WHS Sports Roundup

Boys Track Team Nips Saugus, 65-64

The Winthrop High boys outdoor track & field team edged Saugus, 65-64, in a meet held last Thursday at Saugus.

Chris Cappuccio led the way for the Vikings, scoring 16 points on the day. Chris won both the 100 dash (11.5 seconds) and the 200 dash (23.3) and took second in the high jump (5’-4”) and long jump (16’-11”).

Dillon Riley was a double-winner for the Vikings, claiming first in the shot-put with a throw of 36’-1” and the discus with a toss of 101’-9”.

Ryan Cash also added 10 points to the Winthrop side of the tally sheet with victories in the 110 high hurdles (21.4) and the 400 hurdles (1:15).

Nicholas Cappuccio contributed six points with a second-place performance in the 200 dash and third place finishes in the high jump, long jump, and 100 dash.

Kyle Testa scored four points with a second in the shot-put and a third in the discus. John Rice also scored four points with a second in the mile and a third in the 400 hurdles. Matthew Bower contributed four points with a second place in the two-mile and a third in the 800.

Gerald Hysaj took second place in the discus, as did Dan Guaugue in the triple jump.

Luke Riley added two points with third-place finishes in the javelin and the mile.

Zane Bower added a decisive point — in a meet where every point mattered — with a third place in the 400 dash.

The Vikings won the 4 x 100 relay, which was not contested by Saugus, while Saugus won the 4 x 400 relay.

WHS Girls Track Cruises past Saugus

The Winthrop High girls outdoor track and field team cruised to an 80-44 triumph at Saugus last Thursday.

Bea Holzbach was a triple-winner for Winthrop. Bea took first in the triple jump (31’-8”), 400 hurdles (1:11.8), and 400 dash (1:02.4). She also added a point to the Winthrop cause with a third-place in the javelin to accumulate 16 points on the day.

Skyla Zappula was a double-winner for the Lady Vikings, capturing the high jump with a leap of 4’-4” and the shot-put with a toss of 24’-7.5”.

April Ferguson also claimed 10 points for Winthrop with first-place efforts in the 800 (3:25.5) and the two-mile (14:11.04).

Additional first-place finishers for Winthrop were Francesca Connor in the discus (64’-11”), Nora McCarey in the 110 high hurdles (19.8), and Elizabeth Carney in the mile (6:53). McCarey also grabbed a third-place in the triple jump.

Sophia Munson scored seven points for the Lady Vikings with a pair of second-place efforts in the 100 and 200 dashes and a third in the long jump.

Corinne Jane scored six points for the Lady Vikings with a pair of second-place performances in the 110 and 400 hurdles. Olexis Tallent also contributed a pair of second-place efforts for Winthrop in the 800 and the javelin.

Sage Calinda in the mile and Tayanna Lewis in the discus took second-place in those events. Tatyanna also added a point for Winthrop with a third in the shot-put.

Adding third-place points for Winthrop were Amanda Jurovich in the 800 and Caroline Hickey in the 400 dash.

WHS Baseball Team Looking Forward to Tourney

The Winthrop High baseball team concluded its regular season with a busy 10 days this past week as they prepare to compete in the post-season state tournament. Last Sunday, the Vikings played a pair of solid contests in a doubleheader with non-league rival Bishop Fenwick at Veterans Field in the extreme heat of that day. After dropping the front end of the twinbill, 5-2, Winthrop came back to win the afternoon game, 4-1. “We played two really solid games against Bishop Fenwick,” said WHS head coach Mike DeFelice. “It was 90 degrees on the field and that’s a long time to ask those boys to hang out in the sun, but they did it.  They hustled all day, made plays, persevered, and refused to give into the heat.” David DiCicco went the distance on the mound for Winthrop in the first game and turned in a pitching performance that DeFelice termed, “David’s typical tremendous self. A dropped fly ball and one throwing error led to four of their five runs in the first game and we just could not get the bats going when it mattered. “We stranded seven runners in scoring position which is a bad habit we have had all year long,” DeFelice noted. “We just aren’t getting timely hitting with runners on second and/or third base.” Bobby Hubert took the ball in the rematch and pitched the game of the year for Winthrop. Bobby went the distance on the mound, throwing only 60 pitches, a pitch-count total that is unheard-of over seven innings. Hubert walked one, gave up just one hit, and was on cruise control the whole day.  At one point, Bobby threw 22 consecutive strikes. Hubert was getting Fenwick to hit ground balls and pop-ups all afternoon, and fanned six Fenwick batters. “I’ve been here 12 years and I’ve never seen anything like it,” remarked DeFelice of Hubert’s stellar outing. “I’ve never seen a high school pitcher so in control and so in command of almost every single pitch he threw the whole day.” DeFelice and his crew trekked to Beverly the next day and jumped out to a 4-0 lead through the first two innings. “But it felt like we forgot the game is seven innings long and I think we took our foot off the gas pedal,” said DeFelice. “We went down 1-2-3 in the top of the third with the heart of our order, and all of a sudden Beverly started hitting the ball all over the park.” The Panthers struck for seven runs in the third and added two more in the fourth. The Vikings came back with two markers in the fifth to make it a 9-6 contest, but Beverly responded with four runs in their half of the fifth and tacked on three more in the sixth for a 16-6 finale. The Vikings were back in action two days later on Wednesday evening under the lights at Peabody. Winthrop once again came out fast, scoring two runs in the top of the first to stake junior starting pitcher Cam Martin to a 2-0 advantage. Cam kept Winthrop in the game through five innings with what DeFelice described as “a phenomenal performance,” but had to come out in the fifth because of his pitch count. The Vikings still were in the game at that point, trailing by a score of 4-2, but the wheels soon fell off the proverbial bus for Winthrop.

The Vikings made four errors behind Leo Robertson, Martin’s replacement on the mound, who inherited a one-out, bases-loaded situation. By the time the dust had settled and Winthrop got the third out, Peabody had moved out to a commanding 10-2 lead. The Tanners added two more in the sixth for the 12-2 finale. The Vikings then turned in what DeFelice called “the game of the year” this past Friday against Swampscott at home. “It was a back-and-forth affair the whole afternoon,” said DeFelice. “I have never in my 30-year coaching career been more proud of a team I have coached.  We were diving for balls in the outfield and making some spectacular catches in the process.

We were diving and knocking-down balls in the infield to prevent extra runs with runners in scoring position. Our effort was insane.” Winthrop started two freshmen, Peter Silverman in left field and Jack Andy at third base, and the fledgling duo delivered in a big way, going a combined 7-for-8 at the plate, driving in some key runs, and scoring three of Winthrop’s five runs between them. With the scored deadlocked heading into the seventh inning,  Hubert was on the mound again and was throwing well, as always. Swampscott got a hit, bunted the runner over, and then got another hit that brought the go-ahead run across the plate. The Vikings made it interesting in the bottom of the seventh, but got caught stealing with two outs and a runner on first to end the contest.

“A local college baseball coach told me after the game, ‘It was an exciting, highly-competitive, and incredibly-entertaining high school baseball game’,” said DeFelice. Winthrop tried to move its last regular-season contest with Gloucester on Monday up to Gloucester, instead of at home because Veteran’s Field was unplayable. Conway was on the mound and was mowing down the Gloucester hitters for three innings, but then the skies opened up and the game was called with Winthrop ahead, 1-0. “We waited around for about 30 minutes because both teams really wanted to get the game in, but there wasn’t enough speedy-dry to overcome the field conditions once the rain started to let up,” said DeFelice. The teams agreed to give it another shot in Winthrop on Tuesday — the last day to play a game before the tournament pairings come out — but even after being in the sun all day, Veterans Field was still unplayable, and Gloucester’s wasn’t any better, so the game was cancelled outright. “We are starting to play better and better and it’s happening at the right time,” said DeFelice. “The tournament pairings come out Wednesday and we will open the tournament either Friday or Saturday.  I feel confident heading into the tournament because the athletes are really embracing their identity as a scrappy, down-and-dirty type of baseball team that won’t ever back down. I like our chances if we play that very way the entire post-season.” Winthrop will be playing in the Division 4 North Sectional of the MIAA state tourney.

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