Three from Winthrop Gymnastics qualify for upcoming regionals
Winthrop’s Zoe Rey, who was the senior captain of the Winthrop High gymnastics team this past season, qualified for the upcoming 2026 USA Gymnastics Region 6 Xcel Regional Championships (XSA, XG, XP, XD, XSA) scheduled for May 16–17 at the Shriners Auditorium in Wilmington
Zoe hit all four events at her recent state meet, medaling in several events, to finish in the top 30 among the 300 gymnasts who competed.
Two other girls from the Winthrop Gymnastics Academy (WGA), Callie Anderson, a senior from Saugus who competed for Winthrop High this year, and Brianna Calitri, a ninth grader from Medford, also qualified for regionals.
“This is the first time we have qualified three people in one year,” said WGA coach Pete Gobiel. “They first have to qualify for states, then at the competition they have to hit all four events to make it to the Regionals.”
WHS boys lacrosse turns Swampscott Blue; Vikings ranked #4 in D-4
The Winthrop High boys lacrosse team turned in what head coach Brian Donnelly termed “a great week of lacrosse” with a string of victories that raised the Vikings’ overall record to 11-1 and all but clinched first place in the Lynch Division of the Northeastern Conference.
Winthrop opened the week last Monday with a 13-2 victory over non-league opponent Malden Catholic. “This was a super-solid team win,” said Donnelly. “Our seniors stepped up in a huge way with Ace Daigneault, Seth Sacco, and Tomas Sabine all getting a hat trick. Our offensive middies, Matt Maddalone and Mike Ferrara, also found the net.
“We also had two long poles in Paul Ferrara and Sean Dolen score as well,” Donnelly continued. “It’s great when our defense finds the net, it gets the boys hyped up. Both Paul and Sean are such workhorses on defense, it’s fun when they get a goal. When we spread out our scoring like that and have seven different guys scoring, it is really our best lacrosse.”
Two days later the Vikings took on Peabody from the NEC’s Dunn Division and cruised to a 12-1 victory. “We took care of business,” said Donnelly. “Ace Daigneault and Seth Sacco put together a dominant performance, scoring six goals apiece. Ace and Seth work excellently together and both complement each other’s game really well.”
That brought the Vikings to this past Friday for their biggest game of the year with Lynch Division archrival Swampscott in a battle for division supremacy.
“Swampscott has been such a fun rivalry the past few years, and the team was super hyped-up for the matchup,” said Donnelly, whose squad defeated the Big Blue in their first encounter this season, 17-4. “This game was the best I have seen our guys play this year. They came out of the gate really quickly and just never looked back.
“Ace took over the game early and was just finding the net all over the field,” Donnelly continued. “His ability to create space and shoot on the run makes him so hard to defend and he was able to find the net seven times. Not to be outdone, Seth Sacco also played ‘out of his tree,’ netting five goals with three assists. Freshman Johnny Ferrara had the other goal with a super-nice dodge through the middle lane.
“Our defense had their best game of the year and we were able to shut down Swampscott’s offense,” Donnelly added. “Holding a team like Swampscott to only two goals is incredible. Sean Dolen and Paul Ferrara were dominant again, shutting down their best players. Chris Beshere also played excellently against their big guy and is really developing his game and confidence. Declan Howard threw some mean checks and had a couple of key double-teams in big moments.
“We played a lot of the game a man down due to penalties and our man-down defense was super tight,” Donnely noted. “Junior Riley Moccio has been developing his game as a short stick defender too, which adds an excellent dynamic to our game and gives some of our middies a rest. I am really proud of how our defensive unit is coming together. Our rides were also excellent and forced a lot of Swampscott turnovers.
“Matt Maddalone continues to improve at the face-off position and is just an absolute workhorse out on the field both offensively and defensively,” Donnelly said. “Senior captain Nick Romano remains a brick wall in net. He has had some amazing saves this year and is averaging over 12 saves a game and is only letting up an average of four goals a game. Those are some insane numbers against the teams we are playing.
“Our goal is to keep putting together full games and continue to develop young talent,” Donnelly said. “We are looking to get some more offensive production from our young guys as we move forward. If we can get more goal production from them, we are going to be hard to deal with as we finish off the season and head into the playoffs.”
The win over Swampscott improved the Vikings’ overall record to 11-1 overall and 6-1 in the Lynch Division, well ahead of second-place Swampscott, which has a 4-4 mark.
This past Monday, the Vikings traveled to Billerica to take on undefeated Division 3 Shawsheen Tech and came up on the short end of a 17-4 decision.
The Vikings, who were ranked #4 in the MIAA’s Division 4 power ratings as of this past Tuesday, are scheduled to play at NEC Dunn Division foe Masconomet today (Thursday) and will trek to Lynch Division rival Gloucester next Monday. They will return home to host Lynch Division opponent Salem next Wednesday.
Viking baseball defeats Saugus
The Winthrop High baseball team made the short trip to Saugus Monday and returned home with a 10-5 victory.
Dom Spinale drew the start and pitched well, followed by great relief work from Danny Connolly and Jimmy Lyman, who combined to allow no runs over the final 3 and 2/3 innings.
The Vikings jumped out fast with a five-run first inning en route to pounding out nine hits on the day. Connolly had a huge day at the plate (3 hits, 2 runs scored, and 4 RBI). Charlie Ferrara added two hits, as well as a run scored and a stolen base. Spinale reached base five times with a hit, three walks, and an HBP, scoring three runs and stealing a base.
Braedon Lounsbury chipped in a hit, as did Lyman, whose safety produced two RBI. Catcher Braylen Ancillo had two walks and two ribbies and Carmine DePrisco matched Spinale, getting on base five times with a hit and four walks, scoring two runs and stealing two bases.
Last Tuesday the Vikings came up on the short end of a 12-4 decision to Peabody.
Carmine DePrisco drew the start for Winthrwop and was followed on the mound by Joe Dalton and Danny Connolly. Errors plagued Winthrop on the day as half of the runs Peabody scored were unearned.
Dominic Spinale led the Viking attack with two hits, three RBI, and a run scored. Braedon Lounsbury contributed a hit and an RBI, Connolly and DePrisco added hits as well. Charlie Ferrara, Dalton, and Joseph Pumphret each scored a run with Pumphret adding a stolen base.
This past Saturday Winthrop hosted Revere and dropped a heartbreaking 6-5 decision in which Revere scored three runs in the top of the seventh to pull out the win.
Lounsbury drew the start for Winthrop and tossed 5 and 1/3 innings, allowing only one earned run. Lyman and Spinale relieved Lounsbury for the final 1 and 2/3 innings.
“This was a tough one,” said WHS head coach Tom Capasso. “This loss stings. We had the game until the very end. But as in the Peabody game, errors plagued us.”
Lounsbury helped his cause with two hits and an RBI. Spinale chipped in with a hit, a run scored, and an RBI. Pumphret added a hit, a run scored, and a stolen base.
DePrisco also had a hit, as did Lyman who also scored a run. Ferrara and Jacob Buchman each scored a run on the day, and Steven Barron chipped in with a stolen base.
Capasso and his crew, who stand at 6-8 on the season with six games to play, were scheduled to host Swampscott yesterday (Wednesday) and will trek to Masconomet tomorrow (Friday) and to Whittier Tech on Monday.
Boys tennis plays well vs. Stoneham
Although The Winthrop High boys tennis team came up on the short end of a 3-2 decision to non-league opponent Stoneham last week, coach Marie Finn’s Vikings put up a good fight against the Spartans.
Finn tried a new line up after a well-deserved spring break. Junior Jackson Faber, the team captain, moved up to first singles and had a challenging battle before dropping a 2-6, 2-6 decision.
Tate Montgomery, playing at second singles, was victorious in straight sets by a score of 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).
First doubles saw a new tandem of junior Dario Cesasani and freshman Daniel McNeil play well in a 4-6, 0-6 loss. At second doubles, another new duo of freshman Luca Braga & James Silva layed well, eventually earning a victory in the third set in the tiebreaker.
WHS flag football at 5-3
The Winthrop High flag football team, which is in its third year under head coach John Cross, has been enjoying a successful season. The Vikings, who are led by a quintet of captains — seniors Josie Barry, Marissa MacMullen, Stella Osburn, and Avery Barry and junior Juliette Bettano (who is the Viking quarterback) — are sporting a 5-3 record.
“The season is going well so far,” said Cross. “We have some new girls this year. Freshman Nia Ochoa has really taken to the sport and has done well at safety. We have some strong juniors who will only get better and be great as seniors. Grace Scorzella is brand new to the sport, but plays defense and center like a savvy vet. We are currently 5-3 and looking to improve each week.”
Cross and his crew were scheduled to play at home this past Tuesday in a contest that was highlighted by Senior Night festivities. They will trek to Salem next Tuesday to take on Malden and Everett.
Cross is being assisted once again this year by Eddie Marsden. “Eddie and I have been coaching together since the start of this and he is an integral part of the squad,” said Cross. “Together we started a youth program this year that takes place on Sunday afternoons and we have 125 girls who signed up.”
Thomas D’Amico sets new WHS record in the 400 hurdles
Junior captain Thomas D’Amico continued his stellar season in a tri-meet with Danvers and Peabody last week at Miller Field.
Thomas ran a state-qualifying time of 61.4 in the 400m hurdles that also set a new Winthrop High school record.
Another highlight of the meet for Winthrop was the performance of sophomore Dom Farrell, who placed second in the 100 dash and third in the 200 dash.
The meet also was highlighted by Senior Day festivities for the Vikings at which wcaptain Liam Natareno, captain Liam Kenney, Tommaso Brollo, Owen Munson, and Guilherme Sodre were honored for their contributions to the WHS boys track and field program.
Tough stretch for WHS softball
The Winthrop High softball team came up on the short end of two contests last week.
In a contest at Peabody last Wednesday, the Lady Vikings fell by a score of 16-4. Winthrop jumped out quickly in the top of the first, thanks to a two-run triple by Kylie McFarland, an RBI double by Makayla Herdt doubled and an RBI base hit by Norah Zaffini singled.
However, that would prove to be the apogee for the Lady Vikings for the day. Sofia Gonzalez and Gaby Bustamante both collected two hits.
This past Saturday morning at home vs. non-league opponent Bishop Fenwick, Winthrop fell by a score of 14-6. Starting pitcher Lucy Boncore deserved a better fate, allowing only five earned runs on 11 hits while striking out eight and walking seven enemy batters over the seven-inning distance.
Highlights for the Vikings came from McFarland, who had two RBI; Emma Previte, who made a superb catch in foul territory that got everyone on their feet; and Ava Rogowicz and Gaby Ilie, who made their varsity debuts with two innings of play. Coach Erin Vercruysse and her crew, who stand at 4-10 after a loss to Saugus this past Monday, were scheduled to play at Swampscott yesterday (Wednesday) and will host Masconomet tomorrow (Friday). They will trek to Northeast Regional on Monday before returning home to entertain Everett next Thursday.