WHS Sports Roundup

New Coach, New Season for WHS Girls Lacrosse

The Winthrop High girls lacrosse team will open its season next Thursday (April 7) when they will host Northeastern Conference rival Masconomet  on the turf at Miller Field at 4:00.

The 2022 edition of the Lady Vikings will be led by a new head coach, Emma Marrs, and assistants Emily Saef (assistant varsity) and Abby Carlton (junior varsity).

“We are stoked to be a part of Winthrop High School athletics and are looking forward to coaching a committed group of athletes,” said Marrs.

Marra greets four returning seniors, Mia Martucci, Brianna Marley, Emely Norena, and Miya Grein. Other members of the varsity squad are: Giulia Bordonaro, Reese Brodin, Gabrielle Buonopane, Sarah Delehanty, Kira Diaz, Samantha DiMento, Rachel Flynn, Lily Giardino, Annika Holgersen, Abby Holmes, Julia Holmes, Emma Holmes, Talia Martucci, Mia Norris, Hannah Parker, Isabella Rice, Adrianna Rizzotto (who will handle the goal-keeping duties), Marley Rodriguez, and Kailey Sullivan.

The team manager is Julia Surveils.

The Lady Vikings took part in a jamboree this past Sunday in which they played three, 30-minute games against Revere, Pentucket, and Georgetown.

“For the first time playing as a team together with only two team practices under our belt, we played very well,” said Marrs. “The scrimmages highlighted what worked well and also showed us where our holes are and what we can improve on.

“We have another scrimmage Wednesday (yesterday) at Malden Catholic, which we are really looking forward to,” added Marrs.

The Winthrop girls’ 2022 campaign will feature 18 contests. After the opener with Masco, Winthrop next will play at Marblehead on April 11.

WHS Baseball Team Opens Season Wednesday

The Winthrop High baseball team will open its 2022 season next Wednesday, April 6, when the Vikings host Boston Collegiate Charter School at Veterans Field. The opening pitch is set for 4:00.

“We have a great mix of seniors and underclassman on the varsity this year,” said WHS head coach Mark DeGregorio.

The 2022 edition of the Vikings will be led by a quartet of captains, the senior trio of Joseph Ferullo, Cameron Martin, and Joseph Hayes and junior Colin Kinsella.

Other members of the varsity include seniors Anthony Indrisano, Chris Gibbons, and Juan Sanchez, who is making the transition from the football field to the baseball field.

Junior Zach Bogusz is a returnee from 2021, and two other juniors, Ryan Gagnon and Nicholas Marchese, will be joining the varsity squad.

Sophomores Pete Silverman and Jackson Andy, who played with the varsity as freshmen, are back for another season.

“We have a great group of young players, Evan Rockefeller (sophomore), Phil Boncore (freshman), William Hayes (sophomore), Jay Fotiades (freshman), and Matthew DeCarney (sophomore), who are joining the varsity this year,” noted DeGregorio.

The Vikings played their first scrimmage of the pre-season this past Saturday against Newburyport.  “Newburyport is one of the best teams in the Cape Ann League,” said DeGregorio. “We competed at a very high level this Saturday in the scrimmage and I was very pleased with how competitive we were considering it was only our fourth time out on a field all year.

“We scored runs by being aggressive on the base paths and were led by some great pitching,” continued DeGregorio. “We had four no-hit innings by four separate pitchers, Joseph Ferullo, Jay Fotiades, Zack Bogusz, and Cameron Martin, to start the game. We also got some great pitching from Anthony Indrisano, Matthew DeCarney, and Phil Boncore. Those three collectively only let up one run.”

Offensively, the Vikings were led by Colin Kinsella, who went 2-for-3 with a double and swiped three stolen bases, and Joseph Ferullo, who was 3-for-3 on the day.

Winthrop also received solid defense from Jackson Andy at third and Joseph Hayes at shortstop.

“As the head coach this year, I am very excited about the direction in which this program is going,” said DeGregorio. “We had a huge turnout for tryouts on the first day of the season. The players have been taking pride in the practices and the changes that we have instilled this year as a coaching staff.  I have surrounded myself with a great group of coaches who have been very involved in helping these young men get ready for this upcoming season. Coach Anthony Sorrentino has returned to the staff this year, but we have added new coaches Joseph Murphy, Neil Cacciola, Michael Vatalaro, Eric Mathieu, and Kurt Rodrigues.

“This group of coaches brings a lot of experience at various levels, and it has been a smooth beginning to the baseball year thus far, largely due to this group that I have surrounded myself with and to the young players who are eager to learn and improve on the baseball field,” DeGregorio added.

DeGregorio and his crew will play another scrimmage against Malden tomorrow (Friday) at Pine Banks.

After Wednesday’s season-opener, the Vikings will journey to Marblehead next Friday.

Winthrop Gymnastics Academy Takes First at Recent State Meet

A quintet of gymnasts from the Winthrop Gymnastics Academy (WGA) made the long journey to Fitchburg a worthwhile trip by coming home with the first place trophy at the recent state meet.

The Diamond team, consisting of this past season’s Winthrop High senior captains, Megi Zogasi, Brandi DiCicco, and Mary O’Donnell, along with next year’s captain, Alayna Ronan, and Sigrid Eldh Jahn, a teammate from Charlestown, represented the WGA, competing against 60 of the top gymnasts in Massachusetts.

Winthrop started on the vault with each gymnast sticking their vaults with no extra deductions.

The uneven bars was their next event. Mary O’Donnell, the top bar performer all season long, finished with a perfect routine, scoring 9.475 for second place in the meet.

“The balance beam always is a tough event, but all five gymnasts stayed on the beam, making this their best meet of the season,” said WGA director Pete Gobiel. “This was their night. They were in the zone on their toughest event.”

The floor exercise was the last event and, in a fitting tribute to her incredible year, Brandi DiCicco hit her routine, scoring a 9.5 and taking first place in the competition.

For the first time at this particular level, the Winthrop Gymnastics Academy took home the first place team award.

In addition, Brandi DiCicco qualified for the regional team that competes in May.

WHS Boys Lacrosse Looking to Rebuild Program

Although the Winthrop High boys lacrosse team will not be fielding a varsity squad in 2022, long-time head coach Brian Donnelly is looking forward to the challenge of creating a new varsity program.

“We are going to run a club/JV team this year due to the original numbers and the amount of returning players,” said Donnelly. “We only have five returning players, all of whom were underclassmen.

“The upside of this is that it will give us the opportunity to work on a lot of skill work like stick skills, shooting, and defensive footwork. We are a very young team with a bunch of freshman and sophomores and one junior. We will be returning to a full varsity next year.”

Leading the team will be the captaincy duo of junior attack man Jack Hayes and sophomore midfielder Robert Rich.

“Both have done an awesome job rallying some new players, organizing the team, and getting them excited about the upcoming season,” said Donnelly.

“We have a new goalie in sophomore Hunter Fife, in whom we have massive confidence,” said Donnelly. “We also have returning defender Donovan Cassidy, who will lead our defense.”

The Vikings enjoyed great success in a recent scrimmage with Lynn, defeating their former Northeastern Conference rival by a score of 11-1.

“We had an awesome performance in net by Hunter Fife and some great offensive performances by Robert Rich, Jack Hayes, and some new freshman getting in on the action,” noted Donnelly.

“We are really young and inexperienced overall and hope to use this year to gain skills, learn some systems, and get the team excited about competing,” Donnelly said. “Everyone has been coming with a positive attitude and a willingness to learn. Our captains and returners have been doing a great job of setting the tone

“Although I was disappointed in not having a full varsity squad after coaching for 10 years, I am really excited about the prospect of teaching so many young players and developing their skills,” Donnelly continued. “The squad we have is going to make huge moves in the future and I look forward to see them develop as players and as a team.”

Donnelly and his crew are scheduled to host Gloucester on the turf at Miller Field this Monday at 4:00 and then will trek to Danvers next Friday.

Strong Turnout for WHS Softball Program

With six starters from his 2021 team having been lost graduation, long-time Winthrop High softball coach Dave Duffey will be looking to fill the gaps from among the large number of 33 girls who turned out for the 2022 season.

The returning starters for the Lady Vikings are shortstop Summer Tallent, first baseman Sammy Harrison, and third baseman Lily Tallent.

Among the players whom Duffey will be counting upon to fill the gaps created by graduation are senior Ava Martello, who handled the pitching chores for the junior varsity last year; catcher Gabby Golden, who saw some varsity action last year; and senior Juliana Guzman, who was a back-up in 2021, in centerfield.

Also expected to play a large role in the Lady Vikings’ fortunes in 2022 are junior McKenzie Magardo, a pitcher who also plays at second and third;  freshman infielder Amelia Spencer; freshman outfielder Izzy Cash; sophomore outfielder Gaby Currier; infielder Tina Fabiano; designated hitter Zoe Bakos; and infielder Emma Harrison.

Guffey will have a new member of his coaching staff for 2022, Steve Indrisano, who will coach the JV squad. Jayne Kulis and Ron Vitale will be the assistant varsity coaches.

“This year is all about improving everyday, a little bit at a time,” said Duffey.

The Lady Vikings will open their season this Monday when they will host Salem Academy Charter at the Little League field. The opening pitch is set for 4:00. They then will trek to Saugus on Wednesday and will return home to entertain Swampscott next Friday.