Sports 05-04-2016

New Leader of the Pats

Leary named Revere High boys head basketball coach

By Cary Shuman

Dave Leary has loved basketball since his days growing up in East Boston. He honed his game in Eastie youth leagues, excelled as a three-year varsity player for three tourney-qualifying Savio teams, and eventually moved on to coaching to stay close to the game that had brought him much joy.

 Leary, 37, had a highly successful assistant coaching experience at Malden High School, where the Golden Tornadoes made the State Tournament eight times in 11 years. For the past two years, he has been the head coach at Lynn Tech, moving that once-powerful program in the right direction.

Highly regarded by his peers in the coaching profession, Leary now takes on a new challenge in his career, having been named the boys basketball head coach at Revere High School.

Director of Athletics Frank Shea announced Leary’s appointment following an extensive selection process in which a strong field of 15 candidates applied for the position and six received interviews.

“We had a strong pool of candidates and Dave impressed our two selection committees – he was a clear No. 1 choice for us,” said Shea. “Dave brings passion for the game, enthusiasm, and most important to me, he brings integrity. We’re really looking forward to having him here and building the program back to where we want it.”

Leary, who is operations supervisor for a large landscaping company on the North Shore, said he decided to apply for the Revere post because of its affiliation with the Northeastern Conference and the potential to advance the program in a sports-minded city.

“In my opinion, Revere plays in one of the best basketball conferences (Northeastern) around and it is a great community that is filled with good athletes,” said Leary. “There’s a great opportunity to improve and make Revere basketball a big part of the North Shore.”

His Malden teams played against Revere in the old Greater Boston League and his Tech team scrimmaged Revere in the Benedetto Jamboree in December. Living next door in Lynn, Leary kept close tabs on the Revere program.

“I always felt that Revere was a hard-working, blue-collar-type community and those are definitely the type of kids that I enjoy coaching,” said Leary.

Leary will meet with returning Revere High basketball players this month to talk about summer and fall league play and expectations for the 2016-17 season. He is also seeking candidates for the Revere assistant coaching staff.

“We’ll be looking for junior varsity and freshman coaches, and possibly a part-time varsity assistant,” said Leary. “I’m hoping that people from the Revere community will want to be part of the program. I don’t really have any assistant coaches in mind that I’m bringing with me.”

He is excited to be working with Shea, who turned out a succession of State Tournament teams during his Hall of Fame-caliber coaching career.

 “I have a lot of respect for Frank Shea,” said Leary. “Obviously, he had a great career as a basketball coach so I’ll be able to go to him and reach out for his advice. He’s a pillar in the community so it’s an honor to work under a great guy and a great coach.”

RhS sports Roundup

RHS girls track team edges Lynn Classical

The Revere High girls track team defeated Lynn Classical, 70-60, last week.

The meet went down to the wire with the Lady Patriots needing six points in the javelin in order to avoid the meet being decided in the final event, the 4 X 400M relay.

“Janine So and Arielys Garcia came up with some clutch throws to seal the win,” said RHS head coach Anthony LaBruna of the first and second place finishes by the duo. So won the event with a throw of  82’-8” and Garcia came in second with her toss of 78’-8”.

Another highlight of the victory included a near-new school record in the 4 x 100 relay by the quartet of Claritza Vasquez, Angelina Nguyen, Catherine Elam, and So. The foursome came across in a clocking of 54.1, which was just shy of the RHS mark of 53.9 set in 2014.

Hannah Fitzpatrick and Rachel Shanbar were double-winners for the Lady Patriots. Hannah doubled in the mile in 5:56 and the 800 in 2:41. Rachel took first in two throwing events, the shotput with a toss of 30’-5” and the discus with  a spin of 81’-10”.

Other first-place finishers for Revere were Helen Perez in the 400 hurdles with a clocking of 74.1, Jackie Dion in the two mile in a time of 14:13, and Catherine Elam with a triple jump of 32’-1”. Elam also grabbed a second place in the 400 dash in 66.3 and Perez took third in the 400 in 67.6.

Second-place finishers who added three points to the Revere cause were: Amanda Edmunds (High Hurdles – 21.1), Angelina Nguyen (100M Dash – 13.9), Suellen Guerreiro (Mile – 6:20), and Monica Posada (Two Mile – 14:19).

Lady Patriots who added vital points in such a close meet with third-place efforts were: So (100 dash – 14.1), Vasquez (200 dash – 29.0 and long jump – 15’-1”), Trisha Cheever (800 – 2:52 and Mile – 6:27), and Angelina Nguyen (Triple Jump – 30’-7.5”).

“We outscored them 18-9 in the throws and 23-4 in the distance events, which was the difference in the meet,” said LaBruna. “Suellen Guerreiro, Hannah Fitzpatrick, and Trisha Cheever each doubled up running the mile and the 800M. They’ve been asked to do a lot this season, but they’re tough runners and always rise to the challenge.

“All of our jumpers had huge days in both long and triple jump,” added LaBruna. “We talked all week leading up to the meet that the jumping pits in Lynn usually lead to monster jumps, and once again the pits treated us kindly. Catherine Elam triple-jumped over 32 feet, which was a huge PR for her, and freshman Claritza Vasquez jumped 15’-1” in the long jump.”

LaBruna and his crew are set to host Danvers today (Wednesday).

Lady Patriots top Salem to net first victory, 4-1

The Revere High girls tennis team broke into the win column this past week with a 4-1 triumph over Salem.

The Lady Patriots won all three of the singles matches: Revere’s number one player, Hanadi Kobilic, swept aside her Salem counterpart in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3; second singles Farah Selman was a 6-2, 6-2 victory; and Lyba Khan handily dispatched her Salem foe, 6-1, 6-1.

The first doubles duo of Alondra Esparza and Victoria Mom also triumphed in straight sets 6-1, 6-4. The second doubles tandem of juniors Tammy Munroe and Lariza Haro also played well, though they came up short by a score of 5-7, 2-6.

In other matches this past week, Selman defeated her opponent, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, at second doubles in the Lady Patriots’ contest with Beverly. In a 2-3 loss to Saugus,  Selman again was a winner in the number two slot, 6-2, 7-5, as was Khan at No. 3, 6-2, 6-4.

Coach Carla Maniscalco and her squad were set to play at Swampscott this past Monday; host Winthrop yesterday (Tuesday); entertain Beverly Friday; trek to Danvers Monday; and travel to Lynn Classical next Wednesday.

RHS boys track team edged by Classical, 76-55

The Revere High boys track team turned in a large number of superlative performances last Wednesday in the Patriots’ meet with Saugus, but came up on the short end of a 76-55 decision.

“We knew going in that it would be difficult to get the win,” said RHS head coach Sam Ros. “We have boys on the team that can win events, but we don’t have the depth to back up those wins. We only managed to have one boy place in each event.”

Despite the setback, there were many highlights for Ros’s squad. The top performer of the meet for Revere was Josh Flanders, who qualified for the Division 1 State Meet in the long jump with a personal record (PR) jump of 20’-7.5”.  Josh also was a member of the 4×100 meter relay team, along with Andy Em, David Sinatra, and Talal Hamza, who qualified for the Division 1 State meet. In addition, Flanders placed third in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.1 seconds.

“Josh is a senior who took up track this season only because his basketball teammate, Brendan Hayes, said he should,” noted Ros. “Josh came into the season not really knowing anything about track. From what we saw just by looking at him, we could tell he was a track athlete. In a matter of a few weeks, he has gone from an unknown to one of the best long jumpers in the conference. Based on last year’s conference championship results, Josh’s jump yesterday would have won the league title. With more work, I believe Josh will knock on the doorsteps of Merzudin Ibric’s school record jump of 22’-3” that was set back in 2005.”

Other Patriots who shone included David Sinatra, who captured the 110 meter hurdles easily and continues to show that he is one of the best hurdlers in the conference. David also took second in the high jump with a leap of 5’-4”.

Phuc Tran once again continued to be an anchor on the throwing team, winning the shotput with a throw of 40’–5” and inches and the discus with a spin of 107’-4”, which was a PR.

Andy Em took second in the 400 meter hurdles with a PR clocking of 66.9 seconds. Sebastian Mejia grabbed second in the two mile in 11:59.5. Zach Gentile finished second in the triple jump with a PR of 39’-6” and won the 800 meters with a time of 2:14.6. Joe Dello Russo took third in the javelin with a throw of 120’-4” Zak Attioui took the mile down to the last foot, but came in second by 1/10 of a second with a time of 4:52.4. Talal Hamza brought home second place in the 200 meters with a PR dash of 24.2 seconds.

“Our outlook for the season is a tough won,” said Ros. “We will compete with everyone.  All the meets will be just as close as this Classical meet. We need our second-tier guys to step up big and give our aces a helping hand. Top talent-wise, we have some of the best athletes in the conference. We look forward to bigger and better results for the team.”

Ros and his crew are set to entertain Danvers today (Wednesday).

Busy schedule for RHS girls lacrosse

The Revere High girls lacrosse enters the heart of its season this week with a busy schedule of a game every-other-day for the next two weeks.

Coach Karen Atkinson’s young squad was set to travel to Malden this past Monday and then host Beverly Wednesday and Danvers Friday. They will travel to Wakefield Monday and trek to Swampscott next Wednesday.

In contests this past week, the Lady Patriots dropped contests to Peabody and Marblehead. “We struggled to keep possession during the Peabody game, and turnovers were costly for us,” said Atkinson of the encounter with the Lady Tanners, a 15-4 loss. “We were not able to control the tempo of the game and Peabody took advantage of every opportunity they had.”

Goaltender Shateya Travis recorded five saves. Kiana Napolitano scored two goals with Amina Mansouri and Marina Robinson both scoring one goal apiece.

In the match with Marblehead, Napolitano and Marina Robinson found the back of the enemy net in the 14-2 defeat.

“Playing Marblehead was a great experience for us,” noted Atkinson. “We were able to see a different caliber team and work on our defensive play. Offensively, we were unable to truly set up our offenses. Marina Robinson and Kiana Napolitano both scored off fast-break scenarios.”

Shateya Travis had five saves against Marblehead.

RHS boys tennis team working hard

Although the Revere High boys tennis team came out on the short end of its contests with Salem, Marblehead, and Beverly this past week, head coach Mike Flynn has been pleased with his team’s effort and improvement with each match

“We’re playing well and working hard,” said Flynn. “But we’ve come up against some of the top teams in our league, so it’s been tough to break into the win column.”

Andree Shehaj, playing at third singles, defeated his Salem counterpart in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, to provide the major highlight for the Patriots.

Flynn juggled his lineup throughout the week because of the absence of players on occasion. David Grujic, ordinarily Revere’s No. 2 player, was forced to move up to No. 1 when Mateo Lopez was out of action.

Ralph Corbelle and Josh Preciado, normally double players, saw action at third singles against Marblehead and Beverly respectively. Among the pairings at first doubles were the duo of Naveed Jabbar and Preciado in two matches and the twosome of Shehaj and Josue Martinez against Beverly.

Revere’s second doubles tandems included Corbelle/David Henao, Henao/Riaz Butt-Garcia, and Ibraham Tanjuir/Butt-Garcia.

“It was nice to be able to give other members of the team a chance to play,” said Flynn. “They work as hard as everybody else and they deserved a chance to play.”

Flynn and his crew were set to host Swampscott this past Monday; play at Winthrop yesterday (Tuesday); trek to Beverly Friday; entertain Danvers Monday; and host Lynn Classical next Wednesday.

 

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