WHS Boys Track Defeats Saugus, 77-45
Nichoals Cappuccio turned in yet another stellar performance to lead the Winthrop High boys outdoor track and field team to a 77-45 victory over Saugus last Wednesday.
Nicholas took first place in three events to score 15 points on the day: He won the 100 meter dash (no official time was recorded), the 200 dash with a sprint of 24.32 seconds, and the long jump with a leap of 16′-6″.
Peter Jurovich was a double-winner for Winthrop, capturing the shot-put with a throw of 36′-5″ and the discus with a spin of 90′-1″.
Other first-place finishers for the Vikings were:
— Daniel Guauque in the triple jump (26′-0″). Daniel also grabbed a second in the discus (69′-7″) and in the 100 dash to score 11 points for the Viking side of the scoresheet;
— Luke Riley won the javelin with a throw of 103′-10″ and scored a point with a third in the discus (67′-7″);
— Benjamin Prew took top honors in the 400 meter hurdles with a clocking of 1:12.98 and took second in the javelin (90′-3″);
— Ryan Cash won the mile with a clocking of 6:12.04; and
— John Rice won the two-mile run in a time of 14:21.19.
Eric Azbegu scored three points with a second in the 110 meter high hurdles with a time of 22.45.
William MacMullen grabbed third in both the javelin with a toss of 77′-7″ and in the 200 dash (27.75);
Brady Tallent took a third in the 400 dash (1:20.58) and William Navarro grabbed third place in the 800 in 2:56.62.
Ferguson, McCarey Shine for WHS Girls Track Team
Although the Winthrop High girls outdoor track and field team came up short by a score of 72-52 in their meet with Saugus last week, a number of Lady Vikings turned in superb performances.
April Ferguson scored 14 points on the day. April won the javelin with a throw of 52′-2″ and the two-mile in 14:01.90; took second in the 800 (2:49.12); and grabbed third in the discus (32′-6″).
Nora McCarey won the 100 meter hurdles in a time of 20.2 and the mile in 7:27.33, and took second in the triple jump (29′-3″) for a total of 13 points.
Rebecca Lindstedt took the five points in the 400 meter hurdles (1:30.22) and a third in the 400 dash (76.47).
Shannon Abbott scored five points in the high jump with a leap of 4′-2″.
Daniela Gomez won the shot-put with a toss of 21′-3.5″ and grabbed third in both the 100 dash with a sprint of 15.03 and the 200 dash (32.53).
Scoring three points for the Lady Viking side with a second-place effort was Olivia Skomro in the javelin (47′-10″).
Arianna Cappuccio added a third place point in the long jump (13′-2″).
Tough Loss for WHS Baseball
The Winthrop High baseball team dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 decision at Salem in the bottom of the seventh inning last Wednesday.
Entering the fateful seventh, the Vikings had led all the way behind a great pitching performance by Cam Martin and two-run single by Joseph Hayes.
However, the Witches scored three runs in their last at-bat to overcome a 3-1 Winthrop lead for the walk-off victory.
“Unfortunately, we lost in the bottom of the seventh as they were able to get some timely hits,” said WHS head coach Mark DeGregorio.
The Vikings then fell short in their two contests later in the week to Beverly and Masconomet.
“These two games put us at six games in nine days,” noted DeGregorio. “I think some fatigue set in against these two teams, as we did not play like we have been all year.
“We were not able to get much going against Beverly’s number one pitcher,” DeGregorio added. “We did get a solid pitching performance from freshman Jay Fotiades. Beverly is one of the best hitting teams in the conference and is currently the top team in the NEC North according to the standings.
“Jay did a good job early of limiting hard contact, but we were not able to capitalize early enough and then the Beverly bats got hot,” said DeGregorio.
In the Masconomet contest, which was a make-up game, the Vikings were led by a 2-for-2 performance from Colin Kinsella with a triple and a walk.
Senior Joe Ferullo stroked a double that was only a few feet away from going out of the park. Winthrop also got hits from sophomores Evan Rockefeller and Matt DeCarney, as well as freshman Phil Boncore.
“We got down early in the game after an offensive explosion from Masconomet in the first inning and we were unable to rebound,” said DeGregorio. “We were able to hold them to no more runs for the remainder of the game after a solid few innings on the mound from Zach Bogusz, but we were not able to chip away enough to get back into the game.”
DeGregorio and his crew, who are ranked 24th in Division 4 in the MIAA power ratings (which would earn them an automatic berth in the post-season state tourney), were scheduled to host Peabody yesterday (Wednesday) and trek to Swampscott tomorrow evening (Friday) at 6:30.
They will make the long bus ride to Gloucester on Monday and make the short trek to Chelsea next Thursday.
Emma Holmes Shines for WHS Girls Lacrosse
Although the Winthrop High girls lacrosse team came up short in its contests with Beverly and Peabody this past week, Lady Viking junior Emma Holmes recorded a pair of fine offensive performances.
Emma netted a hat trick in the Beverly game and scored four goals and notched three assists against Peabody.
Mia Martucci added a goal and an assist vs. Beverly and Hannah Parker also reached the back of the Lady Panther net.
Martucci struck for two goals and an assist vs. Peabody and Parker added a goal and assist. Sam DiMento was credited with an assist in that contest.
WHS goalie Adrianna Rizzotto made five saves in both matches.
“Reese Brodin and Abby Holmes had really great defensive games,” said WHS head coach Emma Marrs. “The whole team worked really hard to re-defend on the transition out from our defensive end.”
Marrs and her crew host Danvers today (Thursday) at 4:00, Northeast Regional on Monday at 6:00, and Revere on Wednesday at 4:00.
WHS Girls Tennis Edges Peabody, 3-2
The Winthrop High girls tennis team earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Peabody last Wednesday.
The Lady Vikings received victories at number 1 singles from captain Kendall Brant and at number 3 singles from Mira Ivanis.
The first doubles duo of captains Maddie Rossi & Emma Forsyth closed it out with a nice win.
The Lady Vikings came up short in their match with Masconomet by a score of 5-0 the following day.
“We got blitzed by Masco, but that was expected,” said WHS head coach Mike Nickerson. “They are the best girls tennis team that I have ever seen.”
Although Winthrop dropped their match at Watertown last Friday, 4-1, “It was actually a lot closer than the score would indicate,” said Nickerson.
Senior captain Brant continued her excellent season with a win at first singles.
Genesis Bueno and Ivanis lost three-set matches at #2 & #3 singles respectively.
“That was a tough match, but the singles players played their hearts out in the heat,” noted Nickerson.
However, the Lady Vikings rebounded on Monday with a solid 4-1 win over Gloucester.
Winthrop got the singles sweep from Brant, Bueno, and Ivanis and the tandem of Forsyth and Rossi at first doubles rolled to a win.
The Lady Vikings were scheduled to play a big match yesterday (Wednesday) vs. Danvers (which is Nickerson’s alma mater.) “They are just ahead of us in the standings in our division and they beat us last time,” said Nickerson. “They are a very good team, but I am hoping we can pull off the upset.”
Nickerson and his crew, who stand at a fine 9-5 mark on the season, will play at Beverly next Thursday.
Two More Wins for WHS Boys Lacrosse
The Winthrop High boys lacrosse team turned in another set of strong performances this past week.
“We had a very big week of lacrosse,” said WHS head coach Brian Donnelly. “We are in the middle of a long stretch of away games.”
Winthrop traveled to Stoneham and Swampscott and brought home big wins against both.
Last Monday against a very good Burlington Red Devil JV team, Winthrop won by a score of 8-7 in overtime.
“We played an excellent game with massive production coming from sophomore captain Robert Rich, racking up 15 points between goals and assists,” noted Donnelly.
The winning overtime goal came after a superb save and then a well-executed half-field clearing pass by sophomore captain and goalie Hunter Fife, who was able to get it to Rich.
Robert dodged through three defensive players before finding freshman Colin Cifuni, who was able to fire the ball into the back of the Red Devil with a well-placed shot.
This past Tuesday, Winthrop took on the Beverly JV team and earned an 8-6 victory.
“We had excellent possession in the second half of the game, working the ball around our offense for over 17 minutes of the half which is something we have really been working on both in games and practice,” said Donnelly. “Hunter Fife once again played an excellent game in net, while Dan Thomi played an excellent game, shutting down one of the best players we have seen this year.
“Eighth grader Dylan Hovermale and sophomore Donovan Cassidy continue to excel at defense,” added the coach.
“We are 10-1 on the season and are happy with how things are progressing,” Donnelly said. “There is a lot of work left to be done to progress to the team we want to become next year and we are just looking forward to taking a step forward each day of practice and each game.”
Donnelly and his crew will travel to Essex Tech today (Thursday) and then will entertain Danvers on Monday at 4:00.
They will wrap up their season hosting Revere next Wednesday under the lights on the glistening turf at Miller Field starting at 6:00.
Nine Hits for WHS Softball in Loss to Salem Charter
Although the Winthrop High softball team came up on the short end of its contests this past week, a number of Lady Vikings turned in strong offensive performances.
In a 12-4 loss to Salem Charter last Wednesday, Winthrop struck for nine hits, including a home run to lead off the game by Lily Tallent.
Summer Tallent and Amelia Spencer both had two hits each.
In Friday’s contest at Gloucester, freshman Izzy Cash had two hits and an RBI. Reserve player Ana Portero (an exchange student from Spain) had first hit of the year and scored the only run.
This past Monday against Danvers, Gabby Golden had two hits and a run. Designated hitter Zoe Bakos had a hit and an RBI.
Coach Dave Guffey and his crew are scheduled to play at Masconomet tomorrow (Friday), at Beverly on Monday, and at Somerville on Wednesday.
They will wrap up their season hosting Chelsea next Thursday at 3:15 at the Little League Field.