WHS Sports Roundup

Ferrara’s goal, Sabin’s save, yield 1-0 win; Vikings host Danvers Saturday

Junior Charlie Ferrara’s first goal of the season could not have come at a better time for the Winthrop High boys hockey team. Ferrara’s tally in the third period, with assists from Tomas Babine and Mike D’Ambrosio, broke a 0-0 deadlock to lift the Vikings to a 1-0 victory over Northeastern Conference rival Beverly last Wednesday at the Ray Bourque Arena at Endicott College.

Until Ferrara reached the back of the Beverly net midway through the final period, the contest had been a defensive battle between the Vikings and Panthers, featuring up-and-down play, with Winthrop goalie Dax Sabin and his Beverly counterpart making big saves to preserve the 0-0 deadlock.

After Ferrara’s goal, the Winthrop defense continued to hold firm for the remainder of the game, with Sabin (who ended up with 23 saves on the night), preserving his first shutout — and the Viking victory — by thwarting a Panther breakaway with a huge save in the closing moments of the contest.

Coach Dale Dunbar and his crew now stand at 7-5-0 overall and 5-2-0 in the Northeastern Conference’s North Division. They are tied for second place in the NEC North with Gloucester and are just one point behind first-place Danvers (5-1-1).

As of last Friday, the Vikings are the second-ranked team in Division 4 by Hockey Night in Boston and are ranked fifth in D-4 in the MIAA’s power ratings.

They were scheduled to host NEC foe Peabody last night (Wednesday) and then will entertain Danvers next Saturday at 3:00. The Mike Eruzione Center at Larsen Rink should be rockin’ and rollin’ for the battle for first-place in the NEC with the Falcons.

The Vikings will host non-league opponent No. Reading next Monday at 5:30.

WHS girls hockey hosts Masco Saturday

The Winthrop High girls hockey team returned to action this week after a nine-day break in its schedule. Coach Anthony Martucci’s squad traveled to Northeastern Hockey League (NHL) opponent Peabody last night (Wednesday) and will host NHL foe Masconomet this Saturday at 1:00.

The Lady Vikings’ record stood at 6-2-3 overall and 5-1-1 in the NHL entering the contest with Peabody. They trailed first-place Beverly by one point in the race for first-place in the NHL.

Strong start for WHS gymnastics

The Winthrop High gymnastics team (a co-op team with Saugus this year) has opened its season with some strong performances.

The Winthrop/Saugus squad defeated Bishop Fenwick, 125.35-117.50, in a meet held at the Winthrop Gymnastics Academy.

In the first event, the uneven bars, Alena Capasso hit her routine, scoring a 7.0. “I have been impressed with Alena’s performance so far this season after she had taken several years off,” said coach Peter Gobiel.

Lily Bayersdorfer was up next, pushing through her skills and scoring a 6.9. Gaby Ilie, Alara Ripley, and senior captain Callie Anderson tied with scores of 7.7. Captain Zoe Rey hit her routine, taking first-place in the bars with an 8.35. After the first event, the Vikings were ahead 32.60-31.95.

In the next event, the balance beam, Ilie scored a 7.15. Capasso and Ripley performed two very different routines, but had the same score of 7.55. Charlotte Zarba hit her routine and took first place in the event with an 8.5, helping lead Winthrop to a 31.25-30.80 win on the beam.

In the vault, Winthrop’s first vaulter was senior Mckenzie Lynch, who did her front handspring, scoring a 7.4. Zarba and Bayersdorfer tied with a 7.9 and Riya Koemdzhiev and Ilie both received scores of 8.2. Rey stuck her landing, scoring an 8.4 for first place.

Finishing up on the floor exercise, first up for Winthjrop was Bayersdorfer, who did a great job with a brand-new routine, scoring a 7.0. Ripley hit her routine, scoring a 7.5, tieing with Capasso. Anderson showed off her new routine, scoring an 8.4 for second place. Rey hit her routine, taking first place with an 8.8, to secure the win for the Vikings

Prior to the victory over Fenwick, the Vikings opened their season with a meet vs. defending state champion Masconomet.

“We were going to compete against them at some point, so we decided first would be best,”  said coach Christa Vaccaro.

First up for the vVikings on uneven bars was Lily Bayersdorfer, scoring a 7.15. Gaby Ilie and Macy Werstak both tied with a 7.9. Up-and-coming seventh-grader Alana Ripley,  competing with the varsity, hit her bar routine, scoring an impressive 8.0 behind senior captain Callie Anderson with an 8.1. The top Winthrop performer on bars was senior captain Zoe Rey with an 8.8.

On the second event, the vault, ninth-grader Riya Koemdzhiev, who was competing in her first meet, led off for Winthrop and scored a 7.6. Senior Mckenzie Lynch, performing her handspring vault, scored a 7.4. Bayersdorfer, who was competing after taking a few years off, performed a brand-new vault and scored an 8.2. Gaby Ilie, trying her upgraded vault from last season, scored an 8.55. Werstak hit her handspring, full-twisting vault, scoring an 8.9. Up last was Rey, performing a flipping vault for the first time. Though Zoe landed a little short, she scored an impressive 8.4.

The third event for the Vikings was the floor exercise competition. Alena Capasso, in her first high school meet, hit her routine for a score of 7.5. Ripley and Ilie both tied with a 7.6. Werstak and Anderson scored 8.3 and 8.4 respectively. Last up was Rey, taking first for the Winthrop side with an 8.7.

The last event for Winthrop was the balance beam, Up first was junior Charlotte Zarba, hitting her routine with an 8.3, which was good for second place for the Vikings. Capasso and Rey tied with a 7.5. Ripley, in her first beam routine at the high school, placed fourth for the Vikings with a 7.8. Werstak, working a new routine on the beam, scored an 8.3, with Anderson scoring an 8.5.

The final tally showed Masco scoring 145.25 points to Winthrop’s 132.65.

Impressive win for girls basketball

The Winthrop High girls basketball team turned in one of its most-impressive performances of the season to earn a 58-53 victory over Northeastern Conference (NEC) North Division rival Marblehead, which entered the contest with a 6-4 record, last Friday evening.

Polixeni Tsiotos led the way with 24 points, including six 3-pointers. Jenna Whitehead contributed 19 points. Amina Barry had a season-high 20 rebounds.

Coach Anthony Hatzisavas and his Lady Vikings, who stand at 4-9 on the season and are ranked 31st in the MIAA’s Division 4 power ratings, were scheduled to travel to NEC South foes Swampscott this past Tuesday and Saugus today (Thursday).

They will entertain non-league opponent Essex Tech Saturday afternoon in the WHS gym for a 12:30 tip-off and trek to Masconomet next Tuesday.

WHS boys hoop hosts Saugus tonight

The Winthrop High boys basketball team will entertain Northeastern Conference South Division rival Saugus this evening (Thursday) at 7:00.

Coach Quinton Dale And his crew, who are ranked 20th in Division 4 in the MIAA’s power ratings with a 4-7 record, then will entertain NEC North foe Masconomet next Tuesday and will travel to non-league opponent Billerica next Thursday.

Owen Harty wins 1-mile vs. Beverly

Owen Harty took first-place in the 1-mile for the Winthrop High boys indoor track and field team in the Vikings’ meet at Beverly last Wednesday. The freshman came across the line in a time of 5:14.7, which was three seconds faster than his closest Panther rival.

Teammate Elvys Paula also ran a strong race in the mile with a clocking of 5:46 to beat out a pair of Panther rivals for third place.

Liam Connors turned in a strong effort in the two-mile race to come across in second place with a time of 12:51.8 to post three points for the Winthrop side of the scoresheet.

Also scoring a point for Winthrop in the meet with third-place finishes were Thomas D’Amico in the 600m dash in 1:40.00 and Sean Mcgloin with a third in the 1000m with a clocking of 3:27.8.

 In addition, the Viking 4 x 400 relay team defeated their Panther counterparts by 3.4 seconds with a clocking of 4:12.4.

Members of the Winthrop team who also competed in the meet were Carmen Diprisco in the 50y dash; Owen Munson and Faris Maid in the 300 dash; Liam Kenney in the 600; Evan Tallent in the 300 and 1000;  Ethan Harty in the mile; Joseph Disney, Guilherme Sodre, and Joseph Spinale in the shot-put; and D’Amico, Gavin Dougherty, and Owen Harty in the high jump.

On the girls’ side, sophomore Hailey DeMarco scored six points. Hailey took first place in the high jump with a leap of 3’-10” and third place in the 300m dash with a sprint of 53.7 seconds.

Lady Vikings who also competed in the meet were Keriss Mejia and Danika Ripley in the shot-put; Aria Zizzo in the high jump; and Marissa McMullen and Zizzo in the 50y dash.