBS baseball team made it to the Tri-County Championship game, where it placed as runner-up. In boys’ cross country, Bradley Allen placed eighth in the boys’ division, and the GBS field hockey team qualified for the Tri-County quarterfinals.
For more information about ConVal athletics, go to conval.edu.
