WHS sports roundup
Gymnastics team tops Peabody to run record to 5-0
The Winthrop High gymnastics team ran its unbeaten record to 5-0 with a victory over Peabody Friday evening at the Winthrop Gymnastics Academy.
The Lady Vikings started the night on the uneven bars with exhibitions from Charlette Hurley and Emily Rodriquez, who scored 6.7 and 6.85 respectively.
First up in the lineup was Mary O’Donnell, who turned in a solid performance, scoring a 6.7. The next three Lady Vikings, Rachel Farley, Alayna Ronan, and Megi Zogasi worked hard to receive scores of 6.9, 7.1, and 6.8.
Danielle Carter pushed through her routine with a 7.4, leaving Brandi DiCicco up last and winning the event with a 7.9.
The balance beam proved to be Winthrop’s biggest challenge, with each of the Lady Vikings struggling to stay on. Sage D’Amelio was first up, scoring a 6.2, followed by Jillian Lerner with a 5.4.
Captain Lacy Scott posted a 7.6 with Gracie Armitstead right behind her with a 7.3. The top four scores for the Lady Vikings were Zogasi 8.3, Carter 8.6, Ronan 8.6, and winning the event was DiCicco with an 8.8.
“We are going to spend some quality time on beam this week ” said WHS beam coach Daria Millerick.
The vault turned out to be the highlight of the night for Winthrop, with the Lady Vikings scoring a season high of 34.45. First up was Ronan, who started Winthrop off with a beautiful, twisting handspring, scoring an 8.6. Captain Scott scored a 7.8, followed by O’Donnell with an 8.4, her personal best of the season.
Zogasi and Carter also performed a twisting handspring, scoring 8.4 and 8.65. Tying for first place on the vault were DiCicco and Farley, with both hitting their vaults with an 8.7.
“The girls got together and hit vault after a rough balance beam night, which showed some character for a young team,” said coach Peter Gobiel.
The last event of the evening, the floor exercise, started with exhibitions from Emily Rodriquez and O’Donnell, scoring 7.5 and 7.1.
First-up in the line-up, Gianna Guarino, got the Lady Vikings started with a clean routine and a score of 7.4. Gabriella Giuffree and Farley showed off their dance skills, both receiving a 7.6. The youngest Lady Viking, Ronan, proved once again to be a crowd favorite with her new routine, scoring 8.0 for third place. Second place went to ninth-grader Carter with a new, second tumbling pass to score an 8.15.
Closing the meet with all eyes on her, DiCicco once again delivered a beautiful performance, scoring an 8.4 to take first place.
The undefeated Lady Vikings now are tied atop the Northeastern Conference with Masconomet and Beverly.
Those two teams will be Winthrop’s next opponents, with the Lady Vikings hosting Masco tomorrow (Friday) evening and then trekking to Beverly (which sports a 66-match winning streak) on Tuesday.
“These meets will decide the conference championship,” said Gobiel. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Five Lady Vikings take firsts in meet against Swampscott
Although the Winthrop High girls indoor track & field team came up on the short end of a 60-26 decision to Swampscott last week, the Lady Vikings took first place in five of the nine individual events.
Avalynn Morales was a double-victor for Winthrop, taking first in the hurdles in 9.9 seconds and first in the dash in 7.9.
Isabella Mahoney won the high jump with a leap of 4′-6″; Mary Kate Pote captured the shot put with a toss of 26′-2″; and Sofia Stifleman outran the field in the two-mile in 13:15.
Clare Nargi earned a point for the Winthrop side of the scoresheet with a third place finish in the hurdles in 11.4.
The Lady Vikings were scheduled to meet Salem this past Tuesday.
MacPhail, Hubert win in track meet
Cormac MacPhail and Bobby Hubert took first place in their respective events for the WHS boys track team in last week’s meet with Swampcott.
Cormac won the 1,000 dash in 2:53.5 and Hubert captured the 300 dash in 41.0.
The Vikings’ lone other point-scorer was Jaidon Brown in the 55 meter dash in a sprint of 7.2.
Winthrop was set to meet Salem this past Tuesday.
Girls hockey team splits two contests
The Winthrop High girls hockey team had an up-and-down week, defeating Bishop Fenwick, 6-0, last Thursday, but then dropping a hard-to-take 1-0 decision to Beverly on Saturday.
The triumph over Fenwick featured all three of the Lady Viking goaltenders, Summer Tallent, Sabrina Dembro, and Ana Baurle, sharing in the shutout.
“All three girls played well and were very impressive,” said WHS head coach Anthony Martucci. Lighting the lamp for the Lady Vikings were McKayla Norris and Olivia Driscoll with two goals apiece and Sophia Kennedy and Catie O’Shea with one marker each.
Ashley Miles was credited with three assists and Grace Carleton and Mia Martucci with one each.
“This game belonged to Ashley Miles and Olivia Driscoll,” said Martucci. “Those two played unreal. Olivia was a beast going to the net hard, and really working hard. She is a hard worker, she never lets up, and it is paying off.
“Ashley is just an awesome hockey player,” continued Martucci. “She is not big, but plays like a six footer. We call her the little ball of hate, cause she wreaks havoc out there all the time.â€
By contrast, Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Beverly at Endicott College was a heartbreaker. Winthrop outshot the Lady Panthers by a wide margin, 42-11, and controlled the play from beginning to end, but could not put the puck past Beverly’s senior  goalie, Madison Jalbert.
“It was very hard to take,” said Martucci.  “The team played great. We just ran into a very hot goalie, and could not get one by her.
“Olivia Holmes really stepped up for us in this game,” continued the coach. “She had to log a bunch of minutes because we were without Emma Carney and Brooke Costing (both were out with the flu). Holmie stepped up for us. She played well, and helped Bella, Nifty, and Staffs a ton.
“Kaiya Rodrigues also stepped up for us,” added Martucci. “She was asked to jump back on defense for the last two games and she did so without even blinking. Kai is a team player, and she has been that way since the first time I coached her as a six year-old. She will always put the team first.
“Summer Tallent has been exactly what the team needed for the first eight games,” Martucci noted of his goaltender. “She has given us quality starts every game she has been in there for, and she is keeping us right there every single game. It is amazing to have an eighth grader performing like this.”
Martucci and his crew, who now are 5-2-1 overall and 2-2-1 in the Northeastern Hockey League, were set to face Waltham, a non-league rival, yesterday (Wednesday) evening at Larsen. They will trek to Peabody Saturday and then Waltham next Wednesday.
WHS girls hoop defeats Salem, 49-25
The Winthrop High girls basketball team earned its first win of the season with a 49-25 victory over Salem last week.
Maura Dorr and Carolyn Kinsella led the way in the scoring department for the Lady Vikings, who chalked up their first win of the season, with 14 points apiece. The junior varsity team also toppled their Salem opponents by a score of 53-18. Top scorers for Winthrop were freshman Lily Pulsifer with 12 point and fellow freshmen Grace Galuris and Tessa Ferrandi with eight points each.
Coach Kristin Degou and her squad were scheduled to play Lynnfield yesterday (Wednesday). They will trek to Everett tomorrow (Friday) and entertain Revere next Tuesday.
Boys hockey team drops two of three
The Winthrop High boys hockey team went 1-for-3 this past week, with a 2-1 win at Beverly on Saturday sandwiched between losses of 3-1 to Danvers last Wednesday at Larsen and 5-0 to Scituate on the holiday, also at Larsen Rink.
Coach Dale Dunbar and his crew, who stand at 5-4-1 overall and 3-2-1 in the North Division of the Northeastern Conference, will host Northeast Regional Saturday afternoon at 1:30 and Peabody next Wednesday at 6:30.
From the Press Box
The Skate Doctor
By: Jim Lederman
The Skate Doctor
I visited Larsen Rink last week to see a ‘big game’ – Winthrop vs. Danvers, first place on the line in an important NEC hockey game. Danvers won (3-1).
The legendary ice arena has been home to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of young Viking teams. There was a huge crowd, and many young future Viking skaters were in the building.
Last Thursday morning I had a conversation with two ‘hockey moms’ talking about the ‘Learn to Skate’ hockey program and the success of the program with their children.
Sean Donahue has his ‘PhD and Master’s in the Learn to Skate program. Sean has been teaching over 3,000 young skaters over the past 35 years along with George Barker. I covered the 1976 WHS Vikings –undefeated Division One hockey champions.
The ‘Irish Line’ of McDonald, Burke and McDonald scored 212 points – a prolific trio. The 1976 also had a young Viking named Sean Donahue skating for the Vikings.
Winthrop High School hockey has won more games than any team in the state, for the past 40 years!
The Vikings girls program coached by “Hall of Famer†Anthony ‘Butch’ Martucci has another strong team this winter. The skaters started their hockey careers under the ‘tutelage’ of Dr. Sean Donahue.
In 2018 we can take pride in a new $10 million dollar Miller Field, a $88 million dollar high school/middle school and a ‘legendary hockey rink.’ It takes a village to build a program for the youth of our community.
Today we salute the Learn To Skate Program!
Let the Games Begin!
Behind the Blue Line
I watched the Vikings play at Larsen Rink last week for the first time this season (due to my operation).
The Danvers Falcons invaded Larsen Rink to face off with the Vikings. The same two teams finished the 2017 season at Larsen, with Danvers defeating the Vikings to capture the 2017 NEC title.
Danvers is loaded and ranked in the top 10 in their division. The Vikings held a (1-0) lead into the third period, before losing (3-1).
A first period goal by junior Sammy Yarrow (a blast of speed and a rocket of a shot) handed coach Dale Dunbar’s team a quick 1-0 advantage.
Junior goalie Ryan Skoczylas was phenomenal between the pipes for the Vikings. Ryan had 4 incredible saves to prevent Danvers from leading (3-1) in the second period. He finished with 22 saves and held the Danvers team to two good goals into the third period.
The Vikings have 10 seniors on the roster. There is plenty of scoring power but the Vikings have to ‘find the net’ and finish plays in order to finish in the top two teams in the NEC.
The Vikings need the leadership of the ‘five captains’ to lead the Vikings into the MIAA playoffs. Danvers looks very strong on top of the standing (7-1).
The Vikings have to defeat Peabody, Medford, Beverly and Marblehead and Gloucester at Larsen Rink and finish strong in a very strong NEC schedule.
Trivia: Can you name the ex-Viking football player (#51) who played vs. a ‘Big Blue’ team that featured three NFL players? He recently returned to Winthrop to celebrate a birthday (No.67) C.P. aka – “The Count’.
Answer next week
The Matriarch
Winthrop has lost another member of a prominent Winthrop family. Carol A. Petersen passed away last week at the age of 83. She was the beloved wife of the late Walter A. Petersen. Devoted mother of Walter III, Sally Fiandaca, Debby Fuller, Timothy, Kevin and Kelly J. McKinnon. Adored grandmother of 12 (including ex-WHS athletes Caroline, Jake and Ryan). Carol and her husband owned Petersen Ford, Lincoln Mercury (an original Winthrop car dealer) and three huge North Shore Auto companies.
May she rest in peace.
The 1,000 Point Club
Seven months ago the new gymnasium at the new Winthrop High School/Middle School was filled for the dedication of the Chris Tsiotos Court!
Chris was the first “1,000 point scorer’ in his illustrious WHS coop career – the newest member of this ‘Elite Group’ is Devin Pulsifer of the 2018 Vikings!
Devin scored his 1,000th point in a Vikings victory over Danvers. The Vikings hoop program was decimated over the past five years (including the dismissal of two coaches). Will they return to the glory years?
Devin joins 12 members of the Elite group of ex-Viking hoop players Chris Tsiotos, Michael Mason, Maureen McManus, Courtney Finn (All-American at Bentley), Sean Conway, Sean Burgess, Lori Thomas, Dino Mallios, Anthony Griffin and Lawonne Bennett.
We salute Devin Pulsifer!
Let’s Go Vikings!
Let the Games Begin!
The St. Patrick’s Girl
I will take a 15-minute misconduct for leaving Katie Adamson out of my story on the ‘Adamson Gang’.
The ‘matriarch’ of the family Helen Adamson gave me a spanking for leaving Katie out of the story.
Miss Adamson was born on St. Patrick’s Day. She had to endure all the stories of her athletic brothers – Jimmy, Kevin, Brian and Michael – all outstanding athletes – football, hockey, basketball and baseball – for many years.
I played with the ‘patriarch’ Jimmy way back in the 50’s on a WHS football team. The Adamson Gang can be seen cheering for #19 co-captain Jake Adamson, playing for the 2018 WHS Vikings hockey sextet. Another outstanding Viking – Tree-sport athlete.
Best Wishes Katie for a Happy Birthday on St. Patrick’s Day – “The Luck, of the Irish.â€
Go Vikings!
Let the Games Begin!
Under the Miller Field Lights
The year 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of ‘Light Up Miller Field’ project in 1998 – today we have a sparkling new $9.8 million dollar Miller Field. Thank you Speaker of the House – his $2.5 million from Massport was huge. Thank you Vince Crossman, Jimmy Fabiano and the Miller Field Building Committee!
Can they do that in Marblehead or Swampscott? NO!
I had the great honor to be chairman of “Light Up Miller Field’ in 1998. We raised $175,000 – my committee Tony Fucillo, Phil Hamilton, Gerry Ogus, Father Don Milligan and many more did an incredible job!
I wanted to thank Bob DeLeo, Senator Bob Traviglini for securing $25,000 from Massport. My idea of a raffle for a 1998 Ford Explorer raised $85,000 – thank you George Barker for the Fore Explorer from Thomas Ford.
The fundraiser pulled together the proud town of Winthrop. The success of the football program – 4 NE titles, one big super bowl championship in 2006 – once proved Winthrop has ‘Viking Pride’ – The smallest school in the NEC has produced more great student-athletes, than any team in the NEC!
Go Vikings!
Let the Games Begin!
The Championship Game
The Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars will play for the AFC championship, Sunday 3 p.m. kick off at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots defeated the Tennessee Titans (35-14) Saturday night. The Patriots defense recorded 8 (eight) sacks to spark a tenacious defense the Patriots are playing in their 7th consecutive AFC title game.
Minnesota won a thrilling 45-42 victory over New Orleans to advance to the NFC title game. The super bowl will be played in two weeks in Minnesota.
Maxwell J. Smart is a fearless prognosticator, he picked a final score of (42-14) in the Patriots victory Sunday, he likes the Patriots (42-21). There will be hundreds of Patriots parties with a trip to the super bowl on the line on Sunday afternoon.
The NFC Championship pits the Minnesota Vikings playing the Philadelphia Eagles in Philly. “Maxwell†says, “Minny has a very strong defense! The winner Minnesota 24 – Philly – 14.â€
Let’s go Patriots!
Tom Brady will lead the Patriots to Minnesota. TB-12 will win his 6th super bowl!