Nick Cappuccio is NEC 200 champion
Winthrop High senior Nick Cappuccio brought home a Northeastern Conference (NEC) championship in the 200 meter dash at last Friday’s NEC Meet that was held in Danvers.
Nick outsped the field with a sprint of 22.41 seconds, which was 0.08 faster than the second place finisher, Masconomet senior Arbri Halilaj.
The duo flipped their positions in the 100 dash, with Halilaj coming across in first place in 11.13 compared to Cappuccio’s 11.25. Nick had the fastest time in the preliminaries with a clocking of 11:07 and Halilaj was second in 11:31.
Viking teammate Aaron Armitstead earned a third-place medal in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 16.12.
Sophomore Thomas D’Amico brought home a seventh-place medal in the triple jump with a distance of 39’-1”. Thomas also just missed medaling in the 400 dash, finishing in ninth place, just 0.46 behind the eighth-place finisher..
Freshman Ali Benchikhi earned a medal thanks to his three-way tie for seventh spot in the high jump with a leap of 5’-6”.
In the 4×400 relay, the Viking quartet of D’Amico, Liam Natareno, Liam Kenney, and Owen Nargi finished in fourth place to score five points with a time of 4:01.37.
On the girls side, the Lady Vikings tallied three points with a seventh-place finish in the 4×100 relay and an eighth-place finish in the 4×400. In the former, the quartet of Grace Scorzella, Sophia Bocchio, Lylah Cassidy, and Diora Bytyqi combined for a time of 1:00.17 and in the latter, the foursome of Danika Ripley, Bailey Ferguson, Lyla McCarey, and Ella Giacalone came across the line with s clocking of 5:20.12.
Boys lacrosse awaits seeding, first round foe
The Winthrop High boys lacrosse team, which won the South Division of the Northeastern Conference and finished with an overall record of 14-4, was awaiting word of its seeding and first-round opponent in the upcoming MIAA Division 4 state tournament.
The announcement of the brackets was scheduled for yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon as the Sun-Transcript was going to press.
Coach Brian Donnelly’s squad was ranked 15th in the MIAA’s power ratings as of last Friday. If the Vikings maintain that position, they will host a home game in the Round of 32.
WHS baseball team concludes 2025 season
The Winthrop High baseball team wrapped up its 2025 season with some exciting contests, highlighted by a 4-3 victory over Medford on Senior Day that was a continuation of a game that had been halted in extra innings earlier in the season because of darkness.
The ceremonies started with the seniors playing catch in warmups with their dads, which no doubt will create a great memory. The members of the Class of 2025 — Philly Boncore, Matt Noonan, Will Murphy, Timmy Vargus, Jay Fotiades, and Capt. Matt Reardon — then were honored and recognized for their contributions to the WHS baseball program.
The game resumed in the top of the ninth. Freshman Braeden Lounsbury took the ball and showed off his ace potential, striking out the Mustang side in order. Then in the bottom of the inning, Vargus singled, stole second, and advanced to third on sophomore Jojo Pumphret’s base hit.
Medford intentionally walked the next Winthrop hitter to load the bases. After sophomore Dom Spinale bounced into a fielder’s choice, Boncore fought off a tough pitch and sent it down the right field line for a base hit to bring across the winning run.
Lounsbury was rewarded for his sterling inning of relief with his first career victory on the mound.
“I was very happy for the seniors, as it was a great way for their Senior Day to conclude,” said WHS head coach Jack Wallace. “We thank them for their dedication and hard work.”
The Vikings earned another victory with an 11-0 win over Ipswich in their last home game of the season.
Vargus, who tossed a no-hitter earlier this year, finished his stellar career with a five-inning shutout and seven strikeouts.
The Vikings displayed a lot of firepower at the plate, led by Noonan, who was a one-man wrecking crew, going 3-for-3 with five RBI. Almost the entire WHS lineup had a hit. Reardon had two hits and was on base three times. Pumphret had a 2-hit, 2-RBI day capped off by a triple.Sophs Spinale and Michael D’Ambrosio added singles and Boncore and Fotiades had hits in their final home games as Vikings.
“Everything clicked for the team,” said Wallace. “Everyone was aggressive at the plate and they deserved this type of performance.”
In a 3-2 loss to Amesbury, the Vikings received yet another stellar pitching performance from Vargus, who went 5.2 innings with 10 strikeouts.
“Timmy didn’t have his best stuff, but he kept us in it and gave us a chance,” said Wallace. “He continues to showcase great stuff and competes hard.”
Offensive highlights were provided by Noonan and Lounsbury, both of whom had doubles.
“Matt Noonan’s bat this year has greatly improved and he’s been important to our offense,” noted Wallace.
Murphy had a key RBI-single to drive in the second Viking run. Boncore picked up an RBI as well.
“We did some good things, moving guys over with our bunting, but it was hard to get it going for seven innings,” Wallace added. “Matt Reardon came in and got us out of a jam with a strikeout.”
The Vikings unfortunately lost on a walk-off homer. “It was a tough way to lose, but that’s baseball,” said Wallace. “Matt Reardon, who has thrown the ball well, made a competitive pitch and the kid beat him.
“We have been very close in these D-4 matchups, playing hard all seven innings, but things have just not gone our way offensively,” the coach added.
The Vikings also turned in a competitive effort against Gloucester, the best team in the NEC this season (15-0 in the conference) and one of the best on the No. Shore (19-1 overall and ranked seventh in D-3), in a 3-0 loss.
Boncore started and went two innings, allowing a run. Spinale made his season debut, throwing an inning, followed by Fotiades, who tossed his best game of the year with four shutout frames out of the bullpen.
“We played good defense and made some diving plays to keep the game tight,” said Wallace. “Our guys played hard the whole game. Offensively we were shot down by Gloucester’s pitching.”
Boncore, soph Ryan Murphy, and D’Ambrosio had the Vikings’ only hits.
Winthrop also was shut out In a 4-0 loss at Marblehead.
“This was a tough game overall for the team,” said Wallace. “We ran ourselves into some outs and gave them some runs.
“Boncore took the ball and didn’t have his best command and Marblehead took advantage of it, being aggressive on the bases and having some timely hitting. Braeden Lounsbury came in and went five innings of one-run ball to keep us close,” said Wallace.
“Our at-bats were not competitive and we struggled at the plate,” Wallace noted. Noonan had the lone Viking hit on the day.
“This was hard, as we were right there in the game, and if we had just strung some hits together, then the momentum could have turned the tide of the game,” Wallace said. “Marblehead’s pitcher attacked us all day and worked fast.”
The Vikings concluded their season against Wakefield this past weekend, dropping a 10-0 decision.
“Wakefield is one of the best teams in D-3 and we had a tough task coming in to beat them,” Wallace said. “At the plate I thought we had one of our best games all season. Everyone was barreling the ball, but nothing was falling for us. “
Winthrop was led by D’Ambrosio, who had two hits and who finished as the team’s leading hitter with a batting average just shy of .300.
“The sophomore class of Jojo Pumphret, Dom Spinale, Ryan Murphy, and Michael D’Ambrosio were some of our best hitters and will be the future of the offense,” noted Wallace.
Fotiades and Murphy added singles as well.
“Ryan’s bat towards the end of the season improved, so that’s a positive sight for the future,” Wallace added. “Our approaches all day were good, as we only struck out once and worked their pitcher. But it was not enough against this good Wakefield team.”
On the mound, Lounsbury took the ball on short rest and gave it all he could, going three innings.
“Braeden has been a tremendous asset on the mound and takes the ball whenever he is asked. His future is very bright,” said Wallace.
Reardon capped off his career with two solid innings of relief. “Matt came in and threw hard and attacked, which is all that I can ask of my pitchers,” Wallace added.
Though the loss ended Winthrop’s hopes of reaching the post-season state tournament, Wallace expressed thanks for his team’s effort.
“Thank you to the seniors again, as they all did what we asked all year and battled through some tough stretches,” Wallace said. “The future is bright. We have a lot of young guys in the program and the sophomore class this year stepped up big for us. It’s their team now.”
WHS softball team concludes 2025 season
The Winthrop High softball team wrapped up its 2025 campaign with a home-and-home series with Northeast Regional this past week. Last Wednesday, the Lady Vikings observed Senior Night, recognizing senior captains Caterina Fabiano and Amelia Spencer for their contributions to the WHS softball program. Caterina will be attending Boston University in the fall and Amelia will be attending Plymouth State University. In a hard-fought game until the very end, the Lady Vikings fell to the Lady Golden Knights, 9-8. Spencer and Sophia Gonzalez each had two RBI on the night, with Gonzalez having an impressive show on the bases, including stealing home. The Vikings also turned a double play. Freshman hurler Lucy Boncore recorded seven strikeouts. Winthrop then made the short trek to Saugus on Saturday to take on Northeast and fell short in a slugfest, 26-25. “It was a thrilling show of the bats on both sides,” said WHS head coach Erin Vercrussye of the contest, which saw the outcome come down to the final pitch. The game was tied at 25 in the bottom of the seventh when a Lady Golden Knight drew a walk to force in the winning tally. Winthrop was led in the hitting department by Makayla Herdt (two RBI) who had a double and Deanna Nee, Kylie McFarland (three RBI), and Sophia Gonzalez (two RBI), who all tallied triples. Winthrop was aggressive on the basepaths, with Gonzalez (2), Fabiano (2), Spencer, Marenghi, and Herdt all recording stolen bases on the day. “The high-scoring affair was a fun way to cap off the 2025 season,” noted Vercryusse. The WHS softball Team will host its annual Softball Summer Camp on July 14, 15, and 16 at Cellucci Field. For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/WHSSoftballCamp25 or email [email protected]