WHS Sports Roundup

Girls track team seeds past Gloucester

The Winthrop High girls track team improved to 3-0 in the abbreviated indoor track season (which is being conducted outdoors) with a 61-21 triumph over Gloucester last Thursday.

Izzy Mahoney got the Vikings off to a fast start with a first-place performance in the high jump with a leap of 4’-4.” Teammate OlexisTallent grabbed second place with a jump of 4’-2.”

In the shot-put, Skyla Zappulla came in first with a throw of 25’’5,” Tatyanna Lewis took second spot with a toss of 23’-8.”

Also competing in the shot-put for Winthrop were Caroline Hickey, who had a throw of 21’-1.5”; Francesca Conners, who threw 19’-5”; Olivia Quigley with a toss of 18’-5.5”; and Rachael Ramano with a throw of 17’-9.”

In the 55-meter hurdles, Zappulla scored three points for Winthrop with a second-place performance with a time of 12.5 seconds. Tallent added a point to the Winthrop cause with a third-place finish in 12.6.

In the 55-meter dash, Mahoney was just edged out of the top spot and earned a second-place finish with a time of 8.0. Izzy was followed by Sophia Munson in third place with a clocking of 8.3.

In the 300 dash, Gianna Knapp ran a personal record (PR) time of 53.6 to earn a second-place finish.

In the 600 dash, Bridget Hickey ran a PR of 2:16.5 to earn her a second place finish. 

In the 1000-meter run, Gianna Doherty took first place with a time of 4:08. Teammate Kailey Sullivan came across the line in second place with a PR of 4:23.4, shaving 13 seconds off her previous best.

In the mile run, Libby Carney led a Winthrop sweep. Libby came across in first place with a time of 6:51.5, followed by Sage Calinda in second with a PR clocking of 7:06.3 and Heather Buccini in third in 8:06.5.

Winthrop went 1-2 in the two-mile event. April Ferguson came in first with a PR of 13:58.2 and Adrianna Hester took second spot with her own PR of 17:50.2.

In the 4 X 400 relay, the Viking quartet won the race with a PR of 4:44.5.  In the first leg, Sophia Munson ran a PR split of 67.1, opening up a good lead, and handed off to Tallent, who opened up the gap even more with a PR of 71.7.

Giana Knapp next grabbed the baton and ran a 78.7, leaving it to Mahoney, who clinched the race for Winthrop with a PR split of 66.9.

Coach Mark D’Amico and his squad were scheduled to take on undefeated Swampscott yesterday (Wednesday) in a meet that will decide the champion of the South Division of the Northeastern Conference.

“The girls have been working really hard this season to improve themselves and are looking forward to the competition,” said D’Amico.

WHS boys soccer rolls over Gr. Lawrence

The Winthrop High boys soccer team improved to 6-3-2 in their Fall II season with a 9-1 victory at Greater Lawrence this past Monday.

The Vikings jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first half behind goals from Juan Guauque, Luke Riley, and John Langone.

Winthrop continued its offensive barrage after the intermission, reaching the back of the GL net six more times. Zane Bower and Jack Osburn scored two goals each. Chris Nunes and Joe Romano added single tallies.

The goals from Langone, Riley, and Osburn were the first of their varsity careers.

In the assist department, Riley, Ryan Kfoury, and Loert Mana earned two assists each. Ben Prew and Joel Johnson also were credited with assists.

The big win was a nice bounceback victory for the Vikings, who came up short in a 7-0 loss at Methuen last week.

“Unfortunately, our mindset wasn’t right from the start and we got punished for it severely,” noted WHS head coach Kyle Gagin.

Gavin and his crew are slated to host Greater Lawrence this evening (Thursday) for a 5:00 kickoff at Miller Field in a contest that will be highlighted by Senior Night festivities.

They will wrap up their season next week with a home-and-away series with Nashoba Tech on Monday (there) and Wednesday (at Miller at 4:00).

WHS girls soccer ties Boston Latin

The Winthrop High girls soccer team turned in one of its most-impressive performances of the season to earn a 2-2 tie with Boston Latin this past Monday at Miller Field.

The Vikings had suffered their first loss of their Fall II season with a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Latin, a Division 1 school, two weeks ago in a contest in which Winthrop did not have a shot on goal.

However, the rematch proved to be a different story altogether for coach Tracey Martucci and her crew. 

Winthrop grabbed a 2-0 lead behind a pair of goals by Maura Dorr, who added to her all-time WHS records for both points and goals. 

Dora’s first goal, midway through the first half, was a perfect strike of a free kick that Maura delivered from just outside the 18 — where a Winthrop player had been taken down by a Latin defender — that rocketed into the upper right corner of the Latin net.

Dora’s second goal 10 minutes after the intermission culminated a Winthrop offensive push that began when Winthrop keeper Manuela Mejia scooped up a Latin free kick from 35 yards out and punted the ball to midfield, where a trio of Viking forwards pressured the Latin defense.

A poor clearing pass by a Latin defender was pounced on by Nora McCarey in the middle of the field from 40 yards out. Nora swiftly one-touched the ball ahead to Dorr, who sped ahead to beat a Latin defender to the ball from 25 yards out.

Maura then delivered a high shot to the Latin net that caught the Latin keeper off her line, reminiscent of the memorable goal by USA women’s soccer star Carly Lloyd from midfield in the 2015 FIFA World Cup championship game that similarly caught the Japanese keeper off her line.

Latin fought back, narrowing the gap to 2-1 five minutes later after a scramble in the Winthrop box on a corner kick, and eventually brought the contest back to level with about 15 minutes to play on a disputed call.

“We made some adjustments at practice the last couple of days and really worked on what we needed to do in order to have a competitive game against them,” Martucci said afterwards. “We also had our goalie, Manuela Mejia, back in the line up, who played outstandingly. 

“The girls looked ready, but initially were nervous,” Martucci continued. “However, they did everything right. Even though we tied the game, the team was focused and they executed the changes that had to be made.

“Even though this season has been nothing like the norm, they never give up,” Martucci added. “I couldn’t be more proud of this team. I have to give my defense, Julia Marcoccio, Summer Tallent, Jenna Dorr, Miya Grein, and Abby Holmes, a huge shout-out. They worked so hard and kept us in the game from start to finish.”

The Vikings, who now are 7-1-1 on the season, were scheduled to host Revere last night (Wednesday) for Senior Night festivities.  

They will conclude their season next week with a pair of contests with Nashoba Tech. Winthrop will host Nashoba on the holiday on Monday at 11:00 and then will trek to Nashoba on Wednesday.

Volleyball team plays well in two contests

Although the Winthrop High volleyball team came up short in its contests this past week with Danvers and Peabody, WHS co-coach Rachel Del Solio had words of praise for her team’s effort.

“Danvers is a very skilled volleyball team,” said Del Solio. “We were able to pull through one set and beat them, which was a big accomplishment for us. All the players stepped up during this match and played very well. We ultimately lost the match, but the coaches were proud of the team for playing so well and giving it their all.”

In the match with Peabody, Del Solio similarly was pleased with her team’s effort.

“We had a tough start, but the team made adjustments to improve for the final two sets,” said Del Solio. “We had great defensive play from Caroline Earl, both up at the net and in the back row. Carolyn Kinsella did well setting for us and was aggressive throughout the game. Katie Gagnon had some hits that helped us out on some key plays.”

The Vikings were scheduled to play at Swampscott this past Monday and will wrap up their 2021 season today (Thursday) at Beverly.