Sports 06-01-2017

WHS SPORTS roundup

WHS baseball, softball teams play in state tournament today

The Winthrop High baseball and softball teams are scheduled to open play in the MIAA state tournament today (Thursday).

Coach Frank DeMarco’s Vikings, who are seeded 11th in the 12-team Division 4 North with an 8-12 record, will face sixth-seeded Mystic Valley of the Commonwealth Conference, which compiled an 11-7 regular-season record.

The winner of today’s contest will advance to the quarterfinal round on Monday to take on third-seeded O’Bryant High of Boston (12-6), which drew a first round bye.

The Vikings qualified for the tourney in dramatic fashion with a victory Saturday over Essex Tech in bottom of the seventh inning in the final game of the season.

A bases-loaded grounder by Jonathan Applebee brought home the winning tally for the walk-off win. WHS senior Jack Wallace struck out 10 opponents on the mound. Jack also drove in two RBI with a triple.

Coach Dave Guffey’s Lady Vikings will make the long trek to Amesbury today for a 3:15 preliminary round encounter. Winthrop is the 21st seed of the 21 teams in the D-3 North Sectional with a 6-14 record. Amesbury is the 12th seed with a 14-6 mark.

The winner will advance to the first round and will take on fifth-seeded Mystic Valley on Sunday at 2:00.

 

Fainga’a named to NEC all-star team

 

Winthrop softball captain Maddie Fainga’a was named to the All-Conference all-star team of the Northeastern Conference at a meeting of the league’s coaches this past week.

“Maddie has been a true leader for our team,” said WHS head coach Dave Guffey of Fainga’a, who compiled a .529 batting average for the Lady Vikings this past season.

Fainga’a and her fellow seniors enjoyed a fitting Senior Night last Tuesday with a 9-3 victory over Pope John of Everett. Winthrop was led by a typical performance from Fainga’a, who went 3-for-4, and also reached when she was hit by a pitch and stole five bases.

Junior Jess Martin, who was named a second team NEC all-star, socked her first home run in the win over PJ.

Kaitlyn Carter pitched six innings, allowing one hit. Taylor Impemba came on in the seventh and struck out two opponents in a hitless inning.

The Lady Vikings received some bad news on the eve of the state tournament when they learned that Ashley McGonagle, whom Guffey described as “one of our hardest-working and key players all season” will be out of action for the tournament after being diagnosed with a torn labrum.

 

Boys lacrosse team opened play in tourney

 

The Winthrop High boys lacrosse team opened play in the Division 3 North Sectional of the MIAA boys state lacrosse tournament yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon as the Sun-Transcript went to press.

Coach Brian Donnelly’s Vikings, who entered the D-3 North as the 13th seed with a 10-8 record, were scheduled to trek to Triton, the fourth seed with a 12-6 mark, for a 3:00 encounter.

Five members of the Viking squad were chosen all-stars of the Northeastern Conference.  Named as first-team all stars were senior Dave Barry and sophomore Pat Sennot. Selected as second-team all stars were senior Steve Rodgers, junior Mike Lane, and sophomore goalie Andrew DiMento.

“Overall, it has been a very good season,” said Donnelly. “We’ve been led by our senior leaders, captain Dave Barry, Steve Rodgers and Ennis Plavsic. We are looking forward to playing in the state tourney.”

 

McGrail takes second in D-4 Meet; advances to all-state competition

 

A contingent of members of the Winthrop High boys outdoor track & field team competed in Saturday’s Division 4 State Meet this past Saturday.

Coach Mark D’Amico’s crew turned in many fine performances, led by senior captain and ace discus man, Andrew McGrail. Andrew came through with his best-ever throw to set a new personal record (PR) of 136’-1” that placed him second overall and thereby qualified him for the  All-State Meet that will be held this Saturday at Bridgewater State College.

“This is the second year in a row that Andrew has made it to the All State meet and the third year in a row that a member of the Winthrop boys track team has gone to the All-State meet,” said D’Amico, noting that Mark Bouche made it two years ago in the triple jump.

In the first running event on the track, the two-mile run, Viking Nick Beshere ran a PR outdoor time of 10:49.

In the 200 dash, David Navarro ran a good race in a time of 24.38 and then came in third in his heat in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.06.

The next event on the track was the mile, featuring Viking teammates Cormac MacPhail and Will Holden.

“Cormac and Will were in the slower heat, so they knew they had to push themselves,” said D’Amico.

MacPhail wasted no time from the outset of the race, taking the lead in his heat with a quarter-mile split of 67.97 and then completing the second lap with a split of 73.5.

Although Cormac was passed at the start of the third lap, he kept right on the shoulder of his opponent, running a 74.7 split. Cormac at one point was passed by another runner, but the Viking sophomore fought him off to finish second in his heat with a last lap of 69.3 for an overall PR clocking of 4:46.06, a time that landed him in 11th place overall among the field of 24 runners.

Holden also ran a hard-fought race, finishing in a time of 4:58.1, his third-best clocking of the season.

The last race of the day for a member of the Winthrop track team was the 800 in which Viking Tony Nargi ran his best 800 of the season. Tony went out hard with the  lead runners, running a 63.5 for his first lap, but was still behind many opponents.  However, Nargi made a move with 300 to go on the back stretch, passing four runners before the last conner.  On the last straightaway, Tony passed a few more rivals to come across the line in second place in his heat with a split of around 62.7, which gave him an overall time of 2:06.48.

That proved good enough for an 11th place finish overall and beating all other competitors in his grade.

“The boys had a great season,” said D’Amico. “This team showed great  perseverance this year.  It was the best boys track team in Winthrop in league standings since 2007. This team was one of the nicest boys’ teams I have ever coached.  They worked well together, helping each other out to better themselves.”

 

Benson places sixth at girls state D-4 Meet

 

Heidy Benson capped her outstanding Winthrop High track career with a sixth place medal in the 800 meter race at Saturday’s Division 4 State Meet that was held in Norwell.

“Heidy had the race of her life, knocking three seconds off her personal record,” said WHS head coach Warren MacPhail of Benson’s clocking of 2:22.65. “It was a great way to end an amazing track career.”

Two other Lady Vikings also competed in Saturday’s meet. Sophomore Micayla Norris just missed bringing home a medal with a ninth-place finish in the 100 meter dash in a time of 13.49.

“Micayla had her first taste of big-meet competition and performed well,” said MacPhail. “She was knocked out of placing in the top-eight by a wind measurement subtraction.”

Lady Viking teammate Christa Vaccaro competed in both the 400 meter hurdles and the long jump, finishing in 18th place in the hurdles in 72.19 and 33rd in the long jump with a leap of 13’-8.5”.

“Christa, who was coming from her outstanding perfomance in Florida in gymnastics, finished off her outstanding track career in fine fashion,” said MacPhail.

Two weeks ago the Lady Vikings performed well at the Northeastern Conference Meet at which all 16 NEC teams competed.

Norris finished third among all competitors in the 100 dash with a clocking of 13.39. Micayla had finished in fourth place in the preliminaries with a time of 13.45 and moved up a spot in the finals with a speedy dash.

Benson also earned a third-place medal in her specialty, the 800, with a clocking of 2:26.29. The winning time in the NEC Meet was 2:22.33, a time that Heidy virtually equaled at Saturday’s State D-4 Meet.

Other Lady Vikings who turned in strong performances at the NEC Meet were Camilla Miranda Llovera, who finished in 11th place in the two-mile run in 13:20.19; Regina Garufo, who came across in eighth place in the 400 meter dash in 1:07.87; Shanel Turransky, who just missed the medalist circle with a seventh place ranking in the high jump with a leap of 4’-8”; and freshman Fiona MacPhail, who finished in 13th place in the 400 dash in 1:10.25.

“It was a fantastic season, probably the best girls’ track season in 15-plus years,” said MacPhail of his squad, which compiled a 6-1 record in dual meet competition in the NEC South. “We couldn’t be more excited about next season and to finally have a track to practice on and have home meets.”

 

WHS boys earn medals at NEC Meet

 

The Winthrop High boys outdoor track & field team turned in a fine performance at the recent Northeastern Conference Meet, which featured competitors from all 16 schools of the newly-expanded NEC, which welcomed the four schooIs from the former Greater Boston League (Everett, Somerville, Medford, and Malden) in all sports this spring.

A number of Vikings finished among the top-10 in their respective specialties, led by senior Captain Andrew McGrail, who finished in sixth place in the discus to earn a medal. Among the top performers for WHS coach Mark D’Amico’s squad were:

In the 200 meter dash, Captain David Navarro came in 10th out of 25 runners with a solid sprint of 24.36.

In the 400 dash, Michaelangelo Marcoccio ran one of his best times of the season with a clocking of 63.3.

In the 800 sophomore Tony Nargi ran his fastest time of the season. Tony ran a first 400 split of 63 seconds and followed that with a split of 65 seconds for a time of 2:08.01, a performance that landed him in seventh place and ahead of all the other sophomores.

In the mile Cormac MacPhail and Captain Will Holden again ran spectacular races.  The two ran out fast in 69.4 for their first lap, then came back with a second lap of 72.8, giving them an 800 split of 222.2.

They slowed down their third lap to 76.9, when MacPhail took off, running a last lap of 69.5 to finish with a time of 4:48.99, while Holden finished in 4:54.33. Those times were personal records (PRs) for both Vikings. They finished seventh and ninth among the field of 26 runners.

In the two mile, captain Nick Beshere ran a solid time of 11:00.2, placing him seventh in the field of 21 runners.

In the 400 meter hurdles, Mark Amatucci ran a PR of 71.2.

In the high jump, Geovanni Edwards crossed the bar at a height of 5’-4” to place  in 13th spot.

In the long jump, David Navarro leapt 18’-5.5” to place 16th among the 29 competitors.

In the triple jump, MacPhail attained a PR final landing of 33’-7.25”, while Mark Amatucci also achieved a PR of 28’-10.25”.

Freshman Patrick Teixeira threw a PR shot-put toss of 33-02.25 to finish in 20th place among the field of 28.

In the discus, captain Andrew McGrail came in 6th out of 31 with a throw of 124’-1”. Freshman teammate Billy Hubert came in 29th with a throw of 68’-3”.

In the javelin, Tyler Chiudina finished 15th with a throw of 113’-10” and AJ Massa came in 24th with a throw of 89’-7”.

 

WHS boys track team performs well in exciting final dual meet of season

 

The Winthrop High boys track team turned in a fine effort recently in their final dual meet of the season against Northeastern Conference rival Lynn English in an encounter that was decided in the final event, the 4 x 400 relay.

In the the low hurdles, sophomore Cormac MacPhail came in second with a personal record (PR) time of 66.3 and Mark Amatucci took third with a PR of 73.0.

In the two mile, Nick Beshere came in first in 11:34, while teammate Jakob Hain ran a good race, coming in fourth with a clocking of 15:18.

In the high hurdles, Dillon Doherty took second spot in 23.0.

David Navarro grabbed third place in the 100 dash in 11.7.

In the 800, Tony Nargi ran a gutsy race, wearing down the competition and running a PR of 2:08 to take first place.

The race of the day went to MacPhail and William Holden in the mile. The Viking duo came across the line first and second with PR times this season of 4:54.7 and 4:55.8 respectively.

In the 200 dash Navarro came back to win in 23.9 and Taylor St. George grabbed second place with a PR of 25.1.

Andrew McGrail won the shot-put with a throw of 38’-11” and teammates Pat Teixeria came in fourth with a toss of 32’-11.5”.

In the 400 dash, freshman Patrick Haskell topped the field with a solid time of 59.6. Teammate Michaelangelo Marcoccio earned a point with his third place performance in 64.4.

In the triple jump, teammates MacPhail and Haskell once again tied for first with their final landings of 32’-11.5”.

Navarro grabbed second place in the long jump with a leap of 17’-11”.

In the high jump, Gio Edwards came in third with a leap of 5’-4”.

Andrew McGrail reigned supreme once again in the discus and teammate Billy Hubert finished fourth.

Tyler Chuidina took second in the javelin with a throw of 124’-11” and A.J. Massa finished fourth with a toss of 99’-9”.

The outcome of the meet came down to the 4 x 400 relay. Holden ran the first leg for Winthrop, circling the track with a split of 56.95 to give the Vikings a slight lead at the first hand-off to Haskell, who maintained Winthrop’s advantage with a split of 59.6.

Beshere then took the baton and kept Winthrop ahead with a split of 62.6. That  left matters up to Tony Nargi, who ran a gutsy lap. However, at the final turn the  Lynn English runner passed Tony with some of his teammates sprinting down the sidelines with him.

The final time showed English edging the Vikings by just over a second, 3:56.2-3:57.5, giving the Bulldogs the win for the meet by a final score of 70-66.

 

From the Press Box

A Ticket to the Tourney

By: Jim Lederman

The final game for seniors on the 2017 Winthrop Vikings baseball team would decide if they would qualify for the MIAA Tourney.

The weather after two months of rain was picture perfect. A Saturday afternoon with sun and the seniors celebrated ‘Senior Day’ with a thrilling (6-5) victory over Essex Tech.

A large crowd with many family present (I think I counted 15 – members of the Tallent family) watched the Vikings, led by the masterful performance of the best (MVP) player in the NEC – Jack Wallace, turn in a clutch game (11 strike outs) that helped coach Frank DeMarco’s team punch a ticket to the tourney.

The Vikings overcame some costly errors (three unearned Essex runs) to pull out the victory in the seventh and final at bat for the Vikings.

The ‘big sticks’ for Winthrop co-captains Luigi (just call me ‘Papi’) Spinazzola, a monstrous triple by Wallace (leading hitter in the NEC), junior second baseman Jake Adamson (wearing his dad’s ‘number 16’ – assistant coach Jimmy Adamson) were just a few of the underdog Vikings team.

The Vikings will play in the Division 4 North Tourney this week.

The Vikings have four teams playing in the tourney this week. Boys and Girls tennis teams (both established new WHS records) and a very strong boys lacrosse team (10-8) qualifying for the MIAA Tourney.

June is exciting for this senior class- graduation this week to wrap up their high school careers.

The boy’s lacrosse team plays Triton (The Vikings) on Wednesday at Triton.

I will have a complete playoff report next week.

Let’s salute the Class of 2017!

Let’s Go Vikings!

Let the Games Begin!

 

 

The Playoff Teams

The Viking seniors have a very busy schedule this week. They have Senior Day, the Senior Prom and they have that memorable day – Graduation.

WE salute the Viking athletic teams that qualified for the MIAA playoffs. Kudos to the ‘five’ Viking athletic teams that will compete this week.

The boy’s lacrosse team (10-8) under coach Brian Donnelly will travel to Newbury to face off with the Triton Vikings on Wednesday. I have special interest in this game, my grandchildren Jamie and Michael attend Triton Regional.

Coach Marie Finn’s boy’s tennis team had a fantastic season, establishing a new WHS record for wins (12-4).

 

Coach Kenny Hodgkins, in his second year as girl’s tennis coach recorded nine wins (9-4).

 

The Vikings will play –

 

Coach Dave Guffey’s Lady Vikings softball team qualified for the 16^th year in a row for the MIAA playoffs.

 

The Vikings –

 

Coach Frank DeMarco’s baseball team (8-12) won a thrilling (6-5) victory over Essex Tech. The Vikings are playing in Division North.

 

 

Behind the Plate

Co-captain Jack Wallace finished his Viking career with an ‘all-star’ season. ‘Number 14’ had a .484 bating average, including 32-hits, 26 RBI’s, a .813 slugging percentage in the victory over archrival Revere, Jack knocked in 7-runs. On the mound Jack had 66-strike outs and a .275 ERA. Jack will take his pitching skills to Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, New Hampshire.

The NEC ‘All-Star’ team will be named, look for Luigi Spinazzola and Wallace on the team!

 

 

The Cavs are the Underdog

Yes, finally the NBA finals begin tonight! The Cleveland Cavaliers, the defending champions are underdogs against the Golden State Warriors. The odds are stacked against Lebron James and his teammates.

Act III in this trilogy. This is the third year in a row – Cleveland and Golden State are playing for the championship. The Warriors are heavy favorites to capture the crown for the second time in three years.

The Cavaliers crushed our beloved Boston Celtics (4-1) to win the East title, winning three games at the ‘Garden’ in Boston.

Behind the ‘Big Three’ – Lebron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. The high scoring Cavaliers are ready for the challenge. The Warriors are a 7-point favorite tonight.

I will cheer loud for the Cavaliers and King James to lose to Golden State. I believe the addition of Kevin Durant will be the difference for Golden State.

Golden State has a strong defense with Draymond Green to stop Lebron. I like the Warriors bench as another key to their success.

Basketball in June is exciting! I would rather watch a great basketball game than a 3-hour baseball game.

Let’s Go Golden State!

Let the Games Begin!

 

Apropos of Nothing

The annual Winthrop Vikings football Pancake Breakfast is only 17 days away. Yes, the ‘Father’s Day’ Breakfast will be held in the new cafeteria in the new Winthrop Middle/High School.

 

Will Pablo Sandoval and David Price be playing for the Red Sox in September?

 

Tennis court update. The Wallace B. McClean tennis courts are hosting a MIAA Tennis match. The Ingleside tennis courts are still not complete!

The WHS class of 1982 will celebrate their 35^th class reunion – ‘The Class of Champions’ (superbowl, baseball and hockey) this year – date to follow!

Nick Tsiotos reminds me – the 1972 WHS class will celebrate their 45^th reunion this summer!

The Patriots open practice in July. Bill Belichick has loaded up the team with free agents. Can the team go (19-0)?

Tom Brady turns 40 this summer – How many more years can he play? The Pats are keeping Jimmy Garopolo. Are you ready for some football?

 

Congrats to Vikings all-star lacrosse players: David Barry, Steve Rogers, Michael Lane and Andrew DiMento. The program is only four years old and the Vikings have a winning team that qualified for the MIAA Tourney.

Raise the Stix

Let’s Go Vikings!

Let the Games Begin!

 

 

Trivia

In 2014 – The Lady Vikings soccer team shutout the ‘Spartan’ of St. Mary’s of Lynn (1-0) behind the play of NEC all –star Poli Tsiotos to advance to the final of the North. In 2015 the Lady Vikings hoop team defeated St. Mary’s to advance to the final of Division 3 North at the Tsongas Center. Poli Tsiotos, two foul shots were the keys to defeating St. Mary’s – the ‘Spartan Jinx’ was broken!

Legendary Celtics – Tom Hensohn and Bill Russell have 11 (eleven) NBA championship rings.

The following NBA players won scoring titles before they played for the Boston Celtics. Tiny Archibald, Dave Bing, Pete Maravich, Dominique Wilkins, Bob McAdoo, Shaq O’Neal.

Ryan Allen, Patriots punter, who visited the Cummings School holds the NFL Super bowl record for longest punt in super bowl history – 64 years Seattle 2015.

The six ex-Viking basketball p layers who played in the NCAA-Division III playoffs in 1976 were – Nick and Chris Tsiotos.

 

 

 

WHS gymnastics standout Christa Vaccaro finishes sixth in National Championships

By Cary Shuman

Peter Gobiel has reigned over the Winthrop gymnastics community for 32 years. So when the owner of Winthrop Gymnastics Academy says that Christa Vaccaro is the best gymnast to ever compete in the Winthrop High program, the declaration carries much weight.

Vaccaro, who will graduate with the Winthrop High Class of 2017 Friday night, concluded her spectacular career in the National High School Gymnastics Championships earlier this month in Fort Myers, Florida.

Just being invited to the nationals is a prestigious accomplishment. Vaccaro showed she belonged among the nation’s elite by finishing sixth overall, qualifying for the finals in three events: the vault, uneven parallel bars, and floor exercise. She scored a 9.4 in her specialty, the vault, and a season-best 9.5 in the floor exercise.

Vaccaro was the top scorer on the 20-member Massachusetts team after the first day of competition. The 5-foot-3-inch, 18-year-old senior led Team Massachusetts to a third-place finish overall.

“It was a great finish to a long and amazing career,” lauded Gobiel. “The Nationals really brought out the best in her.”

Vaccaro was voted MVP of the Northeastern Conference two years in a row. The captain of the Winthrop High team, she was selected as a Boston Globe All-Scholastic. She has won a slew of first-place medals at every level of competition.

“Christa is the best gymnast we’ve ever had in Winthrop,” summarized Gobiel.

Mary Vaccaro first brought her daughter, Christa, to the Vikings Gymnastics Academy in Winthrop Center for a “Me and Mom” class when Christa was three years old. The budding star trained at the gym through her elementary and middle school years before making a decision at the end of her eighth grade year that she would dedicate herself to high school gymnastics.

“In eighth grade Christa said to me, ‘I want to do what [former Viking star] Danica [Dellano] did,” said Gobiel. “Christa worked out five days a week at six in the morning, including an hour of conditioning. She also worked out three hours each night.”

The commitment to the sport paid off as Vaccaro became the most decorated gymnast in school history and a perennial NEC individual champion. She will be continuing her career at Rhode Island College (RIC) and study Special Education.

Vaccaro said she’s proud of her legacy in the gymnastics program and hopes others will be inspired by her achievements. She also competed in track.

“It feels really good to leave with a goal for the younger kids when they decide that they want to do gymnastics in college,” said Vaccaro. “I like to set a good example for them.”

Vaccaro works as an instructor at Gobiel’s academy. She said there are some talented gymnastics in the middle school age group.

“The seventh and eighth graders are really outstanding,” said Vaccaro. “They really contributed very well to the high school team this season.”

She is grateful to coach Peter Gobiel for his support and instruction.

“I just want to thank him for his endless support and bringing me in to the gym whenever I wanted to and being by my side,” said Vaccaro. “My high school coaches, Daria Millerick and Melissa Wiles, were also very supportive.”

She also thanked her parents, Mary and Joe Vaccaro, for being at her meets all season.

Looking back at her career, Vaccaro said, “I enjoyed my years at Winthrop High, especially finishing in the new school – it was so nice.”

And now it’s on to RIC for the future Winthrop High Hall of Famer.