Catamount Corner - August 22, 2023

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Welcome to Catamount Corner, where each month we catch up with UVM coaches and student-athletes and tell the biggest stories of the month.

In today’s show, we sat down with both soccer programs, the field hockey team, and the cross country team to preview the seasons. From there, we head to the ice to speak one-on-one with new men’s hockey coach Steve Wiedler. Then, we finish on the hardwood, where basketball stars Delaney Richason and Emma Utterback are leaving a legacy both on campus and out in the community, and talk to guard Aaron Deloney and forward Nick Fiorillo on stepping into leadership roles as fifth-years.

Check out all those stories below.

The UVM men’s soccer team won more games in 2022 than any other year in program history. We caught up with the Cats on their annual trip to Jay Peak, and despite a good amount of roster turnover, they say with the talent they have, they’re eager to continue building off last year.

UVM’s field hockey team also marked a program-best in wins last season, and welcome back most of the production from last year’s squad. Paired with a handful of experienced transfers - and a brand-new field - and the 2023 season comes with much anticipation.

Still about two weeks from their season opener, the cross country team is coming off a strong 2022 season and hopes to take another leap this year.

The women’s soccer team was the first to experience game action this fall, and the Cats say after a 4-9-3 finish a year ago, they feel a similar sense of hunger to the one they felt in 2021.

In July, UVM announced that men’s hockey head coach Todd Woodcroft had been relieved of his duties after an investigation revealed inappropriate text messages sent to a student. That same day, assistant Steve Wiedler was named interim head coach for the upcoming season. We sat down one-on-one with Wiedler to talk about his vision for the future of the program.

Women’s basketball stars Delaney Richason and Emma Utterback are well-known within the confines of Patrick Gym, but their legacy in Vermont stretches beyond those walls. The two spend their summers in Vermont - and back home in Indiana - coaching the next generation of basketball players.

Staying on the hardwood, fifth-years Aaron Deloney and Nick Fiorillo are back for one more year in Burlington. After years of leading the team on the court, as the most experienced Cats in the huddle, the keys to the program are now theirs.

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