Local college roundup: Three Coast Guard football players, East Lyme's Blane Hart named first team All-NEWMAC

New London — Coast Guard Academy wide receiver Broock Desta, running back James Wheeler IV and offensive lineman Jay Martin were named as All-New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference first team selections Thursday.Springfield running back Blane Hart of East Lyme was also named to the first team, while Coast Guard's Matthew LaBouliere, Springfield defensive lineman Cameron Hart of East Lyme and Fitch graduate Josh Letellier of Salve Regina were second team honorees.This is Desta's second straight first team selection and his third overall all-league pick, earning second team honors in 2021 in addition to being named NEWMAC Rookie of the Year. He finished this season with 54 catches for 727 yards and nine touchdowns despite missing a pair of games due to injury.Martin and Wheeler each make their first career appearances as all-conference picks.Martin played in all 10 games for Coast Guard (5-5) and helped the offensive line provide elite pass protection, as the Bears finished with a league-high 2,759 passing yards. The Bears' rushing total of 1,684 was also the third-highest total in the league."Jay deserves this," coach C.C. Grant said in a story on the Coast Guard web site. "He is one of the hardest workers on the team and when we need yards, we run behind him."Despite missing a game due to injury, Wheeler was one of two NEWMAC athletes to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark rushing (1,063), averaging 118.1 yards per game. He finished second in both stats to Springfield's Arsen Shtefan, who repeated as NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Year.Blane Hart finished with 63 carries for 668 yards and 13 touchdowns for league champion Springfield (10-0), which will continue its season in the NCAA Division III tournament on Nov. 30 against UMass Dartmouth. Hart averaged 10.4 yards per carry.• Coast Guard published a story on its web site earlier this week announcing that next season's Secretaries' Cup football game against Merchant Marine will be played at Fenway Park in Boston, home of the Boston Red Sox.The game between the two federal service academies will be played at noon on Nov. 15, 2025, televised on ESPN+."The U.S. Coast Guard is excited to bring the Secretaries' Cup rivalry to a whole new level by hosting the game at historic Fenway Park in 2025," Coast Guard athletic director Dan Rose said on the web site. "We are looking forward to seeing the entire Coast Guard community in blue and orange in Boston next fall to support our service's team at this iconic venue."Information on tickets to the game will be announced at a later date.Men's basketball• Coast Guard held on to beat host Connecticut College 59-54 on Wednesday night. The Bears led by as many as 15 points in the second half before Conn cut the lead to two. Cameron Brown had 13 points and six rebounds, Trevor Parks had 12 points and six rebounds and Luke Farrell had seven assists for Coast Guard (1-1). Cam Schainfeld, Elias Espinosa and Quron Zene scored 11 points each for the Camels (1-2). Dylan Watson had seven rebounds and Espinosa had six rebounds and three assists for Conn.Women's basketball• Coast Guard opened the game on a 13-2 run and went on to beat Conn College 84-74 on Wednesday night. Dorothy Stotts had 30 points and six assists and Julia Mann had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Bears (3-1) while Glory Blethen scored 10 and Kelly Hagerty had eight rebounds. Catie Donadio led the Camels (3-1) with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Addi Hunter scored 19, Sydney Marshall had 12 points, Hayle Thompson had nine rebounds and Mia Xerras had six assists for Conn.College honors• Mila Chan of Connecticut College made the All-New England Small College Athletic Conference volleyball team as a second team selection. Chan, a freshman outside hitter, was second in the NESCAC in points at 4.07 per game and third in kills at 3.4. She led the Camels (15-9) with 238 kills and had 28 service aces and 32 total blocks.Chan recorded 12 double-digit kill games in her debut season, six of which came in conference play. Her season high of 23 kills — the fifth-highest single-game total in the NESCAC this season — came against Trinity on Sept. 27.Chan was also honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. She was named to the Division III All-Region team for Region I as an honorable mention pick.• Nicholas DeMarco and Chloe Therrien of Conn College were honored by the NESCAC for making the Fall All-Sportsmanship Team more than once.Therrien made the field hockey team for the third time and DeMarco made the men's cross country team for the second time.