WHS boys lacrosse wins NEC Lynch title, ranked #5 in D-4
After two tough road losses last week, the Winthrop High boys lacrosse team rebounded with a 14-4 triumph over Gloucester this past Monday, a victory that clinched the 2026 Northeastern Conference (NEC) Lynch Divsion title for the Vikings for the second year in a row.
Last Monday, Winthrop dropped a 17-4 decision at undefeated Shawsheen Tech, which is ranked 13th in Division 3 in the MIAA’s power ratings.
“We just got out-worked,” said WHS head coach Brian Donnelly. “They were a really tight squad with a lot of numbers, and we just didn’t have it that day.”
Three days later the Vikings traveled to NEC Dunn Division rival Masconomet and came up just short in a hard-fought contest, 11-10.
“I thought most of our guys were working hard,” Donnelly said. “We went up 3-0 at the start and it looked really promising. They are a well-coached team though, and they were able to battle back.
“We struggled a bit in the ground ball game, which is usually a strength of ours,” Donnelly continued. “One bright spot is that Seth Sacco was able to score three goals and an assist which put him over 100 points on the season. Seth is such a clutch player and can produce looks and goals from anywhere on the field. What he has been able to do this year, and all four years of his high school career is just impressive.”
Winthrop ended its mini-losing streak with the big win over Gloucester. Ace Daignault was dominant from the get-go and seemingly was scoring at will.
“Ace’s outside shot is so fast and is just a challenge for any goalie to pick up,” said Donnelly. “With his seven goals and four assists on the night, Ace also passed the 100 points on the season mark. Seth found six goals and three assists, while our other senior attack man, Tomas Babine, picked up a nice goal and assist as well. “Our defense played great against Gloucester, holding them to only one goal before getting some younger guys some looks,” Donnelly added. “Paul Ferrara continues to be a ground ball machine, and Sean Dolen plays shut-down defense every game he is out there. Maddalone won 75% of our face-offs which are great numbers and really help with possession.”
“The guys are improving every day and are ramping up as we head into our last games of the regular season,” Donnelly said. “We have three in a row at home and hope to protect Miller Field as we have all season.”
The Vikings, who stand at 12-3, were scheduled to host NEC Lynch rival Salem yesterday (Wednesday) and will entertain a tough non-league opponent Wilmington squad on Monday.
That will set the stage for a match-up with perennial NEC Dunn Division powerhouse Marblehead next Wednesday that will be highlighted by Senior Night festivities.
“Our guys are stoked for the Marblehead game and are hoping to continue our successes late into the season,” said Donnelly. “This group of seniors are a special group, and it will be good to celebrate them before our Marblehead game for all they have achieved.”
WHS girls lax at .500 mark; ranked #24
The Winthrop High girls lacrosse team improved to .500 with a pair of impressive victories this past week. The Lady Vikings now stand at 7-7 and are ranked 26th in the MIAA’s Division 4 power ratings.
Last Friday, the Lady Vikings defeated Danvers, 12-10. “I’m not sure when the last time Winthrop beat Danvers in girls lacrosse, but it’s been a while, if ever,” noted WHS head coach Anthony Hatzisavas.
Winthrop then defeated Gloucester, 15-9, this past Monday, a victory that was highlighted by senior captain Reese Ferrara scoring the 100th point of her career.
“Reese is an extremely hard worker and deserves the accomplishment,” said Hatzisavas. “She has done a great job this season leading us, along with fellow captains Tegan Periera and Avalina Coffey. “
The Lady Vikings were scheduled to travel to Salem yesterday (Wednesday) and will host Georgetown tomorrow (Friday) and Salem on Saturday morning at 11:30. They will conclude their regular season at Marblehead next Tuesday.
“tWe are hoping to end this season on a positive note and find our way into the state tournament,” said Hatzisavas.
D’Amico shines for boys in tri-meet
Junior Thomas D’Amico was the top performer for the Winthrop High boys outdoor track and field team in its tri-meet with Salem and Marblehead last week.
Thomas topped the field in the triple jump with a final landing of 38′-07.5″, which was more than two feet further than his closest competitor. He also finished first vs. Salem and second vs. Marblehead in both the 400m dash and the 400 hurdles and added a third vs. Marblehead in the long jump.
Freshman Owen Harty also was a star for Winthrop, defeating all of his Salem and Marblehead rivals in the 800m with a time of 2:09.2, which was nine seconds faster than his closest competitor.
Additional point-scorers for the Vikings were:
— Sophomore Dominic Farrell finished in first-place vs. Marblehead and second vs. Salem in the 200m dash; grabbed second-place vs. Marblehead and third vs. Salem in the 100 dash; took a second-place vs. Salem in the javelin; and added a second-place vs. Marbelhead and a third vs. Salem in the long jump;
— Freshman Elvis Paula finished first vs. Salem and second vs. Marblehead in the 1-mile;
— Freshman Nicholas Lamiaux finished third vs. both opponents in the 1-mile;
— Freshman Liam Connors finished first vs. Marblehead and second vs. Salem in the 2-mile;
— Freshman Joseph Spinale grabbed a third-place point vs. Salem in the 2-mile;
— Sophomore Sean Mcgloin finished third vs. Salem in the javelin; and
— Senior Liam Natareno finished third vs. Salem in the triple jump.
On the girls’ side, the top performer was sophomore Hailey DeMarco, who won the 800 race with a tme of 3:05.8; finished first vs. Salem and second vs. Marblehead in the 400m hurdles; took first vs. Salem in the discus; and finished first vs. Salem and third vs. Marblehead in the high jump.
Additional point-scorers for the Lady Vikings were:
— Freshman Riya Koemdzhiev with a first vs. Salem in both the shot-put and long jump and a second vs. Salem in the 100 dash;
— Freshman Aria Zizzo with a first vs. Salem in both the 200 dash and the javelin and a third vs. Salem in the 100;
— Sophomore Anna Blanquer Devos with a second vs. Salem in the 200 dash and a second vs. Salem in both the discus and the javelin; and
— Freshman Era Marra with third vs. Salem in both the shot-put and the long jump
WHS softball hosts Everett today for Sr. Day
The Winthrop High softball team will host non-league opponent Everett this afternoon (Thursday) in a contest that will be highlighted by Senior Day festivities. Jenna Whitehead, the Lady Vikings’ lone member of the Class of 2026 who will be attending Salem State in the fall, will be honored before the game for her contribution to the Winthrop softball program.
Coach Erin Vercruysse’s crew dropped its two contests last week to Northeastern Conference rivals Saugus and Masconomet.
In a 7-3 loss to Saugus last Monday, Norah Zaffini and Kylie McFarland each had an RBI and Fran Indrisano went 2-for-3 at the plate.
“Norah also had a great day at second, going 5-for-5 in put-out attempts and making great plays, earning her the Viking of the Game award,” said Vercruysse.
Last Friday, Winthrop came up on the short end of a 17-8 decision with Masconomet. The Lady Vikings trailed 13-0 after the first two frames, and though they rallied later in the game, they were unable to dig themselves out of their early hole.
Zaffini turned in a superb performance at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a single in both the second and the fourth innings, a double in the fifth, and a triple in the seventh. She also stole four bases, including home on a delayed steal.
Fellow freshman Briella McFarland came on in the third inning in relief in the circle, striking out three and walking none. She also had a big day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two triples.
Molly Titemore had two singles on the day and Giuliana Marenghi drove in two RBI on a stand-up double. Giulia’s offensive and defensive performances earned her the Viking of the Game honors.
Winthrop was scheduled to travel to Northeast Regional this past Monday and to Swampscott on Tuesday (in a make-up game from last Wednesday’s rainout) before entertaining Everett today.
The Lady Vikings will travel to Marblehead next Monday and will conclude their season next Thursday with a contest vs. Glocuester at Ingleside Park.
WHS boys tennis plays well vs. Stoneham, Danvers
Although the Winthrop High boys tennis team came up on the short end of a 4-1 decision to Stoneham last week, coach Marie Finn’s squad put up a strong battle.
Junior Jackson Faber, playing at first singles, won the first set 6-4, but dropped the second set, 4-6. The pair then played a pro set to decide the match, with Jackson falling short, 4-10.
At second singles, Viking Tate Montgomery took the first set, 6-3, and then grabbed the second set, 6-6 (10-3).
At third singles, Chris Crocker fought hard, but came up short, 2-6, 2-6.
The first doubles tandem of Dario Ceresani & Daniel McNeil lost their match, 3-6, 0-6, and at second doubles, the duo of Luca Braga & James Silva also fell in straight sets, 2-6, 2-6.
In the Vikings’ next match vs. Danvers, the highlight of the day for Winthrop was Crocker’s win at third singles, 7-5, 6-6 (10-7).
Faber battled well at first singles, falling 3-6, 5-7. Montgomery lost both sets, 0-6, 3-6, at second singles and both doubles teams also fell short.
WHS tracksters shine at NEC Fr.-Soph Meet
Members of the Winthrop Hgh boys and girls outdoor track and field teams turned in outstanding performances at last weekend’ Northeastern Conference Freshman-Sophomore Meet.
Dominic Farrell came home with three medals. Dominic finished in second place in the long jump with a distance of 18′-6″ and took third-place in both the 200m dash (24.0) and the 100m dash (12.2).
Freshman Owen Harty ran an outstanding mile in a clocking of 4:50 to earn a second-place medal.
Fellow freshman Ali Benchikhi also brought home a second-place medal in the high jump with his leap of 6′-0″.
Sean McGloin ribboned with a seventh-place finish in the 800m in 2:31
For the girls, Hailey DeMarco earned two ribbons with a second-place in the 400m hurdles, running 1:18, and a seventh-place in the 800.
WHS baseball to wrap up 2026 season
The Winthrop High baseball team will be wrapping up its 2026 season this week with four contests. The Vikings were scheduled to host Swampscott this past Tuesday and will travel to Gloucester on Saturday. They will return home to entertain Marblehead next Monday and finish the season at Greater Lawrence next Wednesday.
Coach Tom Capasso’s squad stands at 6-10 after coming up short in a hard-fought 5-4 decision in extra innings at Whittier Tech this past Monday and dropping a 17-1 contest to Masconmet last Friday.
In the Masconomet encounter, Masco took control early, scoring seven runs in each of the first two innings. Jimmy Lyman drew the start for the Vikings and deserved a better fate as six of the runs he let up were unearned. Winthrop made seven errors on the day.
Joe Dalton finished the game on the mound and also was plagued by errors, as three of the runs Joe allowed were also unearned.
Winthrop could only muster three hits on the day, one each from Braedon Lounsbury, Danny Connolly, and Lyman. Lounsbury scored the lone run for Winthrop as he was driven in by Michael D’Ambrosio, who saw his first action of the year after working his way back from an injury he sustained during hockey season.
This past Monday the Vikings trekked to Haverhill to take on Whittier Tech. Winthrop moved out to a 4-0 lead which the Vikings took into the middle of the fifth inning.
Lounsbury started for Winthrop and he went 6 & 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs while striking out five and walking only one. Dominic Spinale closed out the game for the Vikings, who lost it in the eighth on a solo home run by Whittier.
Winthrop had multi-hit performances from Lounsbury and Braylen Ancillo, each with two two hits. Lounsbury added two runs scored, an RBI, and two stolen bases, and Ancillo scored a run as well.
Connolly had a hit and an RBI and Carmen DePrisco had a hit. Joseph Pumphret scored a run for the VIkings and added a stolen base as well.
The Vikings still have a shot at qualifying for the MIAA Division 3 state tourney if they win all four of their remaining games in order to achieve the .500 record needed to reach the tourney.