Valley Malt, a business started by Andrea Stanley '94 and her husband Christian, has been featured in Amy Halloran's new book, "The New Bread Basket: How the New Crop of Grain Growers, Plant Breeders, Millers, Maltsters, Bakers, Brewers, and Local Food Activists Are Redefining Our Daily Loaf." From Amy, "Take Andrea and Christian Stanley, a couple who taught themselves the craft of malting and opened the first malthouse in New England in one hundred years. Such pioneering grain projects give consumers an alternative to industrial bread and beer, and return their production to a scale that respects people, local communities, and the health of the environment."

Teresa (Holuk) Bruno '99 and Frank Bruno '98 had a new addition to their family on Jan. 5. Ariana joins big brother Steven in bringing the Bruno family to four! Teresa also recently earned the 2015 Top Performer: Sales Manager Award from Manheim Auctions. There's a lot to be excited about in the Bruno home.

Judy Wesson Candage '82 has been elected president of the New England Morgan Horse Association. There are currently 465 active members across New England and beyond in the association, which promotes and celebrates the great Morgan horse in the show ring, on the trail and as favorite family pals. You can learn more at www.NEMHA.com.

Jeff Buchholz '80 is currently working at IBM as a sales engineer but earned his funeral director/embalmer license this year. He's been married for 29 years to Tracey Beckstead Buchholz. They have two children, Brenton, a senior at American International College, and William a junior at Cheney Technical High School.

Andrew G. Veitch '65 wrote, "Last spring I was initiated into the Buzzards Society of the Stamford (CT) Yacht Club for having participated in at least 10 Vineyard races. The 238-mile Vineyard race is a yearly yacht race held Labor Day weekend starting from Stamford to the Buzzards Bay light tower and back to Stamford passing south of Block Island."

Click here to read a story on Curtis Cobb '15 being named MAAC Rookie of the Week for Fairfield men's basketball.

After a pair of near misses, Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Ania Axas '19 has her second swimming record.

Eleven days after setting a pool mark in the 500 Freestyle, Ania swam to a school record in the 200 Individual Medley.

In a meet at Hamden Hall Jan. 27, Ania covered the 200 IM in two minutes, 17 seconds, breaking the previous mark of 2:19 set by Ivy Durepo '13 in 2011.

"I really wanted to break it that meet," said Ania, who came within less than a second of the 200 IM school record twice this season at previous meets. "And, Mr. (Dan) Moran told me there would be a girl at the meet who was my speed and she would be in one of my races and she's a senior who does USA Swimming age groups. She really pushed me."

Ania suffered a rare defeat that race. She felt somewhat dejected and didn't look at her time after she touched the wall. Then two teammates rushed over to her, and Ania's outlook quickly changed.

"I knew I had lost," Ania explained. "I was kind of disappointed, but then Marissa (Fabbo '17) and Christina (Felchner '16) came over and told me I broke the record so I was really happy. I was happy because I've been trying to get it and I was really surprised and shocked, but happy."

Ania set the WMA pool record in the 500 Jan. 16 in a meet against Cheshire Academy. She's won all of her races except two in her first season of high school swimming.

"My season is going very well," Ania said. "I like all the training I've done so far and I think I'm getting better and better. I can't wait for New Englands."

Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Ikas de Brito Trindade '17 requested to be more involved at this year's Harvard Model United Nations.

He was, and he was rewarded for it.

At the conclusion of the three-day event in Boston, which included 3,000 students from throughout the country, Ikas was selected for the Verbal Mention Award for his work with the Cabinet of the Islamic Republic of Iran, circa 1981.

"Ikas' second year in Model UN was a successful one," said Center for Entrepreneurial and Global Studies Chair Gina Markowski, who runs WMA's Model UN with CEGS Department member Gary Cook. "He applied for a Specialized Agency before we even began this academic year in August. He enthusiastically contacted me in July asking for my opinion as to what committee he should apply for. That's dedication. His passion for Model UN is infectious and he was an instrumental leader for new students this year."

Ikas proved to be an instrumental leader at the 63^rd annual conference as well. He served as Javad Fakoori, Iran's Minister of Defense and Military Logistics.

"Ikas was able to rely on his research and pre-conference preparation, but also had to adapt to unexpected crises as presented to him by his Dias Staff," Ms. Markowski explained. "Ikas was able to rewrite the course of history."

Using his Model UN experience and preparation, Ikas brilliantly played his role, embracing it as if he was indeed Mr. Fakoori.

"We (Iran) wanted to win the war with Iraq," Ikas said. "We started the war losing so we had to stop the invasion and eventually win the war. And then Iran had no friends in the international arena. The economy was crippled and people were starving. There were other political factions. There were people who wanted democracy and a different form of government.

"In the end, we did great. We not only stopped the invasion but we won the war. We destroyed Iraq, which was our goal and we created an Islamic Republic in Iraq, too. We lifted all sanctions imposed by the international community. We traded with Israel and the United States. The economy was booming and we dealt with domestic situations."

Being selected a standout among the 3,000 delegates was an added bonus for Ikas. More than anything, he appreciated being given the opportunity to be so involved in this year's event.

"Model UN was the best it could possibly be," Ikas said. "This was shared not only by me but the other kids in my committee. The staff from Harvard all said they had certain expectations with our simulation, and they said we surpassed their expectations. We did things in real life that Iran didn't do, like end the war in less than a year. The war lived on for seven years in real life.

"It was satisfying to win an award. But, it compliments the whole experience. I made this my focal point. For that weekend, that's what was important to me. Then I got into a frame of mind that I was the minister and there was actually a war going on. It was a great experience."

Even though he wasn't in a classroom, Wilbraham & Monson Academy Head of School Brian Easler recently passed a meaningful test.

After giving a three-day presentation to representatives from boarding schools throughout the world at a conference in Florida in early February, Mr. Easler was already asked to come back to deliver his educated message at next year's event.

"It seemed to go well," Mr. Easler said. "They asked me to be the regular guy. They want me back so I guess I passed the test."

Mr. Easler was one of two presenters at the Winter Residential Life Workshop, which was hosted by the Association of Boarding Schools. The seminar drew school deans and directors of residential life from 22 schools in the United States, Canada and China.

"This workshop is advertised to every boarding school in the world," Mr. Easler explained. "Since it's a faculty of only two, the name Wilbraham & Monson Academy under my name would be in front of every boarding school in the world. That's good for us."

With developing a residential curriculum serving as the theme, Mr. Easler focused on his strengths as a former dean of students at the Academy.

"All of the logistical stuff that goes along with running a program, that's what I brought to it, such as safety, liability, putting plans into place, staffing and evaluation."

Mr. Easler doesn't like being away from the WMA campus while classes are in session. However, presenting at the conference was not only good for the school, but also a valuable reminder for him as he nears the end of his second year as head of school after serving so many years as the dean of students.

"I enjoyed my experience," he said. "My first year-and-a-half at the Academy as the head of school has been necessarily focused on things like school finance and administrative staffing and things that are important to set a foundation for us to move forward.

When Anthony Arnieri '18 took to the stage at Founders Theater for Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Poetry Out Loud contest, he was just trying to not screw up.

When the competition was over, Anthony had a different concern altogether – he would have to postpone his spring break.

Anthony won WMA's Poetry Out Loud competition Feb. 3, earning a spot in the state event to be held in Springfield March 6 – a day after WMA begins spring break.

"My biggest fear wasn't winning or losing: it was not messing up," Anthony said. "My poem was simple to understand and I thought if I messed up people would think I'm stupid. I wasn't concerned about winning – I just wanted to do well."

Emily Dromgold '17 was named the runner-up, Emma Stoll '18 placed third and Zihan "Leo" Liu '18 was crowned the International winner.

Anthony recited T.S. Eliot's "La Figlia Che Piange" and Emily Dickinson's "I Heard A Fly Buzz – When I Die."

"It felt really good," Anthony said. "I didn't expect to win. Emily did a great job and Emma did a great job. It felt great when the judges said my name as the winner.

He knows it sounds crazy, but when his Wilbraham & Monson Academy Girls' Basketball team trailed by 16 at halftime against Vermont Academy Feb. 10, Coach Durelle Brown thought that was a good thing – he wanted to find out just how tough his team was.

And, wow, did Coach Brown find out.

Facing their second-biggest deficit of the season, the Titans rallied in the closing minutes of regulation before beating visiting Vermont 52-46 in overtime in front of an enthusiastic WMA crowd.

"We needed to be in that situation," Coach Brown explained. "We've won a lot of games by 30. We have had two games where we were down and had to come back, but when you're coaching and trying to season a ball club, that situation was ideal."

WMA trailed 26-10 at halftime. Down 38-27 with eight minutes to go, the Titans slowly started to chip away.

"For the last few weeks, Coach has been telling us about how important the end of the season is in terms of our playoff seeding," Meera Ratte '17 said. "He came back to that at halftime and I think that helped to push us. He told us to just chip away at the deficit."

Annika Bruce '17 buried a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to knot the game 43-43 and Vermont Academy missed two free throws with 2.1 seconds to go in regulation to force overtime. Annika hit another big 3-point in the extra time, giving WMA the lead for good.

Annika and Meera both finished with 18 points.

WMA has a challenging road to close out the season, with games against defending Class C champion Hamden Hall, strong Class B schools Berkshire School and Suffield Academy, as well as Class A Deerfield. The Titans are 12-2 and ranked #6 in Class C.

Nine Wilbraham & Monson Academy students were honored for their submissions to the school's 2015-16 Writing Contest.

"I enjoyed each of these pieces, and also the ways that the different pieces intersect," English Department member and Rubicon Faculty Advisor Heidi Ostendarp said. "Emily Dromgold and Celina Rivernider both wrote essays about their responses to losing people who meant a great deal to them; Mark Xu, Anike Tella-Martins and Ikas de Brito Trindade viewed colonialism in the Congo and tyranny in Ghana through Western literary lenses; and Martin Mao's essay and Colin O'Brien's poem had wonderful personal and cultural intersections."

All of the winners will be published in the "Rubicon 2016." The winners included:

Creative Nonfiction

First place (tie)

• Emily Dromgold '17 "I Won't Forget"
• Valentina MacEachern '17 "V Gostyah Horosho, a Doma Lutshe"

Honorable Mentions

• Jiaming "Martin" Mao '17 "The Knot that Binds"
• Celina Rivernider '19 Untitled

Academic Essay

First place (tie)

• Ikas de Brito Trindade '17 "The Eternal Fate of Tyranny"
• Junhao "Mark" Xu '16 "The Darkness of Imperialism"

Honorable Mention

• Anike Tella-Martins '16 "The Revelation of the Congo"

Poetry

First place

• Colin O'Brien '16 "Afternoon at the Royal Palace"

Honorable Mentions

• Emily Dromgold '17 "Crayons" & "2436"
• Olivia McCauley '16 "Reflection"
• Celina Rivernider '19 "What is War?"
• Colin O'Brien '16 Untitled (publication only)

The Wilbraham & Monson Academy Boys' Lacrosse team thinks so highly of Zach Mann '17 he was named a captain as a junior.

Mount St. Mary's University men's lacrosse program thinks so highly of Zach it offered him a spot on the team as a high school junior, with Zach verbally committing in late January to play for the Division I program in Maryland.

"I'm excited for Zach. This is the first player I've had at WMA who is committing as a junior, other than John Tierney '15," Coach Mike MacDonald said. "For him to get that look at the Division I college this early in his career, there's a lot of promise but he can still develop. I'm excited he's going D1. He's happy and his family is happy. He's going into a great situation as far as academics at Mount St. Mary's."

Zach got on Mount St. Mary's lacrosse radar during the summer. After a visit, and later a Mount St. Mary's Prospect Day, he knew he had found a college home.

"The prospect day was a good chance for me to get in front of all the coaches at once," said Zach, a midfielder. "It was the first time I could be with the coaches while they were coaching. I enjoyed their style. One of the coaches is best friends with my club coach. It's funny because if I don't know which one of them was talking, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. They talk the same and act the same on the field. I feel I'm used to the coaching style.

"There are smaller class sizes that I was looking for, and obviously the D1 sports. It's a rural area, but not so far out of the way that there's nothing around. There wasn't anything I was iffy about the school. I liked everything."

Coach MacDonald likes how Zach is growing while at WMA, so much so he earned the status of captain on a strong team.

At big-time wrestling tournaments, it's all about finishing on the podium.

After Wilbraham & Monson Academy's most important tournament of the season, the Wrestling team showed it's ready for the big time.

Peter Caine '16, Alex Claudio '17 and Adam Kugelmass '19 placed in the top three Feb. 13 at the Class A Championship Meet at Hyde School in Woodstock, Conn., with Peter placing second, and Alex and Adam took third in their respective weight classes.

In his three previous years of wrestling at WMA, Peter had never placed in the top six at Class A meet. Behind his rigorous off-season workout program, Peter turned himself into one of the top wrestlers in the 220-pound weight class in the region, earning the top seed at the Class A meet.

"I definitely feel all four years went into this season, growing my skills and growing my strength," said Peter, who won his first two matches before falling in the final. "Definitely, all the work over the summer and dropping the weight class, it felt like after standing up there and extending my season another week, maybe two weeks, it was all worth it."

Alex not only finished on the podium at the Class A meet, but he also finished with a wrestling milestone, collecting his 100^th career win after pinning his first-round match.

"It's a big accomplishment," Alex said. "I know a lot of guys who wrestle who haven't gotten that so I'm glad I got it."

Alex won his first match in the 182-pound weight class but lost his second before beating his final two opponents to take third.

"I'm proud of taking third," said Alex, who now has 102 career victories. "I probably could have done better but there were some tough guys there and I did my best."

Adam improved on his fifth-place finish from a year ago, winning his final two matches to take the consolation final in the 106-weight class.

Wilbraham & Monson Academy Riflery team member Dan Wesson '18 is making his mark regionally, and this summer he's aiming to make a statement nationally.

Dan placed seventh among 54 shooters in the Intermediate Junior category at the National Rifle Association Junior Indoor Conventional Position Section at Blue Trail Range in Wallingford, Conn., Feb. 13.

"I was pretty excited," said Dan, who scored 384 points out of 400 with his .22 caliber smallbore rifle. "I was only five points away from first place. I was happy about that.

"I thought I was shooting well. I try not to think about it but I do keep track of the score in my head, which is not really preferred but it's a habit."

Dan is beginning to make a habit of going to as many shooting competitions as he can. This summer, he plans to attend the Bay State Games in Massachusetts, USA Shooting Rifle and Pistol National Championships in Georgia and the National Smallbore Outdoor Championships in Indiana.

Click here to read a story on Maodo Lo '12 being named Ivy League Player of the Week.

Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Riflery team had two of its members place in the top three at one of the program's biggest events of the season.

Dan Wesson '18 and Yi "Sally" Qiu '16 placed second and third, respectively, at the 85^th annual Prep Gallery Match, which drew regional prep school's top competitors to Blue Trail Range in Wallingford, Conn., Feb. 17.

"Mr. Lombard was excited Sally and I finished second and third because it puts out a statement for our school," Dan said.

Dan and Sally were just two points out of first place, both shooting a 192 (of 200). Dan was awarded second place because he recorded more bulls-eyes.

"I did my routine," Dan said. "I tried to relax and not get all excited or anything. I got in my zone and focused and let things play out."

Sally added, "I think I did pretty well. Even though it wasn't my personal best, I wasn't as nervous as I expected to be."

There are more than one million orphans in Rwanda.

Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Emily Dromgold '17 can't help them all, but she has once again proven she's willing to make an effort.

For the second year in a row, Emily will host the Wilbraham & Monson Academy Charity Piano Concert. This year's event will be held April 1 at Alumni Memorial Chapel at 7 p.m.

"This concert is such a joy to put together," Emily said. "Not only am I able to bring people together through something I love but I am also able to help make a difference in the lives of young children who are not as lucky as myself. This is the least I can do and I hope many people will come and support the cause as well."

Emily was inspired to help the orphans of Rwanda after participating in a case study regarding the 1994 genocide in Rwanda at the Academy hosted by Boston University professor Carl Hobert, who also helps the country's orphans through his Axis of Hope Program.

This year's concert will include piano performances by students from the United States, China, Japan and Korea. A $50 Amazon gift card will be raffled, and cookies and hot chocolate will be provided. There is no entry fee, however, donations will be accepted.

Months and months of hard work has given the Wilbraham & Monson Academy Girls' Basketball team the opportunity to do what they love – to keep working.

The Titans earned the #6 seed in the New England Prep School Athletic Counsel Class C Tournament, where they will play at #3 Lexington Christian Academy March 2 at 4 p.m.

"It's a proud moment, for the goals we've made and now one has been achieved," Coach Durelle Brown said. "We still have more to reach, but we have that gratification that the hard work has paid off."

"We're really excited because we didn't make the tournament last year, and we were only a few spots away," Meera Ratte '17 added. "We knew this year we had a very good chance at being in the tournament. It really came down to everyone doing her job throughout the season. We grew as a team and learned our roles. Everyone bought into what Coach Brown was saying to us and I think that's why we're in the tournament."

The Titans, who finished 8-11 a year ago, capped the regular season 14-5.

"That's a great transformation," Coach Brown said. "It's a proud moment knowing the program is going in the right direction. It's a reflection of them and their hard work. I'm a proud coach."