Throughout any year, hundreds of games, meets and matches are played in every community. They can be as important as state high school championships all the way down to that youth sports title that’s just as significant to those athletes just starting out.
Marblehead had all of that and much more in 2024, and to narrow that down to the top 10 is never an easy task, so don’t blame us if there was an omission. Email us instead at jmcconnell@marbleheadnews.org with your favorite local sports event that took place during the last 12 months. But in the meantime, here are our best 2024 Marblehead sports picks.
10. Piper gets a facelift
Just in time for the start of the 2024 fall season, workers were putting the finishing touches on the new turf at the Christopher Piper Memorial Field in early August. The Marblehead High School (MHS) boys and girls soccer, field hockey and of course football were the immediate beneficiaries of the state-of-the-art playing surface. The Marblehead Boosters raised more than $800,000 for the turf.
Besides these high school squads, adult men’s soccer, boys and girls lacrosse in the spring, and flag and youth football also have use of the facility.
9. MHS gets new AD
A familiar face around the Marblehead sports community for decades was chosen as the new MHS athletic director by the school committee.
Kent Wheeler, the founder, program director and coach of the Marblehead / Swampscott American Legion Post 57 Baseball Mariners, was named the new MHS athletic director effective July 1, replacing Greg Ceglarski.
8. Longtime MHS softball assistant coach passes away
On the morning of April 8, the Marblehead High softball team was saddened to learn of the sudden passing of longtime his assistant coach Todd Norman, just hours before the 2024 opener against non-league host Reading. They channeled their emotions quite well to win this game for Todd going away, 9-3. The winning also continued straight through June, but more on that later on in this 2024 Top 10 sports list.
Norman was head coach Johnny Gold’s right hand man on the softball diamond for 18 years. He took care of the third base coaching duties, while also doubling as the team’s pitching coach. But he was more of a friend to Gold than anything else throughout the past two decades. When news broke of his sudden passing early that Monday morning in April at the age of 61, it naturally shook Gold, as well as the entire Marblehead High sports community.
7. Williams earns NEC girls indoor track MVP award
At the conclusion of the Northeastern Conference girls indoor track season in March, LeDaisha Williams received its Athlete of the Year girls MVP award after helping lead the Magicians to the top spot in the annual NEC Meet.
Williams went undefeated in the 300 during the regular season, before going on to finish first once again in this event at the NEC Championship Meet with a time of 42.0.
6. Former MHS quarterback chosen as Gatorade’s Football Player of the Year
Former MHS football and basketball star Miles O’Neill was selected as Gatorade’s New Jersey Football Player of the Year after leading The Hun Prep School Raiders to an 8-1 record and the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) championship.
The 6-foot-5 senior quarterback was a standout on the gridiron at The Hun School to earn this nationwide honor. O’Neill threw for 2,100 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was also named the MAPL Offensive Player of the Year.
5. MYBA crowns championship teams after historic season
On March 7, the Marblehead Youth Basketball Association’s historic town season came to a thrilling close after playing over 400 games, featuring 300 total players in three divisions. It was by far the largest turnout ever, according to league president Bob Lemmond.
For the record, the Bruins, the regular season champs, won the College League title (Grades 3-4) over the Hoosiers, 28-17. The Pelicans defeated the Spurs in two games to win the Junior Varsity league championship (Grades 5-6). The Pelicans were undefeated heading into the finals, but the Spurs won the opener to force the deciding game. The Magic also needed two games to beat the Raptors to secure the top prize in the Varsity League (Grades 7-8).
4. Sachs makes Division 2 All-State volleyball team
MHS junior volleyball player Greta Sachs made the Division 2 All-State team, before going to the showcase tournament to play with and against her elite counterparts from around the state on Nov. 18 at Westborough High, followed by the awards show.
3. Thanksgiving at Fenway
In many respects, longtime Thanksgiving football rivals Swampscott and Marblehead already had memorable campaigns. The Big Blue (8-2) went all the way to the Division 6 state semifinal game, before losing to Fairhaven, while the football Magicians (7-3) were knocked off by host Grafton in a Division 4 Elite 8 game. But they quickly got over those postseason defeats, because they knew they were about to make history.
Both teams have been facing each other for over 100 years on Thanksgiving, but this year was definitely going to be different. Instead of playing at Piper Field, they were at Fenway Park, America’s Most Beloved Ballpark, on Thanksgiving Eve. The Magicians ended up toppling the Big Blue, 42-6, but the final score was not as important as the venue itself. It was just a thrilling experience for both coaches and players alike on both sides, not to mention thousands of their loyal fans who showed up to take it all in.
2. Softball team advances to the Final Four
The MHS softball team began the season on a somber note, when its longtime assistant coach Todd Norman passed away suddenly, just hours before the season opener at Reading. They, however, used the passing as motivation to play the season for Todd.
Coach Johnny Gold’s team (21-5) ended up making history for the program by compiling the most single-season wins with 21. Each win carried them to the Division 2 state semifinals, where they lost to Westfield in extra innings (eight) at Worcester State University in June, 3-2.
1. Hockey Headers celebrate state title at TD Garden
It was perhaps the biggest turnaround by one team in the same season.
After starting the 2023-24 campaign off with six straight losses and 2-8 in the first 10 games, the Hockey Headers (17-9-1) went on to defeat Nauset in the Division 3 state title game on St. Patrick’s Day at TD Garden, 1-0. It was the program’s second statewide conquest in 13 years.
