Sports 06-01-2016

RhS sports Roundup

RHS boys lacrosse opens tourney tonight

The Revere High boys lacrosse team, which went undefeated in May with 10 straight victories to finish the season with a sterling 15-5 record, will play at North

Andover this evening (Wednesday) in a first-round contest of the MIAA Division 1 North sectional of the boys state lacrosse tournament.

The Patriots are seeded 10th of the 12 teams in the D-1 North, while No. Andover, which comes into the tourney with an 11-7 mark, is seeded seventh.

Unlike the other high school sports in which seedings are based solely on won-loss record regardless of the opponents a team may play during the season, lacrosse seedings for both boys and girls teams are drawn up by a committee which looks at strength of schedule, the league they play in, and other factors.

If coach Steve Magno and his crew are successful this evening, they will advance to meet No. 2 seed North Reading, which sports a 17-1 mark, in the next round at a date to be determined.

Sullivan is top  Offensive Player; Magno Coach of Year

The accolades poured in for the Revere High boys lacrosse team, which finished with a 15-5 record and qualified for the MIAA state lacrosse tournament, at last week’s meeting of coaches of the Northeastern Conference.

Patriot attack Eddie Sullivan, who turned in a tremendous season, scoring 100 points on 73 goals and 27 assists, was named the Offensive Player of the Year  of the NEC South Division.

In addition, Revere head coach Steve Magno was named the NEC’s Coach of the Year.

Joining Sullivan on the NEC South first team all-star squad were five teammates:

Dan Muller – Attack; Steven Noel – Midfield; Kevin Chiles – Defense; Eric Bua – Defense/LSM; and Cam Mazza – Goalie.

Patriots who garnered second team honors were: Anthony DeStefano – Attack;

Wesley Spagnuolo – Midfield; Mike Dellorfano – Defense; and Julian Giraldo – Defense

RHS softball team wins three straight, readies for tourney

The Revere High softball team snapped a three-game losing streak from the previous week with a trio of victories this past week, as coach Joe Ciccarello and his crew prepare for the upcoming MIAA state softball tournament.

In an 8-1 victory over a very good Wakefield team, the Lady Patriot bats broke out in a big way, as some of the Revere girls who have been struggling at the plate of late came through with key hits.

Alina Giuliano had a single, double, triple, and two RBI; Juliana Cecere and Ally Hinojosa both delivered two hits and two ribbies; and Gabbie Cammarata belted a triple and a single.

Gia Santinello turned in a strong effort in the pitcher’s circle, holding a good offensive team to only one run.

In a 4-1 victory over a much-improved Lynn English squad, Olivia McManus spun the pitching magic, while Sam Woodman and Cammarata came through with the big hits on the day.

This past Sunday, the Lady Patriots ensured that Senior Day was a festive one with a 3-1 win over Everett. Giuliano delivered the key hit in the triumph, a two-run base hit with two outs.

“Through these past three games our defense has been playing much better and the young pitchers are coming through for us and that is the real story,” said Ciccarello. “Pitching and defense win in the tourney.”

Revere’s scheduled season-finale with Marblehead — which was a make-up of a previously postponed encounter — was rained out on Monday, leaving the Lady Patriots with a fine 13-6 record for the regular season.

The seedings and pairings for the tourney were expected to be announced yesterday (Tuesday).

RHS girls lax wins final two contests to qualify for tourney

The Revere High girls lacrosse team has dared to go where no Lady Patriot lacrosse team has gone before — qualifying for the post-season MIAA state lacrosse tournament.

The Lady Patriots punched their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney with victories in their final two games of the season this past week over Northeastern Conference South Division rivals Salem (10-7) and Gloucester (8-6).

The twins wins catapulted Revere into a three-way tie for first place in the NEC South with both of those teams, thereby qualifying all three for the post-season.

“I am extremely proud of my team for all they have accomplished,” said RHS head coach Karen Atkinson. “The team play in both the Salem and Gloucester games was exceptional. Our seniors came to play in our last home game against Gloucester and they left everything on the field, advancing us to tournament.”

The Lady Patriots, who finished with an 8-12 record overall, thus nabbed the 16th seed in the Division 1 North and were set to travel yesterday evening (Tuesday) to top-seeded North Andover (17-3) for a first-round match.

If Atkinson and her crew are successful, they will meet the winner of the Chelmsford-Haverhill contest tomorrow (Thursday).

RHS boys track contingent competes at State Meet

A number of members of the Revere High boys track and field team competed in this past weekend’s Division 1 State Meet, including Josh Flanders, the Northeastern Conference long jump and 110 hurdles champion; Nelson Cevallos, the NEC high jump champ; David Sinatra in the 110 hurdles; Talal Hamza in the 100 meter dash; and Andy Em, who was a member of the 4 x 100 relay team with Sinatra, Flanders, and Hamza.

Although the Patriots did not come home with any medals with a sixth place or better finish, they turned in fine performances that earned plaudits from head coach Sam Ros.

“Josh ended his season pretty well,” said Ros of Flanders, the first-ever double-NEC champ in RHS history. “He jumped 20′-10.5″. He finished 16th in that event and missed making finals by 4.5 inches. Josh ran 16.36 in the hurdles finishing in 13th place.  For someone who has only had one season of track, Josh’s achievements are extraordinary. My only wish is that I had one more year with him. He has so much untapped potential and can only get better. He is performing this well and doesn’t even have a grasp on the sport at all. Just imagine what he can do if he can be trained and taught properly.

“Nelson had a tough time in the high jump,” said Ros. “The bar opened at 5’-11″. Normally, he would have a few jumps at lower heights to warm up, but because of the high opening he wasn’t able to adjust. The jump surface was a little slippery  and because Nelson didn’t have spikes, he kept slipping and was unable to clear the bar. Nonetheless, this season has been great for Nelson. He should not be disappointed in his performance this weekend. We haven’t had many conference champs in the past and for Nelson to be a part of those few is an accomplishment.

“Talal has been battling a hamstring injury all season,” said Ros of Hamza, his top sprinter. “This performance was not one of his best. He ran 12.15 and finished 28th. But to be able to finish the season at states is a great cap to his high school career.

“David’s finish to the season was not what we had hoped for,” noted Ros of Sinatra. “Despite that, he continues to be one of the best hurdlers in the conference. He will continue to be one of the best next year as he is only a junior. David ran 16.62 and finished 16th. As we have learned this season, he will also be one of the top long jumpers in the conference next year as well. If he continues to improve, he makes a solid case for best athlete in the conference next year.

“The relay team ran 45.79, finishing 15th, which is their best time this season,” added Ros. “The race was not perfect. There was only so much improvement that can be done — if only we had more time. This quartet wasn’t put together until halfway through the season. A technical event such as this needs more time to perfect. I’m positive they could have run under 45.

“We had a great season and did things we weren’t expected to do,” concluded Ros. “I am very proud of the way our team competed with the rest of the conference this year. Hopefully we can pick up some more talent and have some of the current roster to step up to fill in the gaps next year. As for our seniors, I hope they enjoyed what they accomplished and continue with track at the next level.”

Lady Patriots compete at state track meet

A group of six members of the Revere High girls track team competed this past weekend in the Division 1 State Track Meet, having achieved the qualifying criteria during the season: Rachel Shanbar in the shotput and discus; Helen Perez in the 400M hurdles; and the 4 X 100 relay quartet of Claritza Vasquez, Angelina Nguyen, Catherine Elam, and Duyen Nguyen.

“Rachel was seeded last in both of the throwing events and ended up 10th of 21 in discus and 13th of 31 in shot-put,” said RHS head coach Antonio LaBruna. “She ended the season consistently throwing over 30 feet in shot-put and over 80 feet in discus. Rachel’s goal for next year is to throw over 90 feet in discus and if she can do that, she has a chance to score at the State Meet.”

Helen Perez ran a 73.7 in the 400M hurdles. “Helen has been running extremely well the past couple of weeks and the goal for this meet was to break 70 seconds, but it just wasn’t her day,” noted LaBruna. “She stuttered on most of the hurdles which really slowed her time. Fortunately, Helen is a junior and will be back at this meet in a year’s time with a chance at redemption.”

The Lady Patriot 4 X 100M relay team went into the meet without anchor leg Janine So, who was out with a quad injury. However, Duyen Nguyen stepped up in her place.

“Duyen did a great job receiving her hand-off and busting that final 100M,” said LaBruna. “She’s a hard working senior, so I was happy she got to compete in a State Championship Meet. Our time of 55.5 wasn’t what we were hoping for, but our relay team did some special things this season, breaking a school record and winning five of six relays during our dual-meet season.

“We finished the season at 3-4 and while I would have loved to finish with a winning record, we are improving as a program,” added LaBruna. “We are losing three of our top distance runners to graduation and a couple of sprinters/jumpers as well, so there are definitely some holes to fill, but the younger kids will be ready to step up.”

Elam, Shanbar named to NEC all-star team

Two members of the Revere High girls track team were named to the Northeastern Conference all-star team. Catherine Elam (triple jump, long jump, and 400M) and Rachel Shanbar (shot-put, discus) both were selected as second team NEC All-Stars.

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